Molly Sims has called out Jones Road Beauty after raising concerns that the brand used the same product name as YISE Beauty and created marketing that she felt was too similar to her own work.
The dispute emerged over the weekend, when Sims, founder of YISE Beauty, posted a video on social media claiming that a new Jones Road product was materially similar to a product her company had released two years earlier.
Although Sims did not name the founder or brand in the video, social-media users connected her comments to Jones Road Beauty's Wide Awake Brightening Neutralizer and Wide Awake Brightening Concealer.
'A brand that I love, use and support, not only used the exact name of a product I launched two years ago, but also their marketing copy and campaign feels a little too close to home,' Sims said.
Sims said friends, customers, brand partners and retail partners had noticed similarities with YISE Beauty's Wide Awake Brightening & Depuffing Eye Cream and subsequently contacted her.
The comments came shortly after Jones Road launched its Wide Awake products, with Brown later acknowledging that YISE Beauty had a product with the same name and saying the company would take steps to rename it.
@bknownbrands A Google search. That's all it would've taken. 🔍 Molly Sims' YISE Beauty launched its Wide Awake eye cream in 2024. Now Jones Road has a "Wide Awake" collection. Same category. Same name. Customer confusion guaranteed. Naming is brand strategy, not an afterthought. Checking what's already out there protects everyone, including a fellow founder. Disappointing to see. Oversight or overstep? 👇 #yisebeauty #beautyindustry #productnaming #bobbibrown #jonesroad
♬ original sound - Bianca | Beauty Marketer
Sims Says She Was Hurt
Sims said she was particularly disappointed because of her relationship with the founder behind the other beauty brand.
'I can't explain how disappointed, and honestly sad and hurt I am to see this from another female founder who I've known for years and have looked up to in this industry,' Sims said.
The model and entrepreneur also highlighted the work of her YISE Beauty team, describing it as a 'primarily female team' and noting that five marketers were 'incredibly scrappy'.
'There is room for more women to build great brands, create great products, and have great ideas of their own,' she said. 'We should be inspiring each other, not taking from each other.'
YISE Beauty did not immediately respond to Inc.'s request for comment.
The episode has also raised questions about whether the phrase 'Wide Awake' can be exclusively protected as a trademark.
Trademark attorney Kamanta Kettle of ArentFox Schiff described Sims' social-media approach as a 'very risky move', particularly if it was made 'without a prior legal assessment'.
Kettle said 'Wide Awake' is associated with and used by a number of third-party brands. She also said more than 600 results appeared for the term on the US Patent and Trademark Office website.
According to Kettle, the widespread use of the phrase could give it 'deeply diluted significance as a source identifier', potentially making it harder for YISE to establish that its use had acquired secondary meaning as a trademark.
Her comments do not establish whether either company has exclusive legal rights to the phrase, and the broader trademark question remains unresolved.
Brown Moves To Rename Product
Bobbi Brown subsequently addressed the situation on her social-media page, acknowledging that Jones Road had a product with the same name.
'Last week, the Jones Road Beauty team and I launched the Wide Awake neutralizer and concealer,' Brown wrote. 'We didn't realize Molly Sims has a product with the same name in her YISE Beauty Collection. This was a mistake.'
Brown publicly apologised to Sims and the YISE team and said Jones Road would take steps to rename the product.
In a statement to Inc., Brown said the company had made the decision 'out of respect for Molly and her team' and would 'welcome the opportunity to speak with [YISE]'.
Brown also said a trademark search conducted before the launch had shown no other ownership of the name.
'Prior to our launch, a trademark search showed no other ownership of the name,' Brown wrote, adding that she would 'never knowingly copy another product's name'.
Brown said Jones Road would use the situation to strengthen its vetting process, including 'rigorous competitive deep dives' and potentially 'extending launch timelines'.
Sims later said she and Brown had connected personally and worked through the issue together, adding that they would continue to respect one another and each other's brands.
Jones Road has said it intends to change the product name, although its official website currently continues to list the products as the Wide Awake Brightening Concealer and Wide Awake Brightening Neutralizer.
