Bobbi Brown's Top Makeup Hacks For Achieving A More Vibrant Complexion

The beauty industry has become densely populated with an endless parade of brands popping up. What once was a simple market of a few household names everyone turned to, has now spiraled into a vast array of options to meet needs and price points. Regardless of how many new brands step onto the scene, the icons remain iconic. 

New labels need time to earn brand loyalty and respect. While they offer something new and shiny that garners a lot of attention, no matter how much you experiment you still find yourself repurchasing your trusty foundation from the same company you've been shopping from for years. Brand loyalty is an intricate and tricky thing to achieve in the beauty industry; they attempt to strive for it by using influencer endorsements or rewarding loyalty programs, per Vogue Business. 

However, OG beauty companies have tapped into building a relationship with their consumers over the years, providing a quality product that consistently works well and keeps them coming back for more. One of the top lines to have successfully maintained this loyalty is Bobbi Brown Cosmetics. When Bobbi Brown first launched a range of lipsticks in 1991, she never could have imagined the success the brand would have today, even launching a second brand Jones Road Beauty, per Allure. "I don't know a lot, but one thing I think I know is formula. I just get it," Brown proudly shared. Brown is not only a formula expert but also a complexion expert.

While Bobbi Brown Cosmetics has had its fair share of brand-new product releases over recent years, Bobbi Brown has curated a smaller collection than most brands by providing staple high-quality products fans keep coming back for. Starting off her career as a professional makeup artist, Brown had a deeper understanding of how makeup products should work, per Into The Gloss. She also had a vision of her own to create a range of minimalist makeup products that would form a basic collection. 

Brown's main priority was keeping her formulas lightweight to achieve the natural look she coveted throughout her career: "I want to be part of showing people how good they could look without it. Even if you wear a red lip or a cat-eye or whatever, the rest of you doesn't need to look like you've caked on anything," she told Allure. Brown wanted women to feel confident in the skin they're in but have solid makeup products they could play with to emphasize their natural beauty.

Three decades later, Brown has successfully built the brand she dreamed of, and with it came a loyal following who trusts Brown with their complexions. The best part of Bobbi Brown Cosmetics is it's not just another brand. Brown is always educating her customers and sharing her professional tips and tricks. Here are a few of the "natural makeup" icon's tips for achieving a more vibrant complexion.  

Bobbi Brown has always been the first to share her favorite tips and tricks when it comes to using her products as well as achieving a natural-looking complexion. While speaking with Mind Body Green's Beauty Director, Alexandra Engler, on her podcast "Clean Beauty School," Brown gave her top tips for achieving a more vibrant complexion. 

"You have to start with your skin," Brown insisted as she explained the importance of the base of your makeup. You could use the best products, but you will never achieve that natural glow if you're piling it onto your dry skin. Hydration begins from within, Brown explained. "Eating right and treating it [your skin] with the best-quality things possible for you. This makes a big difference."

Once you have your inner hydration in check, it's time to get into your skincare routine before brushing on any foundation. "Most important is a good moisturizer. I think of moisturizer not just as something that's going to change my skin over time, but I want it to make my skin look instantly better too," Brown explained to Engler as she added, "Some days I put moisturizer on — and I layer a couple of them on — and then I look in the mirror, 'I'm like, oh my God, I look so much better.' Because guess what? I was probably dehydrated." This is specifically why Brown formulated her hit product the Vitamin Enriched Face Base which is sold every 32 seconds, per Estee Lauder Companies.

Now that your skin is all prepped, it's time to keep that same glow going as you apply your makeup products. Bobbi Brown's favorite tip to building a natural glowy complexion is playing with pops of light: "I'm all about the light," she shared on Clean Beauty School. Brown's second brand, Jones Road Beauty, has a range of Miracle Balms that come in seven shimmery shades that Brown explained she loves to play with to build a complexion with brighter high points, "I use multiple at a time: I wear shimmery pale color on my eyes, but then one with more color on my face."

When it comes to highlighting, Brown is a big fan of not overdoing it but choosing to delegate your highlighter to the spots that would pop naturally. Speaking to Elle about changing contouring trends she explained, "If you want to highlight, I always tell people to find the most flattering feature on your face and add a little sparkle or shine there."

The base isn't the only place Brown likes to add pops of light. She explained to Into The Gloss, "Instead of doing a lip if I'm going to an event, I'll do a smoky eye with lots of sparkle — not shimmer. The difference is they're bigger particles that are flat cut, and so they just look so cool."

Once you've achieved that perfect natural-looking complexion Bobbi Brown is such a huge proponent of, it's time to have fun. Just because Brown likes to keep things simple, doesn't mean she isn't a fan of a bit of drama. In fact, when formulating her first launch of lipsticks a big priority was getting the pops of color right. "I met a chemist and I asked him to make me this lipstick I had been thinking of," she told Into The Gloss. "I told him, I want to make the best red, the best orange, the best beige — and we did." 

Brown shared her top tip on "Clean Beauty School" for getting your complexion to appear a little more vibrant and brightening up your whole look: "I think everyone looks better with blush. So whether it's just a bit of color or a brighter shade, that's up to you." To find the perfect shade, pinch your cheeks and then match that, she shared with Into The Gloss.

As for her personal go-to when it comes to adding color either to your lips, eyes, or base, Brown is funnily enough all about browns as she explained to Into The Gloss: "I think browns are the easiest for people to wear — but there are different types of brown. Personally, I like cool browns, but that doesn't work for everyone."