REDEFINING BEAUTY

It has been said by many that the best thing that came out of the beauty industry in the past 50 years is the Bobbi Brown lipstick. A Wilmette native with nine books and two iconic brands under her belt, Bobbi is the girl next door who we all wish had never left home.

If you are on TikTok, YouTube, Instagram, or Facebook, you have undoubtedly heard of makeup titan Bobbi Brown’s newest venture, Jones Road Beauty. Incredibly, Bobbi decided that at 62 years old, “she wasn’t finished” when it came to making women feel beautiful. Her philosophy? “The world doesn’t need more makeup, it needs better, healthier options that work for everyone.” So, she launched Jones Road Beauty in 2020 at the end of a 25-year non-compete with Estée Lauder, the company that acquired her eponymous brand in 1995.

In April, Bobbi brought Jones Road to Chicago with a storefront in Bucktown. “Opening in Chicago has incredible significance for me personally and professionally. It’s not only where I grew up. It’s also where I was first encouraged to pursue a career in makeup that, over the last 40 years, has taken me across the U.S. and all over the world. I’m excited to return to my Midwestern roots, see my family and friends here, and bring Jones Road to the area.”

Jones Road is built on the idea of clean beauty. All products are paraben and sulfate-free and have no synthetic fragrances. The product range has been created to suit all ages, skin types, and skin tones, with clean, high-grade ingredients that allow women to achieve a “no-makeup makeup” look. Jones Road is high-performing makeup that is easy to use and caters to all ethnicities and ages. More importantly, Jones Road is not just a makeup brand, it is a lifestyle. Jones Road’s mission is to help women feel confident in their natural beauty. In a nutshell let go of what drives you crazy, and know your uniqueness is your power.

What also differentiates Jones Road is the personal connection Bobbi establishes with her customers through her social media videos. Bobbi’s frank, honest, and relatable interactions make her seem more like a best friend than a billion-dollar business mogul. Watch any of her videos on social media, and it is immediately clear who Bobbi Brown is as a person. She is not just a makeup guru, but an everyday, real-life woman who laughs at her own make-up “fails,” guides her followers through the process of learning to use various products, and wants to make everyone feel their very best.

“There is a lot of negative content on social media that’s about covering up your flaws and always looking perfect, whatever the cost. That’s just not my philosophy. I always focus on the positive and celebrate the differences in people’s faces. If you want to know how to contour or de-emphasize any feature you see as a flaw, you can go to YouTube and you’ll find ways to cover it up. But that’s not how I teach people to use makeup.”

“On TikTok, I’m trying to show people how to use makeup to take the attention away from what is bothering them and focus on the positive. My advice is to be happy, be kind to yourself, and set your own personal standards of beauty.”

The “Bobbi Explains” videos are “how to use” tutorials given by Bobbi herself. She discusses ingredients, product descriptions, and their correct usage. She also takes on negative reviews and corrects misconceptions. Along with makeup tutorials, Bobbi shares personal stories with a wicked sense of humor and offers unconditional support to her viewers. For Bobbi, there is no holding back. One would expect no less from someone who names a product WTF (What the Foundation). “It’s amazing. It’s like a facelift in a jar, it’s like, WTF?”

This past spring, Bobbi created the uplifting and motivational “I Am Me” video series in conjunction with the launch of a Jones Road four-piece makeup set. “I Am Me” is a video forum in which Bobbi enforces the idea that “wherever you are is where you are meant to be.” She says, “You can’t change who you are, but you can improve. You can get better, but you are who you are, and that is the important thing—know that where you are is where you are supposed to be.”

The brand has only six brick-and-mortar storefronts, but Bobbi felt Chicago was an important place for Jones Road to establish roots. “Chicago is as chic and sophisticated as Los Angeles or New York so there is no difference in what our Jones Road customers want. Regardless of where they live, women want to look like themselves on their very best day and feel confident in their skin when they leave the house. That is the whole philosophy of Jones Road, and our customers love our no makeup, makeup aesthetic.”

So, what does Bobbi do when she comes back to where it all began? “The first thing I do is call my dad, my sister Linda, and my aunt Alice. Then, I check into my hotel, unpack my clothes, and immediately go for a walk. Chicago is one of my favorite walking towns. I’ll either head to Michigan Avenue or walk along the lake. Taking a walk in my hometown always settles me and inspires me.”

As Bobbi Brown continues to redefine beauty with her clean, minimalist approach, her return to Chicago feels like a full-circle moment—reconnecting with her roots while forging a path forward. Jones Road Beauty is not just another makeup line; it’s a celebration of authenticity and self-expression. For Bobbi, this journey has always been about helping women feel their best by embracing who they truly are. Now, with a store in the city where it all began, she’s bringing that message home.

Jones Road Beauty is located at 1655 N. Damen Avenue in Chicago, 872-315-2998, jonesroadbeauty.com.