Gloss Angeles Podcast: Stila and Neen Founder Jeanine Lobell is the Makeup Industry's Original Rock Star

Hosts: Kirbie Johnson & Sara Tan
Guest: Jeanine Lobell
Release Date: October 3, 2025

Episode Overview

This episode features trailblazing makeup artist and founder Jeanine Lobell, celebrated for creating Stila Cosmetics and more recently Neen. Kirbie and Sara take listeners on an engaging journey through Jeanine’s storied career—her unconventional beginnings, creative inspiration, lessons from the '90s beauty scene, the process of launching iconic brands and products, and her wisdom for a new generation of founders. The conversation is filled with nostalgic moments, honest advice, and behind-the-scenes stories from a true original in the beauty industry.

Key Discussion Points & Insights

Jeanine’s Must-Have Products & Artistry Tips

Timestamps: 02:22–06:49

• Jeanine’s top five products::
  • Laura Mercier or NARS tinted moisturizer
  • Cinema Secrets spot concealer (“really old school, five-pan palette”)
  • Neen mascara (“my lifesaver for skin”)
  • La Mer as primer (“so sticky...held that makeup”)
  • Bioeffect eye masks with EGF Power Serum
    “That was like a primer to me because it, like, just held that makeup. Before it was, like, $5,000.” – Jeanine (02:50)
• Application technique: Jeanine prefers using fingers over sponges or brushes to apply foundation for warmth and texture awareness (04:00).
• Makeup artist advice: “Sometimes, you know, put [foundation] on, do something else, come back to it, and it'll really show you where you need more,” to adapt for oily and dry patches (04:45).

The Story Behind Neen’s Mascara

Timestamps: 05:18–06:49

• Jeanine explains the innovation behind Neen’s mascara: polymers that wrap and hydrate lashes without making them stiff.
  “It’s not tubing, but they sort of wrap around the lashes and hydrate them… I have three coats of mascara on, but they’re soft.” – Jeanine (05:44)
• Product development emphasizes brush, formula, and wiper for optimal payoff.

Jeanine’s Early Life and Creative Roots

Timestamps: 07:02–11:02

• Grew up in Sweden, moved to London, Paris, and LA. Her mother was a ‘50s model—“crazy beautiful”—who influenced Jeanine’s emphasis on glamour.
  “She had like a triptych mirror, getting ready to go out… she flew to London and Vidal Sassoon gave her one of those first bobs…” – Jeanine (07:13)
• Teenage years embraced punk/new wave aesthetic—DIY matte red lipstick, black Louise Brooks bob.

Path to Beauty: Mime School and Cinematic Makeup

Timestamps: 09:43–14:34

• Attended mime school in Paris as a ticket to the city:
  “I went to this school and it was Marcel Marceau’s teacher… he’d scream at us, thought we were the advanced class.” – Jeanine (10:28)
• Started as a file clerk at age 15, learned work ethic early (09:54).
• Breakthroughs as a makeup artist: Hired for the “Hairspray” video, then landmark gigs like Naomi Campbell for Michael Jackson’s “In the Closet” video, adapting quickly and winning over skeptical talent.
• Worked with music luminaries: Mariah Carey, Motley Crue, R.E.M., Wilson Phillips.
  • On young Mariah Carey: “She was Baby Mariah. She was great… People decide that somebody’s something, and then everything they do is like, oh, there she goes. It’s not like that.” (13:00)

Building Stila: Beginnings, Iconic Packaging, and Impact

Timestamps: 14:34–19:47

• Stila began as a favor for a friend’s store, a “nonchalant thing”:
  “It’s like somebody said to me, wanna go to Vegas? And I’m like, yeah, let’s go to Vegas. And then I’m like, what the fuck am I doing in Vegas?” – Jeanine (14:52)
• Innovation in Paper Packaging:
  • Hated available plastic; collaborated with a mailing tube manufacturer to create recycled paper lipstick tubes.
  • Invented the now-industry-standard paperboard palette:
    “I invented that...I should have patented it. I would have been so rich. But it gives me so much joy because so many brands have been able to launch because of that palette.” – Jeanine (15:50)
• Sustainability wasn’t the initial driver, but is now central to her ethos:
  “There was just no awareness...But whenever I could, I favored [sustainable materials]... It’s different for me to actually put 140,000 pieces of plastic into the world. I just don’t want to be that girl.” – Jeanine (16:49)

The Stila Girl: Creativity from Constraint

Timestamps: 17:41–19:47

• Developed illustrated “Stila girl” for branding because of limited budgets and desire for inclusivity:
  “Necessity is the mother of all invention...I found that kind of advertising [with supermodels] more alienating...Let’s just use these cartoon girls...” – Jeanine (17:56)
• Used multiple artists, built flexibility, and embodied the brand’s whimsical and approachable spirit.

The Wild 90s & Brand Founder Camaraderie

Timestamps: 19:47–21:14

• Discusses collaborative, unscripted feel of ‘90s beauty entrepreneurship: “People like you and these other early aughts brand founders...kind of just throwing things at the wall to see what sticks. It was kind of like a playground…” – Sara (19:53)
• Remains friendly with icons like Bobbi Brown, Wendy Zomnir, and Eugenia Weston.
  “François Nars. I mean, he was epic.” – Jeanine (20:59)

Then vs. Now: The New Brand Founder Experience

Timestamps: 21:17–26:53

• More pressure today. Stakes higher for founders, influencer/retail-driven landscape: “I think people feel a lot of pressure to get the right influencer or to even, like, to get into Sephora. I’m like…they’re all running to Sephora? Oh girl, I hope it works out.” – Jeanine (22:14)
• Retail advice: It’s not always a win; costs and competition are fierce.
  “The expense of being in there is so high, and it’s a lot of noise around you...Somebody’s gonna die, you know?” (22:19, 23:11)
• Affirms the rise of makeup artist-founded brands as positive:
  “Charlotte, Patrick, Mario, Pat...these are the brands that are doing well. It’s the art. I mean...we know what time it is, you know, in our area.” – Jeanine (24:11)
• Urges not everyone needs to chase billion-dollar valuations:
  “We’re so programmed to be like, I want the billion dollar valuation bullshit...” – Jeanine (25:36)
• Reveals true cost behind mini-sized beauty products in retail:
  “A mini pencil is the same cost practically as a full size.” (26:32)

Selling Stila: Inside the Acquisition

Timestamps: 26:55–33:01

• Sold Stila to Estée Lauder in just five years (“so fast!”), after rejecting LVMH’s earlier offer.
• Honest negotiation story:
  “He [Leonard Lauder] was asking me questions like, So, Jeanine, how do you determine your price point? And I’m such a ding dong. Like, I’m like, well, I sit around with my friends...what the fuck would you pay for it?” (27:28)
• Took care of employees with proceeds:
  “When I sold Stila, I gave every person that worked for me money from the sale...I did not want to be that girl where people are like, well, she made out like a bandit and we got fucked.” (29:59)
• Candid about integration challenges post-acquisition:
  “It was very difficult because I would say to Leonard, it’s really not fun being teacher’s pet.” (29:59)
• Critical advice for founders considering acquisitions:
  “If you sell your brand or get majority investors, you work for them...don’t cry about it, because it is what it is.” (31:26)
• Cleverly negotiated release from non-compete after Estée Lauder sold Stila to someone else (32:30).

Neen: Vision, Values, and Inclusive Beauty

Timestamps: 33:01–41:00

• After creative work at Kevyn Aucoin, Jeanine launched Neen after COVID—seeking renewed creative engagement, community, and challenge.
  • “I wanted to kind of take that part of myself... if you look at our tutorials, every person is different...they tell their story. It’s not about me...I like to be the wizard, the nice wizard, not the creepy one behind the curtain.” (36:00)
• Passionate about avoiding demographic pigeonholing: “The one question that makes me just crazy is when people say, what's your demographic? Like, I fucking hate that question...I wanted to create for me. Neen isn’t like an age or a type…” (36:00)
• Neen’s “conscious consumer”: multipurpose products, mindful packaging, high performance, “future-forward” clean formulas.
• On packaging inspiration:
  "The font is called Tango… it's the Last Tango in Paris movie poster, which turns out to be the most problematic movie of all time…” – Jeanine (39:36)
• Encourages product refills, uses silicone to avoid microplastics, and embeds positive affirmations in packaging:
  “It’s called meta...for me, it's like, may you feel beautiful, not be beautiful, because you should feel beautiful no matter what other people think that you are.” (41:00)

Jeanine’s Favorite Neen Products

Timestamps: 41:28–43:27

• Mascara and lip gloss are her standouts, with a cult-favorite shade (“Belle”) resurrected due to viral demand:
  “There was like a TikTok that kind of blew…Jennifer Lopez putting on lip polish in the wedding planner…and it was a Stila product…I found an old one, my friend had one in storage…and we went to the lab and recreated the color.” (43:12)

Looking Back on Stila

Timestamps: 43:28–44:23

• Jeanine has let go emotionally:
  “I feel nothing. Isn't that weird?...People are like, it was your baby. I was like, no, I have babies...I let it go so long ago. It just doesn't matter.” (43:44)
• Observes Stila as needing “a leader” for fresh direction but wishes them well.

Memorable Career Moment: The W Magazine Michelle Williams/Ryan Gosling Shoot

Timestamps: 44:33–45:48

• Sara shares a cherished memento: a 2010 W Magazine with Jeanine’s work.
  “I absolutely refused to get rid of this magazine…when I was doing research…I realized it was you.” – Sara (44:31)
• Jeanine promises to send Sara a new Neen red inspired by the look.

Notable Quotes

• “Necessity is the mother of all invention.” – Janine Lobell (17:56)
• “Some people need a plan and some people just need to walk, you know what I mean? And on the journey, they figure out where they're supposed to go. I’m more like that person.” – Janine Lobell (15:32)
• “Let’s let them just…you could have like five really cute shoe stores that people are loyal to…We’re so programmed to be like, I want the billion dollar valuation bullshit.” – Janine Lobell (25:36)
• “If you sell your brand or get majority investors, you work for them, and if you’re okay with that, go for it. If you’re not…be prepared to walk away. But don’t cry about it, because it is what it is.” – Janine Lobell (31:26)

Where to Find Jeanine & Neen

• Instagram: @weareneen
• Website: weareneen.com
• Stocked at select Blue Mercury locations, Revolve, Nordstrom, and more.

Summary

Jeanine Lobell’s journey weaves together resourcefulness, creativity, and independence, from punk beginnings to legacy-building brands. Listeners are gifted not only with makeup wisdom and industry context but honest reflections on how building and letting go of a brand can shape a life well-lived. This episode is a must for makeup lovers, brand-builders, and anyone inspired by authenticity and reinvention.

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