Jessica Cruel is the editor-in-chief of Allure, where she leads the development of multi-platform editorial content for digital, social, and video platforms, including the Readers’ Choice Awards and Best of Beauty Awards franchises. Cruel joined Allure in 2019, first as features director and, more recently, served as the title’s content director. In 2021, Cruel spearheaded The Melanin Edit, a new Allure platform exploring all things relating to Black beauty, skincare and wellness.

Prior to joining Allure, Jessica served as deputy beauty director at Refinery29, and has also held editorial roles at SELF and Popsugar. Throughout her decade-long career in the beauty media industry, she has extended her experience to hosting podcasts, speaking at events and appearing in live television segments.

A graduate of the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill with degrees in multimedia journalism and sociology. Jessica currently resides in Newark, New Jersey.