AILSA CHANG, HOST:
Every week, a guest draws a card from NPR's Wild Card deck and answers a big question about their life. Bobbi Brown has found huge success as a makeup artist, business mogul and TikTok star. In her latest book, "Still Bobbi," she's looking back on her life. And on Wild Card, she spoke with Rachel Martin about creating a brand that changed the beauty industry with its simplicity.
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RACHEL MARTIN: What's a piece of advice you were smart to ignore?
BOBBI BROWN: Oh, that no one needs another makeup company.
MARTIN: (Laughter).
BROWN: I - when I told someone I was going to start a makeup company, this guy said, the world doesn't need another cosmetics company. And he could have been right, but I proved him wrong.
MARTIN: How young were you at the time?
BROWN: I actually started doing a line of lipsticks when I was - when I had my first baby. So I was 32 when my first baby was born. So I would be on the phone with editors, giving tips - how to wear makeup and look fabulous - as my newborn baby was throwing up on top of me and trying to pretend I didn't have a baby, right?
MARTIN: Oh, right. Yeah.
BROWN: That I was just this fabulous person...
MARTIN: Right.
BROWN: ...You know, who...
MARTIN: That was the time you didn't...
BROWN: Right.
MARTIN: ...Advertise motherhood. No, no, no, no, no.
BROWN: And I was living in the suburbs of New Jersey. Why would Vogue write about, you know, someone living in the suburbs?
MARTIN: And part of your origin story is that you were making makeup that wasn't - I mean, you had all this experience working in high fashion and doing these amazing elaborate photo shoots with lots of makeup, where you focus on the makeup. And your whole thing was like, what if we just didn't do that? What if we just, like, minimized it? Which is - was revolutionary at the time. Now we take it for granted because everyone is like, natural, natural, natural. But it was a huge deal when you did that.
BROWN: Yeah, I remember there was a cover of a magazine I did where I don't know even what got into me. No one discussed it. I just did her makeup. I put a pencil inside her eye, and I took a bronzer, and I kind of put it all over her face - on her lips, on her cheeks, on her eyes - gave her some mascara. And, oh, my God, she looked so pretty. I mean, this girl must have been 19 years old.
MARTIN: Right.
BROWN: And they shot the picture. Oh, Bobbi, it's so beautiful. And it became a cover. And I was, like, thrilled. And I remember showing it to a top makeup artist. Look at my cover. What do you think? And he says, oh, that's not makeup that's going to - that people want. If you do makeup like that, you're not going to work in this town.
MARTIN: Also, we should say - men? I mean, there's a lot of men telling...
BROWN: Men.
MARTIN: ...You...
BROWN: Yes.
MARTIN: ...How to do makeup...
BROWN: Right.
MARTIN: ...And what women want.
BROWN: Men in suits.
MARTIN: Men in suits telling you...
BROWN: Men in really nice suits, yeah. There was token women, but they were mostly men. You know, there were token women, and then there was a lot of women, you know, that just - and a lot of men that just said yes. Yes, lot of - I was kind of the one that said, no, I don't think that's right. I don't think people want that. I don't think people need that, you know? And let me figure out what the needs are in the market that you're asking me for, and let me try to do it my way.
CHANG: And you can watch that full conversation with Bobbi Brown by searching for Wild Card with Rachel Martin on YouTube. Her new book, "Still Bobbi," is out now. Transcript provided by NPR, Copyright NPR.
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