Bobbi Brown (born April 14, 1957)[2] is an American professional make-up artist, author, and the founder of Bobbi Brown Cosmetics.[3][4][5][6][7][8] She created ten natural-shade lipsticks, which, according to Entrepreneur "revolutionized the beauty industry".[9] She has written ten books about beauty and wellness.[10]
After leaving Bobbi Brown Cosmetics in 2016, she launched Beauty Evolution, LLC, and became certified as a health coach through the Institute for Integrative Nutrition.[15][16][17] Brown also started a line of beauty-inspired wellness products.[18][19] and launched a second beauty line, Jones Road, in 2020. Brown curates an editorial website.[20][21] She and her husband Steven Plofker redesigned The George, a boutique hotel located in Montclair, New Jersey.[22][23]
Born in Chicago, Illinois to a Jewish family, Joe and Sandra Brown, Brown graduated from New Trier High School and from Emerson College in Boston with a degree in theatrical makeup and photography.[4][5][24][25] In 1980, she moved to New York City to work as a professional makeup artist.[4][10] Brown became known for a makeup style that included moderate and natural tones, which was a stark contrast to the bright colors used commonly at the time.[4][26][27]
In 1990, Brown worked with a chemist to come up with ten natural lipstick shades.[10][28] In 1991, Brown and her husband partnered with another couple to launch the brand Bobbi Brown Essentials, which debuted at Bergdorf Goodman in New York City.[29] She was expecting to sell 100 in a month, but instead sold 100 in a day.[30][24] The following year, she released yellow-toned foundation sticks.[29]
Estée Lauder bought the company in 1995, retaining Brown as an employee of Bobbi Brown Cosmetics and Brown retained creative control of the makeup line.[28][4][5][31]
In 2011, the first freestanding Bobbi Brown Cosmetics retail store opened in Auckland, New Zealand with a makeup school in the back of the building.[4][2] In 2012, her cosmetics were estimated to represent approximately ten percent of Estée Lauder Companies' total sales.[28] As of January 2014, there were approximately thirty free-standing Bobbi Brown cosmetics stores.[31]
In December 2016, it was announced that Brown would step down from the company by the end of the year.[32][33][34] Following this, she continued creating new lines and participating in the beauty industry through other projects like beauty podcasts,[35] a makeup MasterClass,[36] and her website JustBobbi.com.[37]
In late October 2020, Bobbi Brown launched her second beauty brand, Jones Road.[38] The launch marked 25 years since she first sold her original line, Bobbi Brown Cosmetics, due to a 25-year non-compete agreement she'd signed with Estee Lauder.[39] It has been described as a "clean beauty" brand.[40][41] According to Yahoo, which reviewed the line, this "approach is evident in the brand offering: a curated edit of makeup and skincare that doesn't overwhelm."[42] Its original offerings included balms, moisturizing cream colors, mascaras, glosses, washes, eye shadow, eye pencils. They were also sold in combination in a start-up kit.[43] In an interview with the Financial Times in September 2024, it was revealed that the brand's revenue in its first year was $20mn, and expected to be over $150mn in the current financial year, with a valuation approaching $1bln.
Brown has a collection of fragrances[29][45] and a collaboration with In 2013 Safilo Group S.p.A. for an eyewear collection.[46][47] She is a creative consultant at Lord & Taylor.[48]
In 2019, she founded Evolution_18,[49] a “lifestyle-inspired wellness line”.[50] The products she developed for the line included supplements, collagen, and effervescent tablets,[51] and were sold at outlets including Walmart.[52]
In 2015, Brown and her husband acquired a historic inn located in Montclair, New Jersey, which was built as a private residence in 1902. It became the Georgian Inn in the 1940s, and after they purchased it, they renovated the property and renamed it The George Hotel.[53][54] The hotel was opened in 2018 and has 32 guest rooms.[55][56][57]
Brown co-founded 18 Label, a film and television studio based in New Jersey. Networks that have filmed in the studio include CNBC, BSTV,[58] and the Food Network.[59] The studio is housed in The Annex (also cofounded by Brown), an 11,000 square foot studio and event center.[60]
Brown has appeared on Food Network series, including The Kitchen.[61][62]
Brown is the Beauty & Lifestyle Editor of Elvis Duran and the Morning Show.[63] She partnered with Duran to produce an "Elvis Duran bronzer" as a part of her cosmetics line.[64] Brown served as Yahoo Beauty's Editor-in-Chief from February 2014 to February 2016.[32] A chance meeting with the grandmother of a producer of NBC's Today led to a 12-year run as a regular beauty consultant on the show.[65] Brown has also written columns for PureWow, Naturally, and Danny Seo.[66][67][68]
Bobbi Brown Cosmetics launched the Pretty Powerful Campaign for Women & Girls on International Women's Day in 2013.[72] Pretty Powerful supports organizations that seek to empower women through job skills training programs and girls through education.[31][73] Beneficiaries to date include Dress for Success (of which Brown is a former board member),[74] the Broome Street Academy High School, and the Girl Rising Fund.[31][75][76]
Brown married executive Steven Plofker on September 10, 1988,[77] and together they have three sons.[78] They also have a daughter-in-law.[79] The family lives in Montclair, New Jersey.[80] She spends her summers in Sag Harbor of the Hamptons, New York.[81]
Her work has been featured on the covers of magazines such as Elle, Vogue, Self, and Town & Country.[5][82][83][6]
Brown has received the Glamour Woman of the Year Award, The Fashion Group International Night of Stars Beauty Award, and the Jackie Robinson Foundation's ROBIE Humanitarian Award.[84][85][86] She was appointed by President Obama to the Advisory Committee for Trade Policy and Negotiation and has been inducted into the New Jersey Hall of Fame.[87][88] She holds honorary doctorates from Montclair State University, Fashion Institute of Technology, Monmouth University, and Emerson College.[89][90][91][92] Following the release of her second makeup company in 2020, Allure magazine labeled Brown the "world’s patron saint of 'natural makeup.'"[93]
She was recognized as one of the BBC 100 Women of 2015.[94]
