As Millie Bobby Brown Prepares To Turn 18, Florence By Mills Is Growing Up With The Star

“What’s good to remember is that Florence by Mills doesn’t want to stand out. We don’t need to stand out,” says soon-to-be 18-year-old actress and brand founder Millie Bobby Brown. “We are there to cater to gen Z.”

Of course, even if she desires her brand to be low profile, the busy star garners plenty of attention. This year, she’ll appear in the fourth season of the hit show “Stranger Things” and “Enola Holmes 2,” which has her returning to the role of Sherlock Holmes’ sister in a movie she produced with her sister Paige Brown through their production company PCMA Productions. 

Show business isn’t the only business Brown is taking a greater role in. Along with her family, she secured a majority stake in Florence by Mills in late 2020 after launching it the prior year with Beach House Group, the brand incubator that has haircare brand Pattern, luggage brand Béis and oral care brand Moon in its stable. 

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Florence by Mills founder Millie Bobby Brown with her brand’s new $16 Self-Reflecting Highlighter Sticks.

Brown has expanded the vegan, clean and accessibly priced brand into several categories since taking the reins—and she’s just getting started. While the lion’s share of Florence by Mills’ collection is in color cosmetics, it offers skincare, haircare and body care as well. Most stockkeeping units are between $10 and $20. 

“Gaining ownership of Florence by Mills was really important to me because it helped amplify my voice and helped everyone everywhere be able to access it,” says Brown. “It also helped me go into more categories. Last year, we moved into haircare. This year, we’re moving into a very fun launch that’s slated for after fall. I’m really excited about that.” 

The brand’s most recent launch, Color in Wonderland, is a collection created in part to fete Brown’s 18th birthday on Feb. 19. It features lip liners, lip glosses, lipsticks, highlighter sticks, bronzer, color correcting powder and translucent powder, all priced $16 and under. The collection is available on Ulta Beauty’s website as well as the Florence by Mills’ e-commerce site. It’s intended to encourage experimentation with makeup. 

As Bobby Brown leaves childhood behind, she’s interested in Florence by Mills maturing with her. “I feel like I’ve been turning 18 for over two years, but it’s been a really exciting collection to make because we, as a brand, wanted to grow and create bolder looks,” she says. “I wanted the people using this collection to create really colorful and exciting looks.”

Brown is finding that the brand’s consumers are, in fact, getting more mature. “In the beginning, I found it was potentially more of a younger audience, but, as I’m growing up, I find that the consumers are growing up with me,” she says. “There are also moms who trust our brand because it’s clean skincare that can really take care of their children. They’re comforted to know what they’re putting on their skin, the ingredients and formulas.” 

Brown tries to keep Florence by Mills on the cutting edge by scouring social content to see what’s resonating with gen Z consumers. “We’re constantly on TikTok and YouTube, looking at tutorials on what people are using, what people are liking,” she says. “What’s exciting is that we have direct contact with the fans. We can really listen to them and that’s helping the brand grow.” 

One of the beauty trends she’s scoped out on TikTok is what she calls an “obsession with simplicity.” In other words, people aspire to go back to basics. Brown says, “There are these 10- to 30-second videos where people can show really simple routines, beauty and skincare tips. People want to see that.” 

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Florence by Mills’ $14 Be A VIP Velvet Liquid Lipstick comes in eight bold shades. It’s in the brand’s latest collection, Color in Wonderland.

When it comes to Florence by Mills’ social media, Brown is more concerned with connection than pushing product. “I don’t say I have a strategy, but I definitely want to use social media as a communication channel to talk directly with the fans on what they want to see within Florence by Mills and what they don’t want to see” she says. “It’s great to help include them in the process, so they feel like they’re part of the Florence by Mills family. Social media can be a really positive platform if you make it one.”

The vibe is paramount. She says her No. 1 goal for consumers landing on Florence by Mills’ Instagram account is for them to feel like they’re loved and that they should “take a self-care day and focus on themselves because that’s what we want to promote.”