She began her career as a professional makeup artist in New York in the late 80s. At the time, a dramatic—some might say garish—look was all the rage, but Bobbi Brown believed in a more subtle interpretation of female beauty. In 1991, she launched a collection of 10 lipsticks at Bergdorf Goodman, and by 1995, her brand, Bobbi Brown Essentials, had been acquired by Estée Lauder. For the next 21 years, Brown built a globally successful business based around the notion that women want to look like themselves—with just a minimal amount of enhancement. In 2016, she stepped down from the business, launched an e-commerce site, and renovated a hotel in her hometown of Montclair, New Jersey. But her dueling loves of the industry and the environment took her on yet another entrepreneurial adventure, with Jones Road, a tightly edited line of clean beauty products that she launched late last year. Herewith, Brown’s key components to the good life. —Ashley Baker
Airline: Virgin.
Airport: Heathrow.
App: Instagram.
Bag: My old Prada fanny pack.
Bedtime: 9:30 P.M., with my bathrobe on.
Bike: Beach cruiser.
Birthday: Spent in the Bahamas with my posse.
Breakfast, weekday: A chocolate-and-kale protein shake.
Breakfast, weekend: Poached eggs, sourdough toast, and a double espresso.
Car: Range Rover.
Children: My three boys.
Cocktail: Vodka or tequila on the rocks, but not at the same time.
Cocktail appetizer: Sliced cucumber and caviar.
Couple: My aunt Alice and uncle Albert.
Date: Somewhere in Paris with my husband.
Diet: Eating intuitively without processed foods.
Dinner, weekday: Fish, vegetables, a grain, and vodka.
Dinner, weekend: Burger, no bun, fries, and a martini with three olives.
Disguise: My mask.
Dress: Jeans and a navy sweater.
Drive: Along the coast, anywhere.
Escape: My Sunlighten infrared sauna.
Fitness plan: Walking 12,000-plus steps a day.
Flaw: I’m a worrier.
Friends: Those that feel like family.
Hideaway: My bedroom.
Hotel: The George, in Montclair, New Jersey.
Jacket: A Chanel blazer. It always works.
Last Meal: Steak tartare, well-done french fries, cheese with French bread, and a martini.
Movie: Saturday Night Fever.
Name: Ruby.
Neighbor: My friends.
Nonfiction book: The Color of Water.
Novel: Memoirs of a Geisha.
Pair of pants: Levi’s 501 jeans.
Piece of advice: “Just do it.”
Podcast: How I Built This, with Guy Raz.
Presidents: Barack Obama and Joe Biden.
Restaurant: Scott’s, in London.
Ride: When my husband drives and I get to zone out.
Saying: “I’ve got this.”
Shoes: APL sneakers.
Singer: Biggie Smalls.
Spouse: Steven Plofker, my husband of 32-plus years.
SECOND SPOUSE: I’ll keep the first.
Television series: Schitt’s Creek.
Theme song to your life:
“It Was All a Dream,” by Biggie Smalls.
Time of day: Early morning.
Toast: Sourdough.
Vacation: It’s a toss-up between the Bahamas and Europe.
View: The ocean.
Wake-up time: 6:15 a.m.
Weekend bag: My Louis Vuitton backpack.
Work of art: My children.
Bobbi’s Essentials
