Bobbi Brown | |
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![]() Brown in 2014 | |
Born | |
Occupations |
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Years active | 1980−present |
Known for | Founder of Bobbi Brown Cosmetics |
Height | 5 ft 0 in (1.52 m) [1] |
Spouse | Steven Plofker (m. 1988) |
Children | 3 |
Logo | |
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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 nine books about beauty and wellness. [10] [11] [12]
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. [13] [14] [15] Brown also started a line of beauty-inspired wellness products. [16] [17] and launched a second beauty line, Jones Road, in 2020. Brown curates an editorial website. [18] [19] She and her husband Steven Plofker redesigned The George, a boutique hotel located in Montclair, New Jersey. [20] [21]
Born in Chicago, Illinois to a Jewish family, Joe and Sandra Brown, [22] Brown graduated from New Trier High School and from Emerson College in Boston with a degree in theatrical makeup and photography. [4] [5] [23] [24] 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] [25] [26]
In 1990, Brown worked with a chemist to come up with ten natural lipstick shades. [10] [22] 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. [27] She was expecting to sell 100 in a month but instead sold 100 in a day. [28] [23] The following year, she released yellow-toned foundation sticks. [27]
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. [22] [4] [5] [29]
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. [22] As of January 2014, there were approximately thirty free-standing Bobbi Brown cosmetics stores. [29]
In December 2016, it was announced that Brown would step down from the company by the end of the year. [30] [31] [32] Following this, she continued creating new lines and participating in the beauty industry through other projects like beauty podcasts, [33] a makeup MasterClass, [34] and her website JustBobbi.com. [35]
In late October 2020, Bobbi Brown launched her second beauty brand, Jones Road. [36] The launch marked 25 years since she first sold her original line to Estee Lauder. [37] It has been described as a "clean beauty" brand. [38] 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." [39] 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. [40] 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. [41]
Brown has a collection of fragrances [27] [42] and a collaboration with In 2013 Safilo Group S.p.A. for an eyewear collection. [43] [44] She is a creative consultant at Lord & Taylor. [45]
In 2019, she founded Evolution_18, [46] a “lifestyle-inspired wellness line”. [47] The products she developed for the line included supplements, collagen, and effervescent tablets, [48] and were sold at outlets including Walmart. [49]
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, [50] and after they purchased it, they renovated the property and renamed it the George Hotel. [51] [52] The hotel was opened in 2018 and has 32 guest rooms. [50] [53] [54]
Brown cofounded 18 Label, a film and television studio based in New Jersey. Networks that have filmed in the studio include CNBC, BSTV, [55] and the Food Network. [56] The studio is housed in The Annex (also cofounded by Brown), an 11,000 square foot studio and event center. [57]
Brown has appeared on Food Network series, including The Kitchen. [58] [59]
Brown is the Beauty & Lifestyle Editor of Elvis Duran and the Morning Show . [60] She partnered with Duran to produce a "Elvis Duran bronzer" as a part of her cosmetics line. [61] Brown served as Yahoo Beauty's Editor-in-Chief from February 2014 to February 2016. [30] 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. [62] Brown has also written columns for PureWow, Naturally, and Danny Seo. [63] [64] [65] [66]
Year | Title | International Standard Book Number |
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1995 | Bobbi Brown Beauty: The Ultimate Resource [2] [27] | ( ISBN 0-446-58134-8) |
2000 | Bobbi Brown Teenage Beauty: Everything You Need to Look Pretty, Natural, Sexy and Awesome with Annemarie Iverson, New York Times Best Seller [67] | ( ISBN 0-06-095724-7) |
2002 | Bobbi Brown Beauty Evolution: A Guide to a Lifetime of Beauty [23] | ( ISBN 0-06-008881-8) |
2007 | Bobbi Brown Living Beauty | ( ISBN 0-8212-5834-6) |
2008 | Bobbi Brown Makeup Manual: For Everyone from Beginner to Pro | ( ISBN 0-446-58134-8) |
2010 | Bobbi Brown Beauty Rules | ( ISBN 0-811-87468-0) |
2012 | Bobbi Brown Pretty Powerful with Sara Bliss | ( ISBN 0-811-87704-3) |
2014 | Everything Eyes with Sara Bliss | ( ISBN 978-1-4521-1961-8) |
2017 | Beauty from the Inside Out [68] |
Bobbi Brown Cosmetics launched the Pretty Powerful Campaign for Women & Girls on International Women's Day in 2013. [69] Pretty Powerful supports organizations that seek to empower women through job skills training programs and girls through education. [29] [70] Beneficiaries to date include Dress for Success (of which Brown is a former board member), [71] the Broome Street Academy High School, and the Girl Rising Fund. [29] [72] [73]
Brown married executive Steven Plofker on September 10, 1988 [74] and together they have three sons. [75] They also have a daughter-in-law. [76] The family lives in Montclair, New Jersey. [77] She spends her summers in Sag Harbor of the Hamptons, New York. [78]
Her work has been featured on the covers of magazines such as Elle , Vogue , Self , and Town & Country . [5] [79] [80] [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. [81] [82] [83] 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. [84] [85] She holds honorary doctorates from Montclair State University, Fashion Institute of Technology, Monmouth University, and Emerson College. [86] [87] [88] [89] Following the release of her second makeup company in 2020, Allure magazine labeled Brown the "world’s patron saint of 'natural makeup.'" [90]
She was recognized as one of the BBC 100 Women of 2015. [91]
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