Bobbi Brown Just Ethered a Beauty Influencer on TikTok
Legendary makeup artist Bobbi Brown just quietly dragged a beauty influencer on TikTok to hell, and it may be the funniest thing on the internet this week.
In a video posted on her @justbobbibrown TikTok page, Brown claims she just learned a new makeup technique and that she’s going to try it out. She proceeds to take two giant globs of her own brand Jones Road’s new foundation, aptly called “What The Foundation” (WTF), and slather them on her face. While smearing the makeup around and laughing, Brown laments that the technique “didn’t really work.”
The video, on its own, is a bit silly and nonsensical. In context, though, it’s fucking hilarious.
Brown’s video, which doesn’t tag any creators, was a shady response to makeup artist Meredith Duxbury’s video on TikTok from last week reviewing the “What The Foundation.” Duxbury had filmed herself sampling the product using the aforementioned chaotic technique—scooping up an unhinged amount of product onto her face and then trying to buff it out, only to find that it leaves her looking like a mummy.
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“It’s going to be a no from me,” she concludes in the video. “I really wanted to like this though.”
Now, just from a brief look through Brown’s own descriptions of the “What The Foundation,” it’s not a product meant to be worn in bulk. It’s “a tinted moisture balm meets traditional foundation,” which is to say: It’s meant to be lightly applied, perhaps in dabs.
I must note that this moment was not entire off-brand for Duxbury: Admittedly, I’ve watched many of her videos in horror. They periodically crop up on my FYP and almost always incorporate Duxbury dousing her objectively spotless face in foundation. We’re not talking a quarter-sized or even a half-dollar sized amount of product, either—we’re talking enough foundation to wax a Prius. The visual is jarring for several reasons, the biggest of which being the cost (foundation is expensive!!!) and the potential impact on her pores (my own face could never). Just a quick look through the comments on any video and you’ll see people remarking, “Maybe don’t apply the entire jar,” and “how do u manage to still have clear skin.”
To Duxbury’s credit, she did a follow-up video after critics (rightfully so) lambasted her initial video review of the product. The follow-up has her using a normal amount of the foundation, though Duxbury ultimately says she still doesn’t like it and that the smell is “overpowering.” You hate to see it.
Brown told Jezebel that her response video spoofing Duxbury “happened spontaneously.”
“I was recording a few educational videos on WTF and at the end of the shoot, we decided to have a little fun with it,” she said in an email. “I have tremendous respect for Meredith and all the makeup artists and influencers who are crushing it on TikTok and I’m grateful she tried the product, but WTF isn’t for everyone and that’s ok. There’s room for everyone in beauty.”
Duxbury has not yet responded to our request for comment.