Stories from the history and science of cosmetics, skin-care and early Beauty Culture.


Recent Stories

Goya

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Goya started out as a perfume brand founded by Douglas Collins in Brighton, England in 1937. Realising that Brighton was not particularly fashionable he also registered a London postal address at 4 Whitehorse Street, Piccadilly.

Jane Seymour

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Jane Seymour was founded in 1933 with a salon opened at 23 Woodstock Street, off Bond Street, in Mayfair, London. It quickly expanded across Britain as well as parts of the British Empire, including Canada, Australia, New Zealand, and South Africa.

Cheramy

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In 1921, Houbigant created Cheramy, a new subsidiary that would be used to market a range of perfumes that were cheaper than those sold under the Houbigant brand.

Houbigant

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According to tradition, Houbigant was founded in 1775 by Jean-François Houbigant at 19 Rue du Faubourg Saint-Honoré under the sign ‘A la corbielle de fleurs’.

Houbigant (post 1930)

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The Great Depression that followed the American stock market crash of September, 1929 forced Houbigant into a series of adjustments.

Rudemar

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After Ruth Maurer resigned from Marinello in 1929, she started a new company and created the Rudemar range of cosmetics to be used in the Rudemar System of Beauty Culture.

Outdoor Girl

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Outdoor Girl was manufactured by the Crystal Chemical Company and first appeared in the American market in 1928.

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New Booklets

Helena Rubinstein: Clues and Cues to a Lovelier Young Skin (c.1947)

Major Updates

Primrose House

Updated: 27th October 2024

Marinello

Updated: 20th June 2024

Other great sites

The Make-up Museum

La Cosmétothèque

Sources

Books, journals, websites and other sources that I use.

Becoming Elizabeth Arden the woman behind the global beauty empire

Contact

I am based in Perth, Western Australia. You can contact me by Email or use Twitter/X for notifications of new stories and updates to the Booklets Project.

I am always happy to hear from others interested in this area. Thanks to everyone who has already been in touch.

Cosmetic History and Make-up Studies Network