Bobbi Brown Living Beauty (Hardcover)

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Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

This artful, well-meaning book on beauty tips for women of "a certain age" might make a nice gift, but has little more depth than a glossy magazine. Now in her 50s, international makeup artist and beauty writer Brown celebrates female faces that have laugh lines. She encourages women to "age gracefully" without unnecessary plastic surgery by living healthy, taking care of their skin and utilizing a few tricks with makeup, hair and clothing. The first section features "Words of Wisdom" from older celebrities, such as Susan Sarandon, Vera Wang and Lorraine Bracco—most of which prove to be pretty thin. But it's Bobbi's suggestions on how to minimize problems particular to older women, (such as sunspots, baggy eyes and dull skin) that give the book an anchor. Subsequent chapters sensibly cover clothes and hair, then into menopause and hormone replacement therapy, plus diet and exercise. A final chapter celebrating "Women Who Get It" might have been fun, but the successful women profiled are not famous enough to merit much interest (e.g., the president of Bobbi Brown Cosmetics, the vice chairman of Burberry and the CEO of Brooks Food Group). One of the most engaging aspects of the book are the photographs. Whether of beautifully aging faces, makeup that looks good enough to eat or healthy food that looks good enough to eat, the photos make the book coffee-table worthy. (Apr.)
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Product Description

Bobbi Brown, CEO of her eponymous cosmetics company, began the trend toward natural-looking cosmetics with a simple philosophy: "Women want to look and feel like themselves, only prettier and more confident." Today, top editors at elite fashion magazines--including In Style, Vogue, Allure, and Harper's Bazaar--revere her, and celebrities and millions of "regular" women throughout the world swear by her beauty advice.

Now on her own 50th birthday, Bobbi Brown has written the book redefining beauty for women over 40, BOBBI BROWN LIVING BEAUTY. In this refreshing look at beauty and aging, Bobbi offers readers specific makeup tricks for a stunning face--showing how makeup can solve most of the "flaws" that many women go under the knife to fix. In fact, the right makeup can create an even skin tone, lift the cheeks, plump a smile...even take years off any woman's face. The key is to use makeup to enhance each woman's best features and showcase her natural beauty. With step-by-step makeup instructions and quotes from beautiful women like Marcia Gay Harden, Vera Wang, Susan Sarandon, and Lorraine Bracco, Bobbi Brown's natural, celebratory approach to aging will enlighten and inspire women everywhere.

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Product Details

• Hardcover: 224 pages
• Publisher: Springboard Press; 1 edition (February 15, 2007)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0821258346
• ISBN-13: 978-0821258347
• Product Dimensions: 10.1 x 8.1 x 1.1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 2.4 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (30 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #338,171 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

98 of 98 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Similar to her other books, but still lovely and informative, February 2, 2007

By	K. Walters "Lover of fitness, politics, readi... (Washington, DC USA) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

Bobbi Brown is an incredible makeup artist. I've seen her personally as well as the work of several other top names in the business, and moreso than any of the others, she has a way of turning the average woman into a glowing version of herself and doing so in a way that is easy to replicate and not over-the-top.

This "you but improved" philosophy rings through in all of her books, including the new Living Beauty. Living Beauty is geared towards a more "experienced" reader, i.e., those in their 40s and older, but I am in my early 30s and still find the book very informative.

As with her other books, Brown's most recent publication takes a holistic approach to beauty, covering not only skin care and makeup, but also fitness, nutrition, menopause issues (including bioidentical hormone replacement a la Suzanne Somers), giving birth in your 40s, cosmetic surgery, age-appropriate clothing and hair. The book also contains advice on aging and beauty from a number of famous sophisticates (Susan Sarandon, Vera Wang, Vanessa williams, Marcia Gay Harden, etc., etc.). There are lovely makeovers throughout with explanations of how they were done - makeovers that are actually doable and wearable (no ultra-smokey eye and nude-invisible lips). My favorite parts of the book are the little tidbits of advice from Bobbi scattered throughout - things she has learned throughout the years - e.g., "Watching Adam Sandler in the movie Click I learned that we shouldn't wish away all those annoying tasks. It's called life and it goes fast enough anyway."

I took off one star from my rating solely because there's a lot of information in here that is included in Bobbi's other books and because its applicability is age-specific (20-somethings need not apply...). But, for those over 40 ladies (or younger Brown fans) who want a little life boost without looking like Ivana Trump, I'd highly recommend adding this book to your library.

43 of 43 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars A beauty book not aimed at teens, February 17, 2007

By	Joan Reynlds "joanre" - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

"Living Beauty" is the fourth book by well-known makeup artist Bobbi Brown. Her earlier books were aimed at a teens, women of color and (the first one) at a general audience. The target audience for this book is Brown's own age cohorts -- baby boomers.

There won't be many surprises for those who have read Brown's earlier books. The books are broadly focused on general well-being and lifestyle rather than just makeup. But makeup advice certainly has to be what most of the book's readers are wanting and expecting.

Bobbi Brown is one of the most highly-esteemed makeup artists in the business. Her style of makeup is generally very conservative and minimalist. (Her detractors' nickname for her is Bobbi Blah.) She's a sort of anti-makeup makeup artist. Her philosphy is on the very opposite end of the spectrum from the late Kevyn Aucoin who believed in makeup's power to change a woman for the better from the outside in.

There are obviously a lot of women out there who do share Ms. Brown's affinity for a very natural, unmadeup look. This book has good, generally very sound, advice on which colors to choose in order to pull off her trademark "you but better" look. The makeup application tips in the book are pretty basic. To me, it raises the question: if a woman is at all interested in makeup, wouldn't she know the basics by the time she reached her forties, fifies, older?

I have never had much interest in Bobbi Brown's lifestyle and nutrition tips. This information would have more credibility coming from a nutritionist or someone else expert in those areas. I am a bit more troubled by the information on bioidentical hormones. I would think a woman would be better advised to seek the advice of her gynecologist. I really just wish Ms. Brown would stick to the areas in which she is an expert.

It is a nice change of pace to see women, real grown-up women, pictured in this book and looking gorgeous. In many books on makeup, the only models are girls in their late teens or early twenties. It's good for women, whatever age they may be, to know that they can be considered beautiful, too.

34 of 35 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars At last, a beauty book for BOOMERS!, February 13, 2007

By	Lostinbooks - See all my reviews

The best portions of Bobbi's latest book are the complete makeovers and the sections on skin care and makeup techniques. Oh, the sheer POWER of well applied under eye concealer! It's astounding what an immediate difference it can make, especially when accompanied by a drop or two of "get the red out" eye drops. The tips about putting together a classic wardrobe have been covered before by other authors, but it's nice to see them incorporated into a book about midlife. Bobbi oddly puts the made over women into almost identical "uniforms"; still, they all looked much better than before.

There is helpful advice on various non surgical skin procedures. While this information can easily be found for free on the net, it's fun to see the before and after photos. I have to wonder how much of the improvement was due to Bobbi's makeup magic. It might have been better to show three photos rather than two, one of the women without makeup before the procedure, one without makeup AFTER the procedure, and one of the post procedure result with Bobbi's makeup.

The advice about diet, exercise, drinking lots of water and portion control is good but not revelatory. And, sorry Bobbi, "plain 'greek' yogurt with chocolate protein powder" will NEVER make my list of favorite treats. There's a smattering of spritualism, as well as info on teeth bleaching, midlife pregnancy, menopause, and cutting edge hormone replacement therapy. Bobbi also addresses problems such as dry skin and adult acne.

Two minor nitpicks; I don't think that Bobbi pays enough attention to eyebrows. Beautifully shaped, full brows can dramatically improve the appearance of a mature woman. Natural beauty aside, it's a myth that your natural brow shape is always the best for your face. Also, there is no index; the table of contents does not list all points made in each chapter, so you must hunt to review specific information.

I disagree with the editorial reviewer on one point; it was the fact that the "women who get it" were not famous that made this chapter refreshing. They are for the most part simply fabulous looking women who happen to be 40+. Though they share the pages with Bobbi's celebrity clients, NORMAL (albeit successful) women are front and center here. That's what ultimately makes this worth the read.

IMO, Bobbi Brown is one of the two most gifted makeup artists of this generation. Only the late Kevyn Aucoin can compare, and his style was often more dramatic and fantasy based. Bobbi's real life philosophy has helped women of all ages and races look at themselves and makeup in a new way to enhance their own, unique beauty. This book will have you celebrating the arc of life as you move beautifully through your middle years.