KEEP IT CLEAN
Having changed the way women approach beauty with her eponymous brand, BOBBI BROWN keeps her revolutionary spirit alive and continues to shape the skincare landscape with her new appointment as chief creative advisor to Augustinus Bader. ZANETA CHENG reports
BOBBI BROWN MIGHT be a celebrity in the beauty industry but the make-up guru remains more determined than ever to play a role in shaping its present and future. After making her name promoting “beauty from the inside out”, Brown has evolved with the times, educating women and men about make-up and skincare on social media through her new brand Jones Road and, more recently, through her appointment as chief creative advisor to Augustinus Bader.
It started in 2016, when Brown departed her eponymous beauty brand after 25 years. With time on her hands, she decided to go back to school to become a certified health coach. It was off the back of promoting her ninth book, Beauty from the Inside Out, and a time when Brown was slowly moving away from beauty and delving into the effects of nutrition and wellness.
“Promoting that book is really what put me on my new entrepreneurial path,” Brown says. After she attained certification, Masterclass called and asked Brown to teach make-up, which reconnected the make-up artist to her roots. Thus, Jones Road was born. Somewhere along the way, Brown also came across the Rich Cream, Augustinus Bader’s signature cream containing TFC8, a patented and formulated technology comprising natural amino acids, highgrade vitamins and synthesised molecules found in skin that supports the skin’s innate potential for cellular renewal. In other words, the perfect clean, high- grade formulated skincare to go alongside Jones Road, which also propounds clean ingredients.
As a #legend in the skincare and make-up world, what is it about the beauty industry that intrigues you?
During my freelance make-up career, I worked with supermodels and actresses who were all so beautiful and thin. I’m five foot tall and have always struggled with my weight so I wanted to understand how they always looked so great. A lot of it was genetics. And yes, it was also make-up, but it was the people who watched what they ate and took really good care of themselves that looked better than everyone else. I finally realised that wellness for me means understanding what worked best for my body and what made me feel good in my own skin. When I take care of my skin, eat intuitively, drink plenty of water and exercise every day, I feel my best.
You’re well known for advocating “beauty from the inside out”. How will you integrate this belief into Augustinus Bader?
I’ve always believed that looking and feeling your best goes beyond just make-up; how we treat our bodies also matters – and your skin is the largest organ in the body. The philosophy of Augustinus Bader and the technology in the products like TFC8 is about supporting the pillars of healthy skin – cell nutrition and energy. This resonates with me especially as a certified Integrated Nutrition coach and I bring this knowledge with me as I work with the brand. On a personal level, I like to eat a lot of delicious, colourful foods, stay serious about hydration and move my body every day.
What prompted this collaboration between you and Augustinus Bader?
All the projects I’m involved in happen organically and authentically. I learned about Augustinus Bader through their CFO David Nass, who was my CFO during all the years that I was at Bobbi. He’s the guy that taught me everything I needed to know about business. He went to work with Bader and sent me the Rich Cream, which was a game changer. I honestly have tried almost every cream and this was the greatest thing. I saw an instant difference the first time I used it and I’ve been hooked ever since. So I’m thrilled to now make it official and become their chief creative advisor – I’m very excited to partner with this team to continue helping them innovate the future of beauty and wellness.