Given the variety of colours, brands and finishes of nail polish on offer at your local chemist, it’s hard to believe this wasn’t always the case. What you may not know is that manicured ladies from all over actually have Revlon to thank for the polish collections they now have stashed at home.
In a laboratory in 1932, Charles Revson and his brother Joseph, along with chemist Charles Lachman (who contributed the L” to the brand name) developed a nail lacquer unlike any that had gone before it.
Developed using pigments instead of dyes, the Revlon product was opaque and was an enamel in fashion shades,” explains Janet Muggivan, Revlon’s corporate communications director, Asia Pacific. She says that before the creation of Revlon’s first nail enamel, most polishes on the market were sheer, and the range of shades was limited. Prior to Revlon, polish was not seen as a fashionable look for respectable women.”
Revson sold the idea that this nail enamel could turn the right head or add a touch of class. In creating this persona, Revlon always advertised heavily in relation to its sales, giving salons and competitors the impression that the brand was bigger than it really was.
In 1940, Revlon added lipstick to their range, which saw the brand’s sales more than double those of the previous year, to $2.8 million. Shortly afterwards, Revlon added the world’s first waterproof mascara to its stable of products.
In 1952, Revlon created a promotion that was unlike any other, and changed the way cosmetics were advertised forever. Revlon’s Fire and Ice” campaign starred Dorian Leigh in an advertisement that combined dignity, class and glamour. In late 2010, Revlon relaunched their Fire and Ice” line with a recreation of the original ad starring actress Jessica Biel.
The following two decades saw a big expansion in Revlon’s portfolio. In 1953, it was the first cosmetics brand to create make-up which combined foundation with a pressed powder, and in 1958 Revlon invented the world’s first liquid foundation. Then came a skin treatment for women over 35, as well as an anti-wrinkle night cream. Revlon also launched a blush in 1962 and an FDA-approved anti-dandruff shampoo the following year.
One of Revlon’s most famous products however, is their . Launched in 1972, the Charlie scent was an instant hit, and by the mid-1970s it was the number one-selling fragrance in the world. Its success coincided with the company founder (and the fragrance’s namesake), Charles Revson’s death in 1975.
What set the Charlie fragrance apart from others of the time was the idea that it was designed for a woman to buy for herself and wear for her own enjoyment. It was revolutionary in the ’70s and tapped right to the zeitgeist of the women’s movement,” explains Muggivan. Even the advertising campaign was startling – a woman striding confidently across Madison Avenue in a pinstripe pantsuit with a briefcase. This was a far cry from the overly romanticised and typical ads that sold fragrances.” The Charlie fragrance, which is still a strong seller for the brand, helped push Revlon’s sales figures past the $1 billion mark in 1977.
The brand’s financial presence was becoming hard to ignore. Revlon was listed on the New York Stock Exchange for the first time in 1956. Over the next few decades, Revlon began losing some of its huge share in the cosmetics market to brands such as Estee Lauder and Covergirl. Eventually, in 1985, at a price of $58 per share (a total of $2.7 billion), Revlon was sold to Pantry Pride, which was a subsidiary of MacAndrews & Forbes Holdings. Pantry Pride was later renamed Revlon Group, Inc. The company is currently a majority-owned subsidiary of MacAndrews & Forbes Holdings, Inc., and currently trades on the New York Stock Exchange for around $15-$16 a share.
In 1987, became Revlon’s hypo-allergenic range within the brand. According to Muggivan, the Almay consumer is different to the Revlon one. She’s interested in simple, healthy beauty and is conscious of what she puts on her skin. Kate Hudson, the Almay brand ambassador is a perfect fit for the brand – modern and gorgeous, but easygoing with a sense of playfulness.”
Hudson and Biel are just two of the beauties that have fronted the brand over the years. Currently, the brand’s spokesmodels include Jessica Alba, Halle Berry and Elle McPherson, while over the years the likes of Cindy Crawford, Claudia Schiffer, Susan Sarandon and even Oprah have represented the brand in one way or another. In fact, Muggivan claims that Revson basically invented the idea of the spokesmodel when he signed Lauren Hutton to an exclusive contract with the brand in 1973.
Having built up such an impressive history, there’s no telling what the brand will come up with next. Muggivan cites recent innovations including ColorStay™ Aqua Mineral Makeup, which utilises the benefits of coconut water, as well as Revlon’s , which helps protect and maintain healthy lashes, as examples of the technology we’ve seen from the brand of late.
Today, Revlon continues to build on that concept of innovation and passion for change that was established by Revson in 1932. The brand is currently number-one in the face make-up category in Australia, with seven Revlon foundations sold every minute. With that much pulling power in this country alone, it’s no wonder Revlon is a leader in the cosmetics industry across the globe. And it all started with a nail polish.