Photo-Illustration: The Strategist; Photos: Retailers
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“My friend who works in development/fundraising at Stanford was just telling me that Jones Road is what all her co-workers use; it feels like the minimalist makeup for 40-plus-year-old women.” This Slack came in from one of the Strategist editors this summer. Another editor chimed in that her 60-something mom really loves the company. “I think it’s formulated for more mature skin because it is very oily,” she said. “It just sits on my face, whereas it sinks in hers. I would say it’s almost like a lighter Skin Food consistency, very balmy.” Beyond a thicker consistency, what specifically do middle-aged women love about Jones Road? We decided to look into it.
Since makeup artist Bobbi Brown’s Jones Road launched in 2020, the approachable, “clean” ingredient beauty brand has become one of those lines that women, especially ones in their 40s and 50s, are telling each other about — either in person or through Facebook groups. I’ve also noticed that every time I’ve walked into the Jones Road store in Austin, Texas, at least a few women in that demographic are sampling the round pots of foundations and blushes. “We do get younger 20-year-olds looking for the ‘clean girl’ look, but we mainly get older women who’ve used Bobbi Brown [cosmetics] before,” a sales rep told me after pointing out the stack of Brown’s new memoir on one of the shelves. On TikTok, you’ll see mature-makeup influencers testing the full line, or over on Reddit, you’ll see the brand recommended repeatedly. Even here at the Strategist, multiple celebrities in that age range we’ve spoken to — Lauren Graham, Dr. Becky Kennedy, and Jennifer Meyer — have mentioned Jones Road products as something they can’t live without. (For what it’s worth, Bobbi Brown still resonates, particularly among our readers; her favorite things were one of the Strategist’s top stories this year.)
Marilee Mero, 44, a makeup artist focusing on mature beauty, was first introduced to the line through a friend in 2022 who used Jones Road’s Miracle Balm every day. “She was one of those people who I swore never, never wore makeup,” she says. “But she always looked so radiant.” Mero ended up trying the balm herself, and though she personally wasn’t a fan (it was too sticky, she says), she ended up loving the What The Foundation. Now it’s her most-used face product, and she’s gone through nearly three jars since first purchasing it.
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Another makeup artist, Michelle Spieler, 58, first found out about the brand after Meredith Duxbury applied half a jar of the foundation as a “review” about three years ago. “I had to try it,” says Spieler, who purchased it immediately after seeing the TikTok. Applied with the correct amount, Spieler thought the product was “stunning” and ended up making videos on it as well as other products from the line. “I get a lot of clicks on Jones Road,” Spieler says about her ShopMy account. “More so than L’Oréal or Victoria Beckham. That tells me mature women want this.” Now that Spieler’s tested out the full line, her top favorites are the powder bronzer and the mascara. “Even if you don’t care about clean beauty, this is one of the best mascaras I’ve ever used,” she says.
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Mero, Spieler, and Anne Marie Kortright Martinez, a 40-year-old model I spoke to, all prefer that no-makeup makeup look that Jones Road has become known for. “I tend to lean toward makeup where you can still see my skin. I still like to see my freckles. I don’t want to cover everything,” says Kortright Martinez, who describes the line as the classic blue jeans and white tank top of makeup. After being sent the Miracle Balms in 2020, she’s tried most of the brand’s face products. The shimmer oil, she notes, is her most-used one, since it layers well with everything. “Nothing can go wrong with it,” she says. “I’ve tried it with all types of base layers. I put it on my eyelids, cheeks, and jawline. It always looks good.” Plus, it’s so easy that she often applies it on the go and wipes off excess product on her hands.
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As both Mero and Spieler point out, a lot of their clients have appreciated how approachable it is. Back at the store, another sales rep likened it to “what Clinique was doing in the ’90s.” Even though brushes and sponges were laid out at the store, the sales rep solely used her fingers to swipe swatches on my hand to color match products. Mero adds that another benefit to foolproof makeup, specifically for her demographic, is that the need to see close up diminishes. “You don’t need to be close to the mirror. You don’t even have to be so careful about blending it out,” she says. “Because of that, it’s just very approachable to women as they get older. They still want to highlight their features, but it’s not so serious that they need to think about contour placement. While I love that, so many of my friends can’t be bothered.”
Kortright Martinez says she and her friends — mostly working moms — like that it takes less than 15 minutes and touch-ups are easy while on the go. In that way, it reminds us almost of a Glossier for more mature women. “Women around my age want to look professional and want to look good,” she says. “But we don’t have time to watch a lot of complicated YouTube tutorials of all these masters like my daughter’s generation. There’s no way to really mess it up with Jones Road.”
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