How make-up mogul Bobbi Brown bounced back with Jones Road Beauty after selling her namesake brand – which came with a tricky 25-year non-compete – and why she is ‘clapping back’ at TikTokers
Make-up artist Bobbi Brown sold her brand to Estée Lauder in 1995
With cosmetics line Jones Road Beauty sales having tripled last year and the brand going viral multiple times on video sharing platform TikTok, it is safe to say that Bobbi Brown is back in beauty with a bang.
Utter the American entrepreneur’s name in any beauty circle and the level of adoration for the MUA is overwhelming – and for good reason.
The beauty mogul founded her namesake brand Bobbi Brown Cosmetics in 1991 and it quickly rose to become the go-to make-up range for celebrities and the general public alike.
Four years later, Brown sold her company to beauty conglomerate Estée Lauder for a reported US$74.5m, which saw her become a multimillionaire at the age of just 38.
Although Brown stayed on as Chief Creative Officer, helping to develop products and turn the brand into the multi-billion empire we know today, her story is not without its complications.
At the time of selling, in 1995, Brown signed a 25-year non-compete clause, believing she would be happy working under the Estée Lauder umbrella until she retired.
“I was like, I am going to be in my sixties when the non-compete is up and I am not going to want to work in my sixties,” she says. “Well, I was wrong.” ...
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