The secret to her essential shades is yellow: "It's all about skin colour - if a person has beautiful skin then they are attractive - so using foundations and powders to add the right, healthy colour to your skin is paramount. To me the only thing that works is yellow, which is why all my foundations and powders are yellow based." For Brown yellow works on all skin tones, "the darker the skin the more blue it has, the lighter the more red, they all have yellow, though. What goes on top of it is up to the woman."
And to Brown. "Being a makeup artists I can make quick decisions on what colours work and what don't, so I've pretty much found the best taupe, the best white, the best bone, the best moss..." Her line will never include hundreds of shade options as there "just aren't that many shades that women look good in." Brown bemoans the plethora of choice in most makeup counters, for among all the shades offered, she feels only a few are complementary, "It's not that women are bad in picking colour, there's just not a lot of availability... to me it's all about subtlety, and if you wear a red lipstick, you can be subtle by choosing the right red." Accordingly Brown adds brown to all her lipstick colours, for a muted, warm and natural look. And though her continuing career as a makeup artist might put her in touch with the latest trends, the principles of her line remain unwavering, "Vamp black lips ore beige makeup just do not look good on most faces, so I'm not going to include them just because they will sell, because in six months no one will want them - and they should't."
BOBBI BROWN - A thorough professional, New Yorker Bobbi Brown wants to show women what the 'right' kind of makeup can do for them. A makeup artist for over fifteen years, she has developed her own line of 'Essentials' based on pared down basics that are easy to use and wearable. Already established for six years, her makeup and skincare products are bestsellers in the major U.S.department stores.