Bobbi Brown Talks to Teens

I was 14 years old when I received this book from my mother for Christmas. I had been showing a growing interest in makeup and fashion for a year before and this was one of my first introductions. I remember enjoying this book a lot as a young teenager and looking at it now at age 21, while I can still appreciate the overall message, I understand it has some flaws. As a teen, I remember feeling there was something slightly off, that Bobbi didn't connect to me on a personal level and I can still feel it now flipping through.

My Review

Bobbi Brown Teenage Beauty tries to be a guide for growing up feeling and being beautiful. In foreward and introduction by Bobbi Brown and Brooke Shields, they let you know how "ugly duckling" and unaccepted they felt as young women. Bobbi is doing her best to give girls hope that they will blossom, that adolescent pain is only temporary and to enjoy their youth without being so self-conscious, but it just misses really hitting home. Bobbi dispenses throughout the book the same advice you've heard from your parents a dozen times: don't smoke, take care of yourself, don't worry what other people think, wear sunscreen, don't rush to grow up, learn to accept yourself as you are. About the only adolescent topic she doesn't attempt to at least cursorily cover is sex. While she stresses constantly about being happy with your own unique self, she also recommends finding a role model. While this may seem contradictory to some, I can understand the worth in it. It is easier to feel better about yourself and to feel less alone when you see that others like you are accepted and thought of as beautiful or worth attention. All this is good advice, it just never really hit a tone that resonated with me as a teen. While it's not written in the obnoxious way some people try when writing books to teens, (Hint for them: Using tons of exclamation points and "Awesome!" doesn't help you reach teens, it just makes you condescending. And annoying.) it does almost feel like Bobbi is not talking ENOUGH to a teen girl. She's rattling off her makeup and skincare knowledge and trying to aim it at teens, but she is much better off in the adult world. It's surprising she isn't better at writing to kids, as she has a teenage niece featured prominently in the book and (if I recall) three boys of her own.

Chapter By Chapter

Bobbi Brown Teenage Beauty has 30 chapters over approximately 200 pages with full color photos of models, celebrities and "real" girls of varying skin and hair colors. The book begins with a foreward by Brooke Shields, a letter from Bobbi Brown on why she did the book and then a short chapter of pictures of Bobbi when she was younger while she writes of her "teen moments she'll never forget" such as her parents divorce, things she liked and hated about herself as a teen and other little tidbits. It's followed by the first chapter...

Chapter One: The Pretty Makeunder - Before and After
In this chapter, Bobbi proclaims "You should stand out, not your makeup!" and pulls out her catchphrase of "make-under" because she "doesn't believe in makeovers since they tend to involve lots of makeup and a masking of who you really are."
Anyone who is familiar with Bobbi Brown knows that natural looking makeup is practically her business plan and shouldn't be surprised. Here we have before and after photos of some teen girls with minimal makeup. A lot of times the change is incredibly subtle and the after-photos often involve a change in shirt and hairstyle.

Chapter Two: Bobbi's Ten Basic Rules Of Teen Beauty
Sometimes Bobbi is a bit contradictory. She says to BE YOURSELF but at the same time she stresses wearing natural, sheer color and not too much of it at that. If you decide to be yourself and it means that you enjoy wearing black lipstick and blood-red eye-liner, how does that work here? She even states in this chapter to have fun with nail polish and go crazy for any color - except absolutely never use black because "it's plain ugly". At the time I first read this book, black nail polish was (and still is) one of my favorite colors. At 14, I remember thinking to myself "Isn't it wrong to tell me to stop using a color I like in a book that encourages me to be myself?"

Chapter Three: Skin Care
This chapter covers skin care and the effects your hormones, the sun, smoking, drugs, etc, can have on your face. It gives the usual information on skin types and the best cleansers, provides a few thoughts on different masks, scrubs and lotions and a top-to-bottom body care section.

Chapter Four: The Perfect Makeup Kit
Bobbi gives you lists of the makeup you should carry with yourself, what you should have on hand at home, how to keep it organized, what's nice to have but not necesary and what you shouldn't even bother buying. She also includes a detailed list of what she brings with her for photo shoots and when she travels.

Chapter Five: I hate My _______ (A Like-Yourself Lesson)
Bobbi continues in this chapter to try and help you see how beautiful you are in your uniqueness and to appreciate what you have. She shows photos of 4 girls who have complaints (Scars from a car accident, bush eyebrows, pale white skin, occasional pimples) and writes about helping them appreciate what they have and cover up what they don't. The chapter continues to cover other self-esteem situations, like when you're the only African American girl in your class (I wonder that Bobbi is qualified to help here. Her advice is predictable: Be yourself and be true to yourself - but can that really get you through if schoolmates are cruel?) or when you're moving from an easy going town to a fast paced city. She also talks about plastic surgery and to avoid it until you are fully grown (in the case of such things as wanting breast enlargement) and to only begin to consider having a nose job done if you're truly, truly unhappy and at least sixteen.

Chapter Six: Zits
Nothing you haven't heard in other books. Don't pick at the zits, they swill scar. See a dermatologist if your acne is moderate to severe, don't eat too much junk food. Includes a section on how to conceal blemishes when you do get them.

Chapter Seven: Everything Eyes
A short chapter with Bobbi's recommendations on eye colors for teens and also includes talking about shaping eyebrows.

Chapter Eight: Blush Basics
The actual chapters on makeup are quite short. About two to four pages. Bobbi recommends the best blush colors for your skintone and speaks a bit about the different types of blush.

Chapter Nine: Lips
Bobbi teaches you how to make your own lipstick palette to mix and match to make your own colors. She gives a few tricks to make lip color last longer or make a great stain.

Chapter Ten: Beauty School 101
Eight simple steps to a pretty natural face. Pretty, simple and quick, but nothing new.

Chapter Eleven: Cliffs Notes Beauty Teenage Master Class: Twenty Most-Asked Questions
Bobbi assembled a group of girls for an open forum and compiled a list of their questions ranging from "What's the best way to hide zits?" to "My nose is huge and I don't know what to do - help!" and "I hate my frizzy hair. What's the trick to blow-drying it yourself?" The girls also give some of their picks for beauty role models.

Chapter Twelve: You And Your Body
Bobbi speaks about accepting your body type, eating healthily and exercising, drinking plenty of water and finding a role model with your same body type. She gives advice on what to eat if you're underweight, overweight and what to wear for your body type.

Chapter Thirteen: Prom Beauty
Bobbi gives her advice on what to wear, where to splurge and when to save, things to avoid on your big night and ways to "up your glam factor."

Chapter Fourteen: Preteen Basics
Bobbi talks about when you're becoming a teenager and wondering when you should start doing things like wearing makeup, when you should start shaving and answers questions from young girls (around 10) on varying topics like "When should I start wearing deodorant?" and "My mother is overweight and I'm afraid that I'll be big one day, to. What can I do to avoid being fat?"

Chapter Fifteen: Go For It: Experimental Makeup
Here she recommends ways to wear fun, vibrant colors and experiment with being young.

Chapter Sixteen: Sweet 16 Beauty Bash
Bobbi's niece writes this chapter on her 16th birthday bash where she and a group of her friends got together and had "makeunders" done by Bobbi. It's simply an account of a girl's birthday party and reiterates what Bobbi's already said in the book. "Aunt Bobbi says to always wear at least SPF 15 sunscreen..."

Chapter Seventeen: Braces
Bobbi talks about braces, brings in an orthodontist and talks about the best makeup to draw attention from your braces.

Chapter Eighteen: African American Teen Beauty
Bobbi gives tip for african american girls who may have trouble figuring out the right colors and finding the right foundation match for their skin tones. She also provides a list of names and a couple of photographs of african american beauty role models such as Jada Pinkett Smith, the Williams sisters and Queen Latifah.

Chapter Nineteen: Latin American Teen Beauty
Another skin-tone specific chapter on how to take advantage of your latin beauty, along with certain makeup mistakes to avoid, like lining your lips too dark. Again she provides role models such as Salma Hayek, Daisy Fuentes and Jennifer Lopez.

Chapter Twenty: Asian American Teen Beauty
Again, same as the others. Best colors for your skin tone and features, mistakes to avoid. Unfortunately, at the time Bobbi couldn't find any beauty role models for an asian american girl. Of course there are plenty. Lucy Liu, Michelle Yoeh, Zhang Zhiyi, Lisa Ling and Gong Li to name a few.

Chapter Twenty-One: Global Beauty
Bobbi talks about how the beauty ideal used to be blond hair and blue eyes and how beautifully diverse it is now.

Chapter Twenty-Two: Teen Yearbook
Bobbi brings in a few famous faces to give talks about
growing up. The list includes Phoebe Cates, Martha Stewart and Niki Taylor. She includes various yearbook photos of such people as Madonna, Rene Russo, Whitney Houston, Gwyneth Paltrow, Rosie O'Donnel and Oprah.

Chapter Twenty-Three: Teen Beauty Today
This is basically a chapter of polls, with girls giving answers to questions such as "Who's beauty cabinet would you like to raid?" and "Feature you like most about yourself?" Also includes boys answering questions on their favorite makeup to see on a girl, etc.

Chapter Twenty-Four: So...You Want To Be A Model?
Bobbi gives some thoughts on being a young model and interviews three young models for their tips for girls.

Chapter Twenty-Five: Smelling Good/Smelling Bad
Bobbi talks about what smells you like and seeking them out in perfumes, cool ways to wear perfume, her favorite scents and the mistakes you can make, like applying too much.

Chapter Twenty-Six: Hair - An Owner's Guide
Bobbi brings in a New York stylist to give thoughts on the best cut for your face and gives you beauty examples for hair types. Like Sarah Jessica Parker if you have curly or frizzy hair, Gwyneth Paltrow if you have straight or limp, Lauryn Hill if you have thick and coarse. She also talks about bad hair days and do's and don'ts of coloring.

Chapter Twenty-Seven: Backstage with Bobbi
Bobbi gives some backstage runway secrets she's learned over the years about fixing mistakes fast and quick clean ups.

Chapter Twenty-Eight: The Athletic Look
Bobbi writes to those with an athletic frame ("Being an athlete doesn't mean looking like a guy.") and gives tips on the best way to wear sweat-proof makeup. She also gives a few role models like Gabrielle Reece and the Williams sisters again.

Chapter Twenty-Nine: Mother-Daughter Beauty
Pictures of mothers and daughters together in simple makeup, with quotes by the girls of advice or things their mother tells them. Bobbi writes about her mother, gives her personal familial role models, lessons she learned from her mom and other such things.

Chapter Thirty: Rock 'N' Roll Babes: Hip Beauty Style
Bobbi has a varied list of musicians she feels are hip and beautiful role models. It's mostly just pictures of the women, and Bobbi writes a few words about each one. It is a bit dated nowadays. Britney Spears is said to be "pretty and wholesome." and the list also includes Aaliyah, who of course has since tragically died.

The book ends with "Bobbi Endspeak" where Bobbi gives a few last words, like "Ten things to do if you find yourself crazy obsessing over your looks", like getting involved in a team sport, volunteering at your local ASPCA or getting your friends together for a closet sale. She then states if you're truly unhappy, you should see a teacher, parent, friend or doctor and that there's no reason to feel despair. She concludes the book with the simple equation of "Pretty on the inside = pretty on the outside."

In The End...

The book really is Bobbi Brown giving you her opinion on how teenage girls should look. While the book mantra is be happy with and true to yourself, there's an obvious look and way Bobbi feels teenage girls should use makeup. As a younger girl, I really liked this book. Now I can see though it tries to cover a lot of topics, it maybe stretches itself too thin and Bobbi goes into areas she's not as familiar with. Some of the chapters seem a little superfluous or redundant. I would say this book is good for a selective group, girls who are around eleven or twelve and just becoming a teenager, as a sort of cursory guide to some of the makeup and appearance questions that arise with becoming a teenager. For older girls in this day and age, it probably will not satisfy at all.