This article is republished here from The Hollywood Reporter
“Every young person deserves to have a good start with their skin,” the actress says of her Gen Z products.
At 15 years old, Stranger Things actress Millie Bobby Brown stars in a record-breaking Netflix show, has nabbed two Emmy nominations, became a fashion favorite as a muse for Raf Simons when he was at Calvin Klein and has landed partnerships with Converse, Pandora jewelry and Moncler.
Now she is taking matters into her own hands by launching her first brand — Florence by Mills.
The Gen Z beauty company is PETA-certified, cruelty-free and vegan with products including the Zero Chill Face Mist, Clean Magic Face Wash, See You Never Concealer, Like a Light Skin Tint, Dreamy Dew Moisturizer, Get That Grime Face Scrub, Swimming Under the Eye Gel Pads and Look Alive Eye Balm ($10-$34). The items will be for sale at a pop up shop in New York City on Sunday from 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. (the location has not yet been revealed). Fans will have the chance to meet Brown on site and shop products.
The actress said she was inspired by her own experience in the makeup chair to create “clean” products for young people and she began working on the brand two years ago. Brown’s line is named after her great-grandmother and her own nickname to capture “individuality and bravery.” Florence was developed with brand incubator Beach House Group (which has also worked with Kendall Jenner and Shay Mitchell on brands), according to Women’s Wear Daily.
“I’ve been in a makeup chair since I was 10, 11 years old, and I have really been introduced to all types of products. I’ve had special effects on my face, blood, all different types of foundation…I wanted to come into the space because there was a gap in the market for young people,” Brown told WWD. “I guess I could never find anything that I liked to put on my face and it felt good. I’d take off my makeup and boom, another pimple would appear. … There are multiple different products I’ve put on that weren’t good for me. Some of those were anti-aging, and I was 10 years old.”
She said the decision-making and development process came naturally to her. “Every decision I make with Florence has been literally made in two or three seconds. … ‘I hate it, I love the color, I hate the texture, what is going on’ — it’s like immediately in my brain,” Brown said. “I don’t think about things very long, I know exactly what I want.”
On Tuesday, Brown released a teaser video about the brand, saying, “Every young person deserves to have a good start with their skin.” She added that Florence is “still youthful but playing that sophisticated teenager as well. What I want my beauty brand to represent is individuality.”
On Instagram, Brown called the beauty line “literally the love of my life, i cant begin to explain the love i have for this and how hard but crazy excited i was to create it. 2 years of creating a beauty and skincare brand jeez… that’s a long time to keep a secret but now i can finally share the news with u all.”
Florence Beauty filed for the trademark for Florence by Mills last September — and more products could be on the way, given that the trademark lists bath bombs, cologne, perfume, eyeshadow, eye cream, eye liner, hair care, lotions, lip products, nail polish, shampoo, skin care, tanning items and tote bags. On the red carpet, Brown typically goes for minimal makeup and a natural look, though she has sported pops of blue eyeshadow and dramatic cat winged eyeliner on occasion.
Available soon at Ulta, Florence by Mills donates some proceeds to the Olivia Hope Foundation to fight childhood cancer.
The Hollywood Reporter has reached out to Beach House, Ulta and Brown for comment.
