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Makeup· New Jersey, USA · Updated 14 May 2026

Bobbi Brown

The makeup artist who founded Bobbi Brown Cosmetics in 1991, sold to Estée Lauder in 1995, and worked there until 2016. After her 25-year non-compete expired, she launched Jones Road Beauty in 2020 as a clean, skin-first second act — with the Miracle Balm becoming a viral TikTok hit and the brand reportedly hitting $100M+ in revenue within its first three years.

"I wanted to do clean makeup that actually looked like good makeup."

— Bobbi Brown
Background

Bobbi Brown founded her eponymous makeup brand in 1991 with ten lipsticks designed to look like real skin tones, sold it to Estée Lauder in 1995 (reportedly ~$74.5M), and stayed on as chief creative officer through 2016. Her departure came with a 25-year non-compete.

She built the wellness brand Evolution_18 in the interim, then in 2020 — with the non-compete on color cosmetics expiring — launched Jones Road Beauty out of New Jersey. The brand was clean-formulated and explicitly designed to look like makeup, not 'no-makeup', and the Miracle Balm became a viral TikTok hit that pulled the brand into mass cultural awareness.

Jones Road has reportedly crossed $100M+ in annual revenue, expanded into skincare (including a 2024 mineral SPF launch), and entered Sephora in 2024. Brown remains hands-on as the public face and creative lead.

Philosophy

Clean makeup that still reads as makeup — not a wellness costume.

Skin first, then color — the canvas determines the brief.

Career timeline
  • 1991
    Launches Bobbi Brown Cosmetics with ten lipsticks
  • 1995
    Sells brand to Estée Lauder (reportedly ~$74.5M); stays as chief creative
  • 2016
    Departs Estée Lauder
  • 2020
    Launches Jones Road Beauty
  • 2024
    Jones Road launches in Sephora; expands SPF/skincare line
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