The Brands You Grew Up With

I BEAUTY I
The Srands
You Grew
Up With
They're still
around because
the companies
that produce
them know what
they're doing
By Lola Augustine
Brown
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time. Take Revlon Red lipstick, for example: women
it across their lips since 1951, and it's
still one ofthe companyt best sellers. We know where
we are with these products and these brands because
have been swiping
they've always been there, delivering the same consistent results year after year
Ifyoule a beauty-product fan, the history of how
these products came to be is pretty interesting. Many
years ago, but the cosmetics boom really began in the
1940s, so you'll likely remember many of the big cam-
triotic act to wear makeup and look beautiful, as it
showed that you werent giving in to the horrors of
war. It was a way of saying, Life goes on," she says. In
paigns and products offered.
"Before that, there was never really an organized
addition, women were dealing with a shortage of men,
so they wanted to look glamorous and, as they were
iconic brands may have been well-established many
30
way of saying to women that they had bufng power,
leisure time, and the money to spend on themselves,"
explains Rachel C. Weingarten, author of Hella Gorgeous!: Beauty Products in America 40s-'60s (the 1940s,
'50s, and '60s were, she says, the golden age ofwomen's
cosmetics).
Weingarten says that, in various ways, the Second
World Warwas responsible lor women wearing more
makeup, takiag more pride in their appearance, and
having more money to spend on beauty. "lt was a pa-
cooD TIMES Ju y/August 2013
I
ElizabethArden I
now working in the factories where men
used to work, they suddenly had disposable incomes 1o invest in their looks.
"Cosmetics marketing at that time
was a sign of economic respect. Never
before did women have products that
were marketed to them; before that, it
was always about spending money on
the home and the family," Weingarten sa)B. From that period on, the
cosmetics industry thrived and
l::
grew, with women investing
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time and money in becom-
ing their most beautiful
selves.
Avenue in New York. She then began to create
products and build her global beauty empire.
Iconic product: In 1930, Elizabeth Arden
launched her Eight Hour Cream, and the formula is the same more than 80 years later. Still
a global bestseller, known as a healing cream
and overall miracle worker, this product continues to make the "best of" lists in beauty magazines year after year
The brand now: Continuing to evolve, the
company now has lines for men, and the popuIar Prevage and Ceramide Iines target aging
skin. There's still an Elizabeth Arden Red Door
Spa on Fifth Avenue, as well as in 29 other locations around the United States.
As the market for women's products grew, sweral companies quickly established themselves
as leaders in the field Max Factor, Estde Lauder, Helena Rubinstein, Rev-
lon-all
these names came to epito-
mize modern glamour and their
Avon
it all began: Starting out as the California Perfume
Company in 1886 with i* first housewife representatives (reps
Hon,
eventually came to be known as Avon Ladies), the company
issued its first brochure in 1896 and had 10,000 reps by 1902.
The company expanded into Canada in
companies are still going strong (Max
Factor is sill sold in Europe but, sadly,
stopped being distributed in North
America in 2010). "Al1 those brands
have stayed strong because they have
embraced what women have become
over the years and evolved to cater to
the growing markets," Weingarten
"You can still produce your staple
products, but you have to change the
says.
formulas, change the colours, and show
brand, you klow what women need now."
They are the brands that we ve grown up with and that
have helped us feel good about ourselves. For these reasons
and many personal ones (maybe you wore that certain lipthat, as
a
stick at your wedding or associate the scent of a particular
face cream with your mother), we derive comfort from these
products, and something as simple as buying an eight-dollar
lipstick can really lift onet mood. Heret how some ofthose
much-loved brands got their starts and how they've evolved
to stay current.
Elizabeth Arden
How it all began: Florence Nightingale Graham was bom
in Ontario in 1884, but by 1910, she had adopted the name
Elizabeth Arden and opened her first salon on Fifth
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GOOD TIMES
31
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BEAUTY
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name to Avon in 193q and
went on to become one of
the worldt most successfirl
companies.
:
r.
Iconic product: The
Skin-So-Soft line was first
launched in 1961 and has
stayed a perennial favourite.
Dozens of Skin-So-Soft products are available today, from
underam dmdorants to shower gels, moisturizers, and more.
The brand now: Avon boasts
more than six million representatives in more than 100 markets.
still come to your door, but you can
ine (www.avon.ca).
UOr6al Paris
How it all began: In l90Z French chemist Eugdne Schueller
invented a hair dye formula and began marketing it to Parisian beauty salons. His formulations became extremely successfii, and, in 1909, he registered the company that would
eventuallybecome IJOr6al Paris and then quickly employed
more chemists to develop more products.
Iconicproduct: Elnett hairspray was launched in 1960 and
became a cult beauty favourite after it was discontinued in
North America, with pmple bringing it home from trips to
Eumpe; today it's back on the shelves on this side ofthe pond.
The brand now: LOr€al Paris is the world's largest
beauty company, selling us everything from hair
and makeup products to skin care and suncare
and almost everlthing else one might use
on the body. The company's hair-dye
products have evolved over the years
to include up-to-the-minute
colours, more natural formulas, and easier application methods (for both ar
home and in-salon dyes) .
Revlon
it all began: In
How
fashion and new technologies and by staying affordable,
Revlon remains a top choice for Canadians.
Nivea
How it all began: Starting in Germany in 1911, the company that would come to be known as Nivea was the first
to create an oil-and-water-based cream stable enough to be
1932, brothers Charles
mass-produced and exported around the world without
and Joseph Revson
teamed up with phar-
losing its colour or consistency. Within three years ofit be-
macist Charles Lachman to create the
world's first nail enamel made with pig-
world.
ments (versus dyes),
resulting in a long-
32
Iasting, richly hued product that revolutionized the way
women's nails looked.
Iconic product: Revlonb matching red nail enamel and
lipsticks have been in production since 1951 and remain
bestsellers today.
The brand now: Rwlon has a huge array ofbeauty and
hair care products and tools. By continuing to embrace
cooD TIMEs Jury/Augusr
2oT 3
ing introduced, you could buy Nivea Creme all over the
Iconic product: Nivea Creme, the product that started
everlthing, is around and still going strong more than 100
years later. The
little-blue-tin packaging with which we're
in 1925 and has undergone several evolutions and redesigns. Although the Creme
all familiar was first introduced
cated to help the skin. The line was an instant success, and
many famous beauties have starred in CoverGirl ad campaigns over the years, including Cybill Shepherd and Christie Brinkley; these days, celebrities including EIIen DeGeneres, Queen Latifah, and Taylor Swift advertise the brand.
Iconic product: The line of liquid foundation and
pressed powder that
catapulted the brand to
success, Clean Makeup,
remains
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a
bestseller.
little over the years, the product is still
The brand now: As
pretty much the same as it ever was.
The brand now: One ofthe world's largest beauty brands,
Nivea has more than 150 products in Canada (47 in the Nivea
successful now as ever,
has been tweaked a
for Men line). Carried on drugstore and supermarket shelves
everywhere, Nivea offen all manner of skin care products,
including the verypopular Q10 line for aging skin.
CoverGirl
How it all began: In 1961, the Noxzema Company had a
US-wide launch of its first makeup under the CoverGirl
brand, advertising the Clean Makeup line as being medi-
Chili Burn* Strong
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Chili Burn is a natural fat burner, based on
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EGCG
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When taking Chili Burn, your body burns more
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top not only because of
its affordable and innovative products, but also
it markets itself
to the everyday woman,
as seen in campaigns
because
that feature models of
all ages, shapes, and skin
colours.
I
Leg Problems
I
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CoverGirl has stayed on
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For more informations
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