How Jeanine Lobell Built a Beauty Empire—Twice

Welcome toSecond Life, a podcast spotlighting successful women who’ve made major career changes—and fearlessly mastered the pivot. Hosted by Hillary Kerr, co-founder and chief content officer at Who What Wear, each episode gives you a direct line to women who are game changers in their fields. Subscribe to Second Life on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or anywhere you get your podcasts to stay tuned.

Jeanine Lobell is an absolute legend in the beauty industry—the notable name behind one of the most beloved and incredibly innovative cosmetics companies, Stila. Lobell founded the company 28 years ago with the mission to evolve both makeup and its packaging, catering to the new generation of conscious consumers. Today, she has outdone herself again with the launch of the direct-to-consumer beauty brand Neen, which debuted just last April. With sustainability at the forefront of the brand, Neen is the ultimate testament to Lobell’s commitment to clean formulations that are truly circular.

In fact, she created the first-ever subscription card that includes five peel-back makeup swatches to encourage the consumer to try out new creative looks before buying the full-sized version, ultimately eliminating the need to hold on to or discard beauty products that simply did not work out. From using cards made of FSC paper to designing a first-of-its-kind reusable silicone compact proven to be dishwasher approved, Lobell built Neen with the utmost intention to do better by the planet and the consumer’s skin.

Yet before she was paving the future path for beauty brands, she actually began her career on the other side of the beauty industry as a makeup artist, working with stars such as Cate Blanchett, Natalie Portman, and Nicole Kidman for the esteemed magazine covers of Vogue, W, and Vanity Fair and working on a video for the musical Hairspray. Listen to the latest episode of Second Life to hear how Lobell decided to take the leap of faith to start her own company, leading her to become one of the pioneers within the beauty community. Keep scrolling to shop some of Neen’s best sellers.