Bobbi Brown is spending the Fourth of July weekend in Sag Harbor with 20 house guests — “all relatives, pregnant nieces and nephews,” she tells the Observer, sounding less like a woman under siege than a woman right where she wants to be. Outside, the East End is sweltering in a heatwave. Inside, the makeup artist, who sold her signature brand to Estée Lauder in 1995 and waited a 25-year non-competition to launch The beauty of Jones Road in 2020, it’s doing what it does best: paying close attention to what women really want.
She learned that lesson the hard way this year, when Jones Road attracted him Daily sunscreen and the customers revolted until it was returned. “My Jones Road client is very, very opinionated and very vocal,” Brown says. “I know exactly what they like, what they don’t like, what they still need.” The proof lives on Facebook, where a community called “The Roadies” — 90,000 members at last count — markets products, troubleshoots product application and scrutinizes the brand’s every move. When a new mom influencer campaign rocked the group, Brown came into her own. “I said, guys, everybody, take it easy. There’s room for everybody. New mothers are just as tired as grandmothers.”
That attention has returned Jones Road in a rarity in beauty: a brand that bypasses department stores entirely and still can’t keep up with demand. The newest outpost is in East Hampton, joining stores that stay open during the off-season everywhere from the Hamptons to Palm Beach. The surprise bestseller in the east is not sunscreen or a fresh shade – it is What a Foundationits full coverage formula. “It’s so weird,” she admits. “People just love it.” Miracle balm and mascara round out the perennial sellers.
The summer pipeline is collected: Bright spots that illuminate the skin The newly launched Miracle Balm Palette was relaunched on June 30, and a new mascara formula arrives at the end of July. She’s also signed a new deal with JP Morgan for a continuation of her podcast series – although, it seems, she’s rethinking the whole medium. I get bored easily, so I want to do something shorter,” she says. “How can I even reinvent the podcast listening thing?” From an air-conditioned room a few miles from the harbor, Brown walked the Observer through her essentials.
