Beauty industry pioneer and former owner of Bare Escentuals
Tiburon, CA
In her 22-year tenure at Bare Escentuals, Leslie Blodgett redefined the norm for a beauty company, transforming a small west coast bath and body retailer into a global beauty brand. In 2006, Blodgett took the company public in one of the largest cosmetic IPO’s in the last decade. Four years later, in one of the largest cosmetic mergers in history, Shiseido acquired Bare Escentuals for $1.8 billion.
Leslie earned her position as a beauty industry pioneer by trailblazing a new age of direct selling, innovating unconventional marketing tactics, and forging a bond with women around the globe to create the first community brand.
Among her honors, Blodgett was named the first female recipient of the “Visionary of the Year Award” and one of “Beauty’s Big Ten” by Women’s Wear Daily Beauty Inc., one of the “Top Entrepreneurs of the Decade: 2000-2009” by Inc. Magazine, and Honorary Doctor of Humane Letters by the Fashion Institute of Technology (FIT).
Blodgett serves on the board of directors at Stella & Dot, Maternal Health Organization, Every Mother Counts and SPANX Board of Advisors. She is an angel investor, advisor and philanthropist.