The ultimate BOBBI DAZZLER

It is 25 years since BOBBI BROWN appeared in YOU with her debut collection of lipsticks. Now she’s a multimillionaire businesswoman at the top of the global beauty industry. She shares with Josephine Fairley her secrets and shortcuts to happiness – and he

In the 25 years since she launched a collection of lipsticks in New York’s Bergdorf Goodman and pioneered the ‘make-up artist make-up range’ concept – enabling women to ‘look and feel like themselves, only prettier’, as her mantra declared – Bobbi Brown’s feet have remained on terra firma. (Maybe it’s the sneakers – more of which later.)

Yes, she’s a multimillionaire, having sold her company to Estée Lauder in 1995. Sure, she was appointed by President Obama to his Advisory Committee for Trade Policy and Negotiations in 2010, has written eight books and appeared on everything from The Oprah Winfrey Show to Good Morning America.

Very little about Bobbi has changed in the (almost) quarter- century since I first interviewed her for YOU – the first article to feature Bobbi and her make-up in the UK, which drew such a massive response that YOU readers froze the switchboard at Harrods. Bobbi can crack up a room like a stand-up comic and is always the first to poke fun at herself. (Her Instagram is peppered with pint-sized Bobbi next to basketball stars and other giants she’s encountered.) And not only is Bobbi one of the savviest people in business – she turned a $5,000 investment into a $1 billion turnover across 73 countries – but this is a woman committed to helping us feel better about ourselves. Not merely with a flick of her iconic Longwear Gel Eyeliner, a pop of Pot Rouge, or a dab of Sheer Lip Color, but on a deeper level via her Pretty Powerful Campaign for Women & Girls – her charity aimed at empowering women of all ages via education and work experience.

Vibrantly healthy, un-Botoxed or ‘lifted’, married for 28 years to property developer Steven Plof ker, mother to sons Dylan, Dakota (‘Cody’) and Duke – whose ages range from 18 to 26 – she has life sussed. Not in a don’t-hate-me-because-I’m-perfect way, but through self-discovery and finding out what works.

Turn the page for Bobbi’s tips for leading a happy life…

There is no such thing as balance. When people realise that they’ll be happier

Opposite: Bobbi in her New York studio. Right: with actress and Prince Harry’s girlfriend Meghan Markle. From top: Bobbi Brown bestsellers Pot Rouge, Sheer Lip Color and Longwear Gel Eyeliner