She is famed for doing the cover looks of magazines like Vogue, Cosmopolitan, Glamour and Self, and has created the beauty looks for fashion shows of top designers, among them Michael Kors, Vera Wang, Joan Vass and Cynthia Rowley. She is also as likely to be found in photo shoots doing makeup for supermodels Naomi Campbell, Christie Turlington and Kate Moss and superstars Susan Sarandon, Meg Ryan, Phoebe Cates, Andie MacDowell, among others.
Her books entitled Bobbi Brown Beauty and Bobbi Brown Teenage Beauty have made her an all-around beauty and style guru, unafraid to share secrets, even teaching makeup etiquette, techniques for chemotherapy and camouflage makeup and how to become a make-up artist.
And now Bobbi Brown has come to the Philippines. Find her – or more specifically, her extensive line of makeup and skincare products called Bobbi Brown Essentials (BBE, for short) – exclusively at Rustan’s Department Store. The name obviously rings a bell with Manila’s fashionable women. They have been crowding the counters for one-on-ones with Fenn A.J., studio manager of Bobbi Brown Professional Cosmetics International, and his team of makeup artists, who were in town recently. Fenn and company are based in Singapore, but not to worry, manning the BBE front will be the Filipino makeup artists and consultants whom Fenn trained while in Manila.
So what makes Bobbi Brown different from other beauty and skincare products?
Let’s hear it from Fenn.
In the first place, Bobbi Brown is about style, not about trends. Trends come and go. Style endures. Bobbi herself in her book explains that her beauty style is modern, pared-down and realistic. "It is makeup that is superwearable, long-lasting and easy to apply. It is about a face that is pretty, not because it is perfectly painted or artfully spackled but because it is smooth, natural and healthy-looking. It is products that do not mask or disguise your own natural good looks, ethnicity or skin tone. My beauty mission is to help women appreciate their own unique features, not those of a flawless supermodel or a breathtakingly beautiful actress. I want every woman to develop her own beauty style."
So don’t ask Fenn what’s in or what’s new in cosmetics and skincare. He will tell you that BBE makeup is a modern collection of sophisticated shades – a whole spectrum for palest porcelain to darkest expresso – which can be used individually or blended, to create a wide range of effects to suit personal style, mood and occasion.
"Of course, we continue to expand our lines," adds Fenn, "in keeping with what is fashionable for the season. You can mix and match them with the basics, or play around with them, to achieve whatever look you want. We give you all the options you need to create your own unique beauty style, to suit the time or the occasion."
Fenn will also inform you that Bobbi Brown discovered that almost all women have yellow undertones in their skin, and so she created her foundations and powders with a yellow base that look natural on the face. Other products in the market are predominantly pink-based, so this sets BBE apart from the crowd. In fact, it’s the BBE signature.
Another plus of BBE is that while the products are technologically-advanced and dermatologically-tested, they are uncomplicated and simple to use. In the skincare line, there are makeup removers (regular and waterproof), cleansers for all skin types; moisturizers; eye cream and eye gel; masks for face and hands; revivifying balms for dry or dehydrated skin and for sun protection – all easily applied, quickly, gently and easily. In the makeup line, the range is wide and encompasses every skin tone. Again, all the options for the look you want are at your fingertips.
To find your correct skin tone, Fenn will apply a small amount of perhaps two shades or a blending on the side of your face. The right one literally "disappears" into your skin. Everything follows from there: A yellow-based creamy concealer; stick foundation (Tip: Fenn says you don‘t have to apply foundation on your neck) or oil-free liquid (light or rich formulae) foundation with SPF 15 sun protection; cream or compact foundation; face powder and pressed powder; blushes; bronzing stick, gel and powder for that sun-kissed look (great for achieving that summer look sans sun); regular and shimmer eyeshadows; eye pencils and gels; mascara; lip colors, gloss, stain, balm and liner.
And to make it all the easier to apply, BBE has a complete array of brushes to do all the make-up tasks, and bag and organizers from studio case to carry-all traveler. The brushes are made of hand-cut natural bristles with birchwood handles engraved with the particular function of the brush. The right applicator, stresses Fenn, is what makes the difference between a poorly-made face and one that’s smooth and flawless-looking.
Furthermore, BBE also has a signature fragrance called, what else but "Bobbi." The lady isn’t far from through yet. Happily married, with two young sons, Bobbi has come up with a simple collection of infant skincare products called Baby Essentials. And if you’re thinking it’s only infants and the young that BBE is meant for, perish the thought. Fenn assures that BBE’s target market is "everybody."
Perhaps that’s the real secret of Bobbi Brown and how she has risen in 20 years from her humble beginnings – a young girl from a Chicago suburb, freshly graduated with a degree in theatrical makeup from Emerson College, Boston, pounding the pavements of New York City for a job – to head of her own cosmetics empire and one of the world’s leading make-up artists today. Bobbi Brown has obviously drawn from her own experiences as a working woman, juggling career and family, to create products that satisfy her needs and the needs of women of all colors, ages, sizes, races, everywhere. Bobbi Brown, indeed, would seem to be Everywoman.