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bb:
I don't. I don't at all. It's just been a bad couple
weeks. In the past month-and this is very unusual-I
was in Paris and London. I had press in both places,
but I traveled with my three children, my husband, my
nephew, and my in-laws. I don't like traveling with
nannies so I brought my mother-in-law and father-in-law
to help. It was really exhausting for me but fun. Then
I came back and did an overnight in Texas, and then
a day trip in Boston, and a couple days in Chicago which
I brought the baby on, but that was all my traveling
for the whole season.
jj:
Did you travel a lot when you were working as a freelance
makeup artist?
bb:
Yes, I did a lot. I did so many location trips. I'm
the kind of person who loves being home. I come home
from work, I put my shorts on, I go in the garden or
play with the kids. I'm much more about that than getting
dressed up and going out places. When you travel you're
so out of your routine. You're on some island, and they
get you up at five in the morning to work, and you're
with the same people until ten o'clock at night. There's
no downtime, you can't exercise, you can't even watch
TV or make phone calls because you're in some exotic
resort. It
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Rosalind Landis, who was working in public relations
at a cosmetics company, and I asked her to be my partner.
We put up some cash, not very much, about $5,000 each.
Bergdorf Goodman took a chance on us and let us set
up a display table. We had 100 lipsticks and sold them
all in the first day. Soon we were in Neiman Marcus
and we started expanding the line.
jj:
When you got an offer from Estee Lauder for your fast-growing
five-year-old company, you decided to take it; was that
hard to do?
bb:
Actually it wasn't hard at all. I've never had second
thoughts. The offer came as a surprise. I got a call
one day saying Mr. Lauder wanted to meet with me . .
. and he made an offer, which was a really good offer.
It was like being courted by somebody who thinks you're
special. It's quite a compliment. Plus, I really respect
Leonard Lauder as a person and a businessman. Once we
got through all the negotiations, I was elated, and
then, I guess the day after, I thought, "My God, I gave
up my baby." But the day after that it got better. It
helped with the international distribution, the creative,
the
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sounds
so romantic, but it's really lonely. You don't even
look around to see where you are because you're just
so tired. You know, I turned 30. I was engaged. I called
my fiance from one trip in tears, and he said, "Don't
do it anymore." Then I got a call from Bruce Weber to
do a two-week Ralph Lauren advertisement. I remember
being totally conflicted. It was a ton of money and
I didn't have money at the time. It was a big job and
what I had been working my whole career for, and I just
looked at my husband and said, "I'm not doing it." Then,
of course, after a while those jobs stop coming in.
jj:
How did you get started on your career in makeup?
bb:
I studied theatrical makeup at Emerson College in Boston.
I knew I wanted to do something with makeup, but I didn't
really know what. And I knew I did not want to go to
beauty school. After college I waitressed for a year
and then I moved to New York. I tried to get into the
movies and TV which was really hard, so I started doing
fashion on the side, and I got hooked. I realized that
was what I really wanted to do.
jj:
What did you learn along the way that could help aspiring
makeup artists?
bb:
I learned it's very much about having a vision of where
you want to be. You need to have a goal. One of my big
goals-which I didn't know if it was attainable or not-was
having a Vogue cover. That's where I wanted to end up.
My mini goal was to be able to work as a freelance makeup
artist for magazines and make money to pay my rent.
And it took over a year before I got my very first job.
I think it was with Self magazine. I did test pictures
and pursued it, and it's just a matter of going in,
asking who's in charge, meeting the people, and finally
someone takes a chance on you. I ended up getting my
Vogue cover seven years later.
jj:
Did you have business experience when you launched your
makeup company?
bb:
God, no. I'm the kind of person who could never balance
a checkbook, but what I did have that was helpful was
a realistic view of the world. It was clear to me what
was not happening in the cosmetics business and in women's
beauty drawers. I knew there was something missing and
that women didn't need all that stuff, and what they
had didn't make them look any better; it made them look
worse.
jj:
When you started your business did you have a goal of
creating a multi-million dollar company?
bb:
Oh, absolutely not! I never in a million years would
have thought that would happen. I'm a very simple person,
and I'm really direct. The first thing I wanted to do
was create a lipstick for me because I could never find
a lipstick I liked. So I created my very first lipstick,
my #4 which is called Brown. It's a pinky brown which
looks like lip color. Models and people in the salon
would beg me for it. So I said, "Well, maybe I'll start
with one lipstick and sell it." Then I sat down and
started visualizing what colors would make sense on
different women-all the women I knew-and I came up with
my concept, which was my lipsticks 1 to 10. If a woman
bought all these colors, she could blend to get any
color in the universe-any wearable color. That's how
it started.
jj:
How did you arrange the production end?
bb:
That was a rough spot. I found a chemist in some little
town somewhere-we never even met, it was all by phone.
Our idea was to split the
profits. We'd sell the lipstick for $15; he'd get $7.50,
I'd get $7.50. He paid for the production, there
was no overhead, so it was a good deal. Then I called
my friend
who was the Beauty Editor at Glamour, Leslie Jane Seymour
(she's now the Editor-in-Chief of Redbook), and she
wrote about it
in her beauty pages with an 800 number and I got bombarded
with calls. I thought I had a great idea, but I knew
I needed help. I had a friend,
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marketing. They're happy to offer advice, but they don't
dictate what I do. I still run the company. Sometimes
I forget that I don't own my company anymore.
jj:
Now, with three kids, how do you manage to balance business
and family?
bb:
I've had to work hard at it. I had my third son this
year [cries of "Mom!" in the background]. Oh and here
they come . . . [Bobbi excuses herself briefly to calm
the troops who have just arrived from school]. I know
what I want to do and what I don't want to do. I have
a project development person, incredible public relations
people, the world's best personal assistant, great help
in the house; they take care of the house so I can be
with the kids. I've had to figure out what's important
to me. And I know not everyone has the option of having
help, so I realize I'm lucky.
jj:
You still seem to be backstage working a bunch of shows.
How many did you do this spring?
bb:
I try to be at as many as I can because the shows are
an incredible love for me. I did about six to ten.
jj:
How many makeup artists work with the Bobbi Brown team
and how do you select them?
bb:
There are three directors under me and about 12 makeup
artists on the team. Personality is definitely important
to me. I choose the people I enjoy working with.
jj:
What's new at Bobbi Brown Essentials right now?
bb:
We've just come out with a kid's line. There are five
really soothing, amazing, luxurious formulas, with the
freshest smell I've ever smelled-that just-out-of-the-shower
smell.
jj:
Who are your favorite faces in the business?
bb:
Models come and go so fast, but one of my all-time favorites
is Christy Turlington because she is beyond beautiful,
but you forget how beautiful she is when you're with
her because she's so nice. And I have the same feeling
about Brooke Shields.
jj:
Do you ever encounter attitude problems with models?
bb:
Yes, models, for the most part, are really young, and
they're insecure, and sometimes attitudes come from
insecurity. I don't like people who have attitudes.
I just have no patience for that.
jj:
Unfortunately, our industry has an incredible amount
of patience for that.
bb:
I'm sure being nice has held some people back-myself
included-sometimes, but I just think, for me, being
nice equates to being happy.
jj:
Would you let your kid model?
bb:
I'm 5 feet tall, so there's not much chance of that,
but, no, I wouldn't want my kids to be in a business
which is judged on physical appearance. I wouldn't encourage
it.
jj:
What are the model trends you're seeing this year?
bb:
Not as skinny, more attractive, prettier.
jj:
Makeup trends?
bb:
Makeup is getting prettier and is staying prettier.
The biggest trend in makeup is that there are no trends.
The same pinky colors that you wear in the spring and
summer, you'd wear in the fall if they look good on
your skin. For me, the trend for the millennium is that
you'll find the style and colors you like and you'll
stick with them. You won't try to be someone you're
not.
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