Too Faced Founders Drop $28 Million on Bel Air’s Fredericks Residence
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Over the summer of 2018, married cosmetics moguls Jerrod Blandino and Jeremy Johnson sold their glam 1930s Beverly Hills home — once featured in Elle Decor — and eventually went hunting for a substantial residential upgrade. The longtime business and life partners found what they were seeking in the form of a historic, ballers-only estate in prime Bel Air.
Records reveal the Orange County-based couple spent $28 million on their new residential showpiece, sited atop a knoll with jetliner views to the Pacific Ocean and the Century City skyline. Built in 1927 by acclaimed architect Gordon B. Kaufmann, also known for designing the Hoover Dam and Beverly Hills’ iconic Greystone Mansion, the 11,200 sq. ft. structure was one of the very first homes completed on a vast tract of undeveloped land that became modern-day Bel Air.
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The home’s original owners, John and Agnes Fredericks, had the stately manor designed in the Colonial Revival style, with a painted-white brick façade and milky white columns. Somewhat surprisingly, the couple also incorporated a red tile roof, a departure from other Colonial-style homes but a cheeky nod to Southern California tradition.
In the mid-’90s, the stately old house was acquired by “Full House” actor Lori Loughlin and her longtime husband, fashion designer Mossimo Giannulli. The currently legally-embattled couple hired prolific interior designer Michael S. Smith — best-known as the Obamas’ White House decorator — to spruce up the interiors in soft, supple, sophisticated manner befitting an estate of its architectural pedigree. Shortly thereafter, the property was photographed for a spread in Elle Decor.
In 2001, Loughlin and Giannulli sold the house to billionaire Dole Food magnate David Murdock, pocketing a cool $10 million. Murdock held onto the place until 2014, when it was acquired by British mega-manager/producer Simon Fuller, the man behind the careers of the Spice Girls, Amy Winehouse and Annie Lennox — just to name a few — and the creator of the “Idol” TV show franchise.
Almost immediately after securing the deed, Fuller embarked on a full-scale remodel of the premises, opting to preserve the classic architecture but completely redo the interiors, which are now a very chic and contemporary mix of blacks, whites and grays.
Fuller attempted to unload the house beginning about two years ago, first as an off-market pocket listing with an optimistic $37.5 million ask. Despite the still-huge $28 million sale price, it seems unlikely that he actually reaped any sort of profit; he paid $24 million for the property in 2014 and then spent a very significant amount, likely well into the millions, on the major remodel. With taxes, carrying costs and hefty realtor fees factored into the equation, the final result barely broke even, at best.
The unusually large, fan-shaped lot spans 1.6 sloped acres and features a substantial motorcourt capable of accommodating more than a dozen luxury vehicles. There’s also a detached guesthouse, a separate greenhouse, vast swathes of rolling lawns, and a private pool area below the main house with a sizable stone terrace, a mosaic-tiled swimming pool and an in-ground spa.
Inside, the main house offers trendy ebony-stained hardwood throughout the public rooms and an all-white kitchen with a rather dizzying black-and-white tile floor. There’s also a formal dining room, living room and family room — the latter two with hulking fireplaces and French doors offering convenient access to various parts of the gardens.
Other amenities include a wood-paneled library, massive walls for a world-class art collection and a soaring entryway with a sculptural “floating” staircase original to the home. The hedonistic upstairs master includes a private gym, office, dual baths and a gentleman’s club-like dressing room.
Too Faced had humble beginnings as a self-funded makeup company started in the late ’90s by Blandino, a professional makeup artist, and Johnson, a business manager. Two decades later, the couple’s brainchild is a full-range makeup line and one of the world’s top-selling, best-known beauty brands. In 2016, Too Faced was acquired by Estée Lauder for a record $1.45 billion, the biggest-ever acquisition in the cosmetics giant’s 74-year history.
The $28 million Bel Air manor will be home to Blandino, Johnson and their beloved “son” Clover, a brown-and-white chihuahua who serves as Too Faced’s mascot and for whom one of the company’s best-selling eyeshadow palettes is named.
Some of the happy family’s nearest new neighbors include Carole Bayer Sager and Bob Daly — they’re right next door — horror film creator James Wan and “Sex and the City” creator Darren Star. And just around the corner is a $20 million Richard Neutra-designed house that Tom Ford recently sold to hedge funder Adam Levinson.
Besides their A-list-style new estate, records show Blandino and Johnson continue to maintain at least five other properties spread across the greater L.A. area. They’ve got a $2.3 million house in Newport Beach, a $40 million maximalist mansion in nearby Corona Del Mar — done up for them by a celebrated designer Mary McDonald and featured last year on the cover of Elle Decor — a condo out in Redlands, a condo in the posh Westside neighborhood of Brentwood, and a condo in Glendora, Calif.
Drew Fenton and Trista Rullan of Hilton & Hyland held the listing.
Launch Gallery: Jeremy Johnson and Jerrod Blandino's $28 Million Bel Air Estate
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