Bobbi Brown Says It Was a ‘Good Thing’ She Got Fired From Her Namesake Brand

Bobbi Brown, 68, says being fired from her namesake model at Estée Lauder pressured her to go away a job she was sad in.

On Thursday’s episode of “Aspire with Emma Grede,” the entrepreneur mirrored on how her exit from Estée Lauder grew to become a turning level in her profession.

“I obtained fired, which is an efficient factor. And I did not know what I used to be going to do. It was the primary time in so a few years,” Brown advised podcast host Emma Grede.

Brown based Bobbi Brown Cosmetics in 1991 and sold it to Estée Lauder for a reported $74.5 million in 1995. As a part of the deal, she agreed to a 25-year noncompete that prevented her from beginning one other cosmetics model.

She stayed on as chief artistic officer for greater than twenty years earlier than leaving in 2016.

Brown mentioned that issues had grown tougher towards the top of her time on the firm.

“Effectively, the 2 years earlier than had been fairly depressing,” she mentioned, including that neither operating a enterprise nor navigating company relationships is simple.

“When Leonard Lauder was in cost, I all the time had him. I might all the time simply name Leonard, and he would say, ‘OK, we’ll determine this out. We obtained it.’ So, he was actually my mentor,” Brown mentioned. “And it stopped taking place.”

Lauder stepped down as CEO in 1999 and later as chairman in 2009. He died in 2025 at 92.

Brown mentioned she felt out of step with the course that the corporate was heading.

“For almost all of the time I used to be in cost, you understand, till it grew to become positively extra company, and there was a brand new chief, and issues simply weren’t about supporting particular person manufacturers and founders,” Brown mentioned. “And you understand that is what they needed, and that is high-quality.”

Wanting again, Brown mentioned being fired finally labored in her favor.

“Initially, if I did not get fired, I would nonetheless be there, depressing. So, it is actually good that it occurred,” Brown mentioned.

“And, you understand, it wasn’t straightforward. I did not simply stroll out and say, ‘Oh, I will begin one other model.’ You recognize, I needed to actually emotionally detach. It was laborious. It was actually laborious,” she mentioned.

Brown added that she does not “have an affinity, in any respect” towards Bobbi Brown Cosmetics now.

“They went in several instructions, and truthfully, it is high-quality. I do not spend loads of time speaking concerning the model. You recognize, I do not want any sick on them. It’s what it’s,” she mentioned. She added that she’s now targeted on her new ardour challenge, Jones Highway Magnificence, which she launched in 2020 after her non-compete expired.

When Grede requested whether or not she had any regrets about promoting her title, Brown mentioned, “I do not.”

This is not the primary time Brown has spoken about her departure from her eponymous label.

At The Wall Avenue Journal’s CMO Council Summit in November, Brown mentioned she relied on these round her for help after leaving the corporate.

“My neighbors came to visit and I drank tequila with them,” Brown mentioned.

In March, Brown advised Enterprise Insider she saved herself busy to avoid falling into a slump.

“I am not somebody that likes to remain unhappy or mad, so I simply labored on myself — from the within out,” Brown mentioned.