Welcome to Take the Edge Off, a series that breaks down the beauty and self-care routines of influencers, CEOs, experts, and celebrities. Find out how they unwind and decompress, while taking a closer look at the holy grail essentials they're currently raving about.
Whether you've picked up a few tips from one of her best-selling books, or are a newly cemented Jones Road fan, one thing is clear: celebrity makeup artist and entrepreneur Bobbi Brown is a living legend.
More than 25 years after selling her first and eponymous cosmetics brand to conglomerate Estée Lauder, Brown is charting a new path in beauty, amid endless TikTok rabbit holes and celebrity brand launches. “I just didn’t feel done. Not only do I love being a makeup artist, I love being a teacher. I love the creative process of marketing and product development, and I missed it,” the artist previously told BAZAAR.com of her newest cult-favorite brand. While the brand's Miracle Balm has consistently been a runaway hit, Brown tells me over Zoom that the multi-purpose Hippie Stick is one of its dark horses. "I know there are others, but that's the one that pops up in my mind first," she notes.
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Jones Road's brand ethos centers around the idea that the world doesn't need more beauty products, just better ones, which is why the company prides itself on delivering cleaner, more effective formulas to its consumers. "Jones Road was born from a search for something that didn't yet exist. Because it didn't exist, I had to create it," she says in a statement. "What I wanted was the makeup equivalent of a Swiss Army Knife: easy, cool, multi-purpose products that could be used to nail any look, whether it be no-makeup makeup or something with more drama." It could also be said that Brown, herself, is the equivalent of a Swiss Army Knife: part iconic backstage artist, part beauty brand pioneer, and now, part grandma.
"Oh my god, it's the greatest thing in the world," she gushes about her newest and arguably most favorite title of grandmother. "And you know, the thought that I even am that is so bizarre, like, how I got here so fast, but it's so cool. She's just the easiest and best baby—it's different from having your own kid, it's very different."
Ahead, we chat more with the makeup legend for the full scope of her holy-grail self-care process, which includes de-stressing Epsom salt soaks, and plenty of swatches of Miracle Balm. Read on for a closer look at the makeup legend's simplified yet impactful routine.
What are you reading these days?
Well right now at my table, I'm reading all sorts of printouts and papers for work, because I am that person that has my assistant print things out. But right now next to my bed, I'm reading a book that's actually really hard to read—it's called Aftershock: Reinventing Myself One Piece at a Time, which is written by my stepsister Penny Fisher about her undiagnosed illness that ended up being toxic shock. But it was so far gone that she lost two of her limbs and two of her fingers. I didn't live through it, I wasn't there, but she came out with a book and it's just terrifying, and it happens. Her resilience is incredible.
Penny Fisher Aftershock: Reinventing Myself One Piece at a Time
What are some of your go-to bath and/or shower products?
Epsom salt—there's nothing like an Epsom salt bath—it helps get magnesium in your body, helps you relax. And you cannot wash it off—like how after a bath some people jump in the shower? No, leave it on your skin, get into your clean pajamas, and just go to bed. So, that's my favorite thing. I also love a good loofah and a really good scrub, and so, I found something that's better than a loofah from Williams Sonoma—it's a big potato glove. On my legs and my feet especially, it just totally allows me to get all those loose things off on dry skin. Just don't use it on your baked potato, please, after using it on your skin.
Williams Sonoma Microplane Cut Resistant Glove (Set of 2)
What beauty or self-care products do you use on a regular basis to help combat Zoom fatigue?
I realized that the more water I get into my body, the less tired I am. I also try to take breaks, try to breathe more often, and I usually have one of the Miracle Balms around, especially Magic Hour and Golden Hour that has a little shimmer in it. They just give me luminosity that helps, but it's so much about drinking water. But it's hard to do: I'm always working on tricks, and I've found for me that warm water goes down more quickly than cold or room temperature. So, I start a teapot in the morning and just keep refilling my cup all day. I drink Celestial Seasonings peppermint tea, and a ginger tea I found that's really strong and helps with digestion.
Do you have a favorite hand sanitizer, soap, and/or cream right now?
I've been using Dr. Bronner's Peppermint Soap ever since I can remember, it's my favorite. I have it in every shower and every bathroom. I also use the Augustinus Bader Hand Treatment—it happens to be a nice hand cream, not too heavy.
Do you ever light a candle or stick of incense to decompress? If so, what are some of your favorites?
I don't do candles, because I once was at a home in Colorado where a candle caused a fire. I have such a sensitive nose, and I kept smelling something burning, and my husband kept saying, "You're just making it up, go to bed." And I finally fell back asleep and eventually woke up again to a fire in my log cabin from a candle that we didn't blow out. I froze, and screamed my husband's name, and he threw it outside in the snow and saved my entire sleeping family. So, I don't light them regularly.
I'm also really sensitive to scents that aren't natural. Some of my favorite smells are walking into the house, and my son making something with garlic, or in the wintertime I'll take cinnamon and make apple cider, and that smells the house up. I like that better.
What was the last beauty product you put on today?
What was the first one? The only one I put on today was a sunscreen: Supergoop Play. And the only other product I have on was from a meeting I had with my product development and marketing team about a launch that's happening in March. Without giving too much away, I put that on my skin to show them how it works on Zoom.
Supergoop! Play Everyday Lotion SPF 50 with Sunflower Extract
Are you into bold makeup, no makeup, or no-makeup makeup right now, and why?
No makeup-makeup, 100 percent. I'm doing a Zoom at five o'clock, and I'll probably put some Miracle Balm on and maybe something under my eyes, but I'm not going to do anything else.
What's the last fitness class you streamed or attended in person?
Hip-hop! I do two of them remotely, hip-hop with Lloyd out of D*FIT, and then my trainer Mark does weights with me. And I'm surprisingly sore, because I didn't use heavy weights, but he just made me do a lot of squats of things so I'm like, yeah, I feel that.
What's one piece of self-care advice you'd recommend to our readers?
Stopping when you don't even realize that you need to. If you can't do it because you're in the middle of a big meeting or something, just visually do it. Push yourself back, stop. And that might just allow you to continue to go forward.
Tiffany Dodson is currently the associate beauty commerce editor at Harper’s Bazaar, where she specializes in trend forecasting, building relationships with major and emerging brands, and crafting shopping stories—from holiday gift guides to product road tests. Tiffany's work has previously been featured in outlets like SELF, Bustle, and Teen Vogue, and she's been quoted as a commerce and beauty expert in publications and platforms like The Business of Fashion and NPR’s Life Kit podcast.
