erry Washington’s hit TV show Scandal propelled her from semi-famous to a household name overnight. Thanks to this newfound popularity, Washington’s world opened up and she branched out, jumping head first into the realm fashion and beauty.

In 2013 Washington became the face of Neutrogena with an official title of Creative Consultant. A new position for the cosmetic, skin and hair care company, Kerry is not only featured in ads but got her hands dirty developing 14 new foundation shades and lip colors for their make-up line. When Washington signed on for the new venture, a foundation for her skin color was nonexistent. Not one to sit on the sidelines, Washington broke out her inner chemist, studied formulas and helped produce the new shades. In January of 2016, three new shades for Neutrogena’s Nourishing Long Wear Liquid Makeup range and four new additions to the SkinClearing Liquid Make-up and Healthy Skin Liquid Makeup lines launched.

Ms. Washington is known for collaborating with her Scandal costume designer, Lyn Paolo in creating the wardrobe of the infamous Olivia Pope. Both women have a love of fashion and set out to reinvent the idea of women’s power dressing, making Olivia’s aesthetic approachable to women at all levels. And boy did they! People formed Pinterest boards and look book blogs for readers to scour photos and analyze the looks. Retailer The Limited saw the craze and partnered with Washington and Paolo in 2014 to create a fall capsule collection based on Pope’s wardrobe. The fall line included tailored trousers (three styles), jackets, feminine blouses and outerwear in neutral colors like baby pinks, sage greens, greige and of course Olivia’s signature white. The line was so popular, the three got back together and designed a spring collection for the next year, inspired by reactions from the fans.

In late 2014, Washington joined the team at the Allstate Foundation Purple Purse as an ambassador and assisted in designing the 2015 handbag sold to raise money for the charity. Working with designer Dee Ocleppo, they created a leather and tweed on-trend clutch, big enough to hold ones keys, wallet, phone and all things needed throughout the day.

In December of 2015, it was announced that Kerry would be the 2016 creative ambassador at nail polish manufacturer OPI. Together with the company’s cofounder and creative director Suzi Weiss-Fischmann, they will design a new line of nail polish colors to be released later in the year. Much like her involvement with Neutrogena, the colors will match well with a wide range of skin tones. Kerry loves playing around with nail color on the red carpet, so we at MyCloset, cannot wait to see what new shades she came up with!