We live in a world full of costs, but Jacquelyn Quattro, founder of the indie natural beauty company, is out to prove that beauty doesn’t have one of them, positioning her million-dollar company as a front-runner in natural, non-toxic beauty products. At the heart of Jersey Shore Cosmetics’ success and philosophy is its founder, Jacquelyn Foster- Quattro. Quattro was raised ‘au natural’ in a small town, in the Pine Lands of South Jersey and learned the secrets to natural health and beauty from her naturalist parents.
A veteran in the health and beauty industry, Quattro previously worked as a beauty consultant, makeup artist and brand representative with top beauty brands, Lancomé, Chanel, Shiseido and Estee Lauder brands including Clinique before she struck out on her own. She went on to create Jersey Shore Cosmetics, in 2010 with the desire to make healthy consumer products without toxins and petrochemicals.
Jacquelyn’s business success isn’t the fairytale that you’d read about with some other indie brands. No high-end store buyers came knocking, no meetings with billion-dollar brand executives and no magic contact was to be had at a random cocktail party or fancy dinner.
Quattro created her company and brands and went door to door selling her wares. Though safer cosmetics was always on her to do list, Jakki, as some call her, felt that safe sunscreens were a priority. “Petrochemical laden sunscreens are the worst offenders when it comes to toxic products with hormone disruptors and unsafe ingredients” said Quattro.
After going door-to-door in 2013, Jacquelyn landed her first major retail client – Whole Foods Market in Princeton, NJ. Local health food markets, Basil Bandwagon in Flemington, NJ and Big Bear Foods in Pennington, NJ helped to get the word out by placing small orders. Soon after, the world’s largest subscription glam bag Ipsy, came calling and placed 100K units of Jakki’s Sans Tan natural sunscreen in their monthly Glam Bags. Since then, EcoMom.com, Greencupboards.com, and Zulily.com have added themselves to the roster of companies that carry Jersey Shore Cosmetics.
Quattro’s beauty goes far beyond the surface, however. In addition to being a business woman, Quattro juggles her other roles as a mother, grandmother, housewife, volunteer, entrepreneur and author. “I still have to go to the market, clean my house and attend my son’s school recitals,” says Quattro. She attributes her balance of these roles to her strong faith in God and her unwavering sense of self-worth.
Jersey Shore Cosmetics initial success came in 2013 with the launch of their non-toxic sunscreens. Jersey Shore Cosmetics non-toxic sunscreens landed atop PETA’s Summer “Must Haves” list and were voted “Best All Purpose Sunscreen” by Livestrong.com that year. Jakki’s natural sunscreens scored highest with The Environmental Working Group (EWG.org) skin deep database and sold more than 100,000 units that year. Jersey Shore Cosmetics added all natural organic lip balms to their repertoire that year as well and their Mongongo lip conditioners went on to sell nearly 2 million units. This success caught the attention of natural health and lifestyle websites, subscription glam bags, beauty influencers, and high profile beauty blogs and national and global distributors.
Jersey Shore Cosmetics products have also received the seal of approval from several cast members of Bravo’s Real Housewives of New Jersey and other A-list celebrities. Jacquelyn’s products have been featured on television network segments of The Talk (with Sharon Osbourne) and Extra, of Universal Studios, Hollywood.
Jersey Shore Cosmetics’ growth has been so exponential that Jacquelyn now finds herself in the unenviable position of figuring out how to best scale her company. Recently, Jersey Shore Cosmetics began meeting with cosmetic industry heavy-hitters, to see if it could strike up a partnership with a team or company that shares its passion for quality, sustainability, and healthy natural beauty.
As if that wasn’t enough, Quattro is also finishing her book – her take on what it means to be a natural beauty, from the inside out. Quattro’s book teaches the benefits of a healthy lifestyle, and of how proper nutrition creates healthy, youthful skin. “Drink plenty of clean water and you are well on your way,” claims Quattro. Jacquelyn’s book also provides tips on proper skin care and makeup application techniques, while giving readers a primer on which nutrients best address various skin and complexion concerns.
