Although the 90's were not kind to fashion, hair, nor music, in my not so humble opinion, it was the most innovative time for the cosmetics industry. One of those innovations was the influx of makeup artist lines for those not content with Lauder, Lancome, and Clinique. The notion of somehow taking the artist home appealed to customers. In retrospect, it is ironic to me that perhaps the most successful makeup artist line of this very creative time was built on perpetuating same old same old cookie cutter beauty. The story goes that BB launched her line with 10 lipstick colors on a table at Bergdorf Goodman that consistently sold out. Voila! A makeup line is born. BB's line had a modest start with a tiny 4 foot case in the back of the Neiman Marcus Beverly Hills cosmetic department. My boss, the department manager, told BB's business partner it would amount to nothing, my coworkers scoffed at the black boxes made from seemingly cheap cardboard, and customers thought that Whitney Houston's husband created a line of cosmetics for her! Why anyone thought he would have named it after himself was a mystery, but, I digress. The line grew. BB became the "Every Woman Beauty Guru." Those neutral matte eyeshadows and brown toned lipsticks were snatched up by the handful. Women ate up her every word. It became the hottest line in every Neiman Marcus cosmetic department, seemingly overnight.
My favorite memory of BB is from one of her yearly events. Women would line up for the chance to have BB look at them and tell them what colors they should be wearing. A personalized consultation by The Leading Beauty Expert who marketed herself as understanding the needs of the average woman! Except it wasn't so personalized. During these events my job was to do whatever needed to be done to facilitate the event and keep BB happy. This particular year, I was monitoring the line, making sure it moved smoothly. By this time it was well known by management that BB recommended the same colors for everyone. We were told what colors to stock up on weeks before the actual event. She had become the poster child of cookie cutter beauty. Every unique face was a fresh palette for her uniformly neutral colors. Customers were starting to catch on. I could hear them whispering to each other, "She's saying the same thing to everyone!" "She's not even looking at the people sitting in front of her!" "Each person only gets 30 seconds with her!" Etc. Etc. Etc. My job was to dissuade them when what they were saying was true. It was "bone, taupe, walnut" for everyone! Cookie cutter at its best! Just as I ran out of false encouragement for these women, BB's regional manager rushed over to me. "Mimi! BB wants a protein shake! Do you know where to get one?" he asked/pleaded. My answer was no, but, I offered to ask around. None of my coworkers knew either. It was the 90's and protein shakes were not yet common. After 10 minutes or so Mr. Regional Manager came back to me with sheer terror in his eyes. The sheer terror part is only half humor! "We've got to get her a protein shake NOW!" He and I were friends and I didn't like seeing him so tortured. "Well, I could get her one of those yummy milkshakes from the cafe upstairs and we can just say it's a protein shake?" I offered. "Yes!" He responded as relief washed over his face. Up and down 2 flights of escalators I ran returning with the "protein" shake. It probably took the same amount of time as telling 20 women they were "bone, taupe, walnut." Fast forward one year. The day of another BB event. Mr. Regional Manager and BB have arrived and are being greeted by the store manager who is Mr. Burns from The Simpsons come to life. Mr. Regional Manager smiles upon seeing me and runs toward me. By the time we meet in the middle he is giggling hysterically. "What?" I ask. After regaining his composure he said, "As we were getting out of the car BB said to ask you to get her one of those protein shakes that you got her last year. She said it was the best she has ever had!" We both stood there squealing like fabulous girls.
My point? I don't care what decade it is. In a cookie cutter world of "bone, taupe, walnut " be "fuchsia, green, yellow, tangerine, even chartreuse!"