Linda Wells

Linda Wells has more than 35 years of experience in beauty as a journalist, brand founder, and brand builder. While serving as Revlon's chief creative officer, she created and launched Flesh Beauty, a prestige makeup brand. Prior to Revlon, she was the founding editor-in-chief of the beauty magazine Allure, which she helmed for 25 years. New York Magazine called Wells "the most authoritative and crucial voice on beauty" and Refinery29 referred to her as "the guiding light in the industry."

Wells created Flesh Beauty in less than a year and brought 96 products to market exclusively at Ulta Beauty stores in 2018. The brand's products, advertising, and social media have been commended for excellence by Refinery29, Elle, InStyle, Allure, the Today show, and The Cut, among others. Google acknowledged Flesh Beauty's YouTube videos as "best-in-class content" in 2018, and Tribe Dynamics named Flesh Beauty the No. 1 new brand in earned media value that same year.

From 1990 until 2015, Wells was the founding editor-in-chief of Allure magazine, allure.com, and the Allure video channel, growing circulation to 1.2 million. In 1996, Wells created the Allure Best of Beauty Awards to help consumers find the most effective beauty products on the market. The awards generated a licensing business for the Best of Beauty seal, which cosmetics companies use in advertising and on packaging. Wells also brought e-commerce to Allure through partnerships with MasterCard and Quidsi. In 2012, she launched the Allure Beauty Box subscription service.

Prior to Allure, Wells was a reporter at The New York Times, ultimately becoming the beauty editor and food editor of The New York Times Magazine. Wells also previously served as the contributing beauty editor-at-large for New York Magazine's The Cut, and as the writer and producer of "The Linda Wells Report," a beauty zine within issues of Harper's Bazaar, Elle, Marie Claire, Cosmopolitan, and Town & Country. She was also a consultant on the formulation and branding of product lines for several private and public companies. Wells began her career at Vogue as a writer and editor on beauty, fitness, and wellness.