Millie Bobby Brown Is Healing Her Relationship With Makeup Through Her Beauty Brand

Actress Millie Bobbie Brown is only 17 and is already following the path of great stars like Rihanna and Drew Barrymore by launching her own beauty brand, Florence by Mills. The Gen Z brand, founded by Brown, launched in August 2019 focusing on clean skincare and beauty, free from parabens, sulfates, animal testing, and animal by-products. Now, in honor of her 18th birthday (on February 19), the brand has launched a special birthday collection with brand new products, shade ranges, and kits.

Despite her young age, it feels as if we’ve known Brown forever. At just 12 years old, she shot to fame because of her role as Eleven in the Netflix series, Stranger Things. This meant she had been in hair and makeup chairs far younger than most, something Brown says created a “love/hate relationship” with beauty. “It was introduced to me at a young age and I found it hard to understand my skin and what it wanted from me,” she told NYLON. “After creating Florence by Mills and seeing the ingredients, it made me fall in love with beauty for the first time.”

Brown says having a clean beauty brand was important to her because of her personal interest in nutrition. “What we should also be able to put onto our skin,” she says. “There should be a balance between makeup being clean, but also being fun, creating bold looks while also making our skin feel good.” Brown says the brand focuses on a “variety of botanicals” and extracts that replenish our skin. This includes jojoba oil, avocado oil, shea butter, and vitamin E.

The new birthday product launches are in keeping with the brand’s already youthful product line, with a focus on fun lip glosses and bold colors. This includes a new Mark My Words Lip Liner ($10), Work It Pout Plumping Lip Gloss ($14), Be A VIP Velvet Liquid Lipstick ($14), Self-Reflecting Highlighter Stick ($16), Call It Even Color Correcting Powder ($16), Out Of This Whirled Marble Bronzer ($16), and You Matte-R Mattifying Translucent Powder ($16). The brand also launched new shades for their cult-favorite products, including Get Glossed Lip Gloss ($12), Oh Whale! Tinted Lip Balm ($12), and Cheek Me Later Cream Blush ($14).

Brown says she’ll definitely be wearing Be A VIP Velvet Liquid Lipstick, a non-drying, lightweight mousse with lip-softening rose-hip oil to celebrate her birthday (although she is still undecided on which of the eight shades to wear) paired with You Matte-R Mattifying Translucent Powder “because of the dancing”.

A milestone year for the actress, 2022 will be huge for Brown, with the highly anticipated fourth season of Stranger Things premiering in Summer 2022, as well as a sequel to Enola Holmes anticipated later in 2022. “I think balance will be the key word this year because I love my work, especially the Florence by Mills projects, but you have to balance it our with personal time with friends, family, and animals,” she says. Brown says that “nutrition and nutrients” are at the top of her 2022 wellness goal list.

As for Brown’s own personal beauty journey, she’s a fan of the Y2K makeup comeback, even though she was born in 2004. She says that dark, over-lined lip liner is her favorite trend from the decade, because she notes nineties models like Naomi Campbell, Tyra Banks, and Kate Moss as her beauty inspiration growing up. She also recently chopped her hair into a bob with bangs for a fresh start in the new year. “I think it's always important to kind of replenish yourself from the year before so this is what I've chosen to do so,” she says. “The look is French”.

With a fresh haircut and a new birthday beauty collection, Brown is headed into her 18th year determined to continue her work while also searching for balance and looks where she feels her best. Healing her own turbulent relationship with makeup through her own brand, Florence by Mills is bound to grow as she does—with more product launches on their way and more opportunities to help other young people to find their own personal style.