Gwen Stefani carved out her own place in the beauty industry. Now she's creating a space for everyone else.

• Gwen Stefani started selling her makeup line GXVE Beauty in March of this year.
• She then launched the GXVE Community, a website and ambassador program, on Tuesday.

In 2022, it's tough to find a celebrity who hasn't dabbled in the beauty industry.

Countless stars have their own lines, and others have collaborated with major brands on limited-edition products. And if you ask makeup fans, many would argue that a lot of these ventures are simply cash grabs.

But when I connected with Gwen Stefani over Zoom in late August, her genuine passion for makeup and her new line GXVE Beauty — pronounced "give" — was blatantly clear.

"This is kind of a lifetime in the making because I've been such a huge makeup girl," Stefani told Insider. "I've done all this stuff besides music — all different lines and collaborations. So, like, trust me on this. Maybe I'm not an expert, but I'm really confident that I know what I'm doing when it comes to this makeup thing."

The beginning of Gwen Stefani's beauty journey is relatable

She grew up attending Mary Kay parties hosted by her best friend's mom and flipping through magazines to circle the makeup she hoped to buy someday.

She then started working at a local mall where she did people's makeup and sold products from luxury brands like Borghese.

"Our mall was really a poor mall, so no one bought those brands and they didn't give me training," she said. "They just said to make a display, sell makeup, and you'll get a commission — a very, very small commission. It was like, 'If you sell this many things, you can take a sample of perfume home.'"

But the musician and makeup mogul was always destined for more

Her band No Doubt reached stardom in the '90s, and Stefani quickly transformed from makeup lover to beauty icon.

So more than three decades into her career — when most people would be slowing down — Stefani felt it was a natural next step to launch her own beauty brand.

GXVE hit shelves in March with products including eye shadow, face oil, and lip gloss. One item in particular — the I'm Still Here liquid lipstick in the shade Original Recipe — has even become the second top-selling red lipstick at Sephora, according to a GXVE representative.

Stefani's vision for her beauty brand always extended beyond actual makeup

The "heartbeat of GXVE," as she told Insider, was to create a safe space for beauty lovers, which she's now doing with a digital ambassador program called the GXVE Community.

All beauty fans — regardless of follower count or experience — can apply to the GXVE Community. Once accepted, they can share makeup tips, post looks they've created, view exclusive content from Stefani, and sell GXVE products to earn a 30% commission.

Stefani is the first to admit that the GXVE Community isn't necessarily a new idea. After all, beauty fans have long been creating their own spaces online. But Stefani said she feels a "need to share" what she's learned over the years.

"That feeling makeup gives us is really what I'm selling," Stefani told Insider. "I'm talking to the people that I'm talking to — not everyone is going to be part of the community. But the people who are passionate and want to grow, learn, share, and want to be highlighted and seen through their makeup, this is their home."

The community is also personal for Stefani, who said it's important to her to continue feeling beautiful.

"I know that my face is a moving target," she said. "As I'm aging, I still want to feel pretty. I still want to be part of society. I still want to be valuable. I don't want to melt away and just not recognize myself. A lot of people are still doing their same makeup from high school and it's just not working. They're desperate."

"So I'm here at this point in my life to say there's hope," she continued. "Makeup is magic. It's transformative. Not just physically, but emotionally — the confidence that it brings. I mean, I'm a testament to that."