Unlike most cosmetics houses founded by male chemists or having a vague connection to a fashion designer, Bobbi Brown is the real deal. As a teenager she was often perplexed by the standard beauty ideal of tall, blue-eyed blondes given that she is a five-foot, brown- eyed brunette. Inspired by Ali McGraw's breaking of that stereotype she set out on a life-long mission to enable women to enhance their own natural beauty rather than conform to narrow images. She had always been fascinated by the transformational power of her mother's cosmetics case and to full understand both its art and science studied for a degree in theatrical makeup in Boston. After graduating she moved to New York to work as a professional makeup artist and model but after being frustrated at not being able to achieve what she wanted with existing products began experimenting with her own.
Bobbi Brown has remained resolutely true to the unique character of those first few lipsticks and has built a spectacularly successful cosmetics house. To enable more efficient production and distribution of her range she entered into a partnership with Estee Lauder in 1995 but retains firm control over product released under her name. Her philosophy is that makeup should be quick and easy, taking no more than five minutes to apply and that beauty should be "simple, real and approachable", where the focus is on wearing makeup that is both natural-looking and self-enhancing. She has a strong emphasis on education as well, seeking to provide practical information to women rather than devise the fantasy imagery that her competitors often focus on. To this end she has written several best-selling books on beauty and make up and appears as a regular guest on Oprah.
