Born in an African-American family, Robinson attended Adelphi University and graduated with a degree in chemistry and biology in 1987.[1][5] Robinson briefly attended a medical school and studied medicine, but he soon realised his interests were in chemistry and left the school.[6]
After the completion of his education, Robinson started his career as a researcher at Clinique which is part of Estée Lauder.[6][7] Later, he joined Avon and worked there until 2008.[6][5] His research work include the development of Clinique's skin-care line.[6][7] During his career, he also worked for Revlon, Lancome, La Mer.[5][8]
In 2008, Robinson started a website called BeautyStat.[6][9] In 2020, he founded BeautyStat as a cosmetics company.[7] Nordstrom included BeautyStat in their inclusive category.[10]
In June 2022, Robinson became the chemist-in-residence of Rhode, a beauty brand started by Hailey Bieber.[11]
