Few entrepreneurs can say they’ve built one of the most successful beauty brands in America. Bobbi Brown has built two. She’s the rare founder who created a line of lipsticks, sold it to Estée Lauder in 1995, and then—plot twist—did it all over again at 63. The day her 25-year non-compete with Estée Lauder ended, Brown launched Jones Road Beauty in 2020, a line of minimalist products designed to deliver that elusive no-makeup makeup look. So far, that second act is even more successful than the first, proving that in business—as in revenge—timing is everything.
Brown has a new memoir, Still Bobbi, that combines hard-earned business wisdom with her signature no-BS straight talk: “Shit happens,” she writes about her departure from Lauder. “Be sad. Be angry. Be hurt, relieved, scared, and in doubt. Then do something about it.” At 68, she’s both energized and grounded—powered by protein shakes, Miracle Balm, hip-hop dancing, and a life motto about self-acceptance that could also be a tagline for her makeup.
