Think you know everything about your favourite beauty brands? Think again! We tracked down info from 100 beauty brands on everything from world firsts to the fastest selling products to the crazy beauty facts (some of which you really didn’t want to know)…
- AHAVA first started as an environmental initiative. People were going to the Dead Sea and pillaging its mud, so the founders of AHAVA started cleaning and bagging the mud and selling to the visitors as a way of deterring this destruction of the environment.
Artistry – Brand ambassador Teresa Palmer likes to wear the brand’s Lip Gloss in Ruby Red for the red carpet.
Avado Organics - Avocado oil doesn’t just conceal sun damage, but actually reverses it - there’s no other oil in any market anywhere else in the world that does that.
Aveeno Active Naturals – A recent study found 68 per cent of women believe their skin lacks freshness, brightness and radiance.
- One Avon lipstick is sold every four seconds.
BaBylissPRO - The electrical curling iron was first invented by BaByliss in France in 1959.
Banana Boat – Apply moisturiser first, sunscreen second, and make-up last. For the best results, allow some drying time between applications.
- Originally called Rose Tint, Benetint was created in 1977 for an exotic dancer as a nipple stain. Today it’s more conventionally used as a lip and cheek stain.
– The owner of Absolute Spa chose her brands because their philosophy aligned. Bioelements and Mirabella are both companies based on a firm history of education, supporting the professional and co-operation.
Bioré - Pores can store dirt and oil up to 20 years old. Bioré Pore Strips found fame by working like a magnet and instantly locking onto and removing deep-down dirt, oil and stubborn blackheads.
- You are 13 times more likely to develop a nickel allergy if your body is pierced in materials like stainless steel. Once a nickel allergy is triggered, there is no cure.
- Long-Wear Gel Eyeliner is consistently Bobbi Brown's number one best-selling product around the world. They sell one Long-Wear Gel Eyeliner every minute around the world.
- The packaging of the Burberry BODY and Burberry Beauty fragrance lines are textured to give a protective feel and reflect the fabric of the brand’s iconic trench coats.
- Carmex sells 135 lip balms each minute and manufactured over 80,000,000 units in 2011.
– Cedel hit headlines in 1975 when In Melbourne Tonight host Graham Kennedy sparked widespread controversy when he made a crow-call” of faaaaaark” during a live read of a Cedel hairspray advertisement.
Centella - You absorb more magnesium through your skin then by taking a magnesium tablet. Magnesium firms, tones and evens out blotchy skin.
Centrix – Centrix styling tools are produced by Cricket who have supplied the professional hairdressing industry for over 35 years.
- A lot of time and effort goes into creating the eau de parfum bottle. One hour is needed to braid 24 meters of ribbon, using a long and meticulous haute couture process. Over 60 different people take part in the creation of a single bottle.
CIRCA - Circa Home soy wax candles have been created with one of the strongest fragrance levels of any soy candle (perfect for outdoor entertaining!).
- Studies show skin has up to 61 per cent better absorption of vitamin C after cleansing with Clarisonic compared with manual cleansing.
- The number of pores on your face is around 300,000, with studies showing that pores on our face typically double in size from age 25 to 50.
– Every three minutes, a bottle of CND’s SolarOil nail treatment is sold somewhere around the globe.
Comvita - Cleopatra used honey on her skin because of the antibacterial effects of honey.
– Conair revolutionised the hairdressing industry in the USA in the 1960s when it introduced the first pistol dryer and taught salons the new 30 minute blow dry” technique that replaced the standard 3-4 wash, set and bonnet dry.
– The founders of De Lorenzo, Vincent and Anton De Lorenzo, were behind Australia’s first professional haircare brand named Delva.
Dior - Miss Dior was created in 1947 at the same time as Christian Dior's first New Look” collection. Created initially for his mother, the fragrance became a "couture" fragrance that could only be purchased if you bought one of Dior's couture creations.
– The new direction of the DMK Acu range for acne incorporates ingredients to help control the stress hormonal flux associated with acne conditions.
Dr. LeWinn's – Dr. LeWinn’s Private Formula Day Cream is the original product launched over 20 years ago and is still ranked number one in pharmacies.
– Like its name suggests, Eco Tools are very friendly to the environment with the brushes made up of bamboo (highly sustainable) handles, recycled aluminium (eco-friendly) ferrules and synthetic (cruelty-free) taklon bristles.
- There were 45 variations of the Elie Saab Le Parfum fragrance created by various perfumers before Elie Saab settled on the final one by Francis Kurkdjian.
– It took Arden six months to repay the initial $US6,000 loan to start her business in 1910.
Ella Baché – Ella Baché was the first cosmetic chemist to use tomatoes in her formulas in 1936, after noticing the effect tomato extract had on the skin in young girls in Hungary.
- The pink products in their range are coloured with beetroot.
– The PediSmooth’s micro-mineral roller spins 360 degrees at 30 times per second to remove rough, dry skin from the soles of feet.
– Contrary to popular belief, oil is beneficial for problematic skin. It has the ability to break down and dissolve the oil trapped in hair follicles.
- The original Nigh Repair was the first serum ever created and the first skincare product to use Hyaluronic Acid. The original patent was purchased for $10.
Garnier - Garnier reuse and recycle 91 per cent of their waste and have reduced the weight of plastic in their Garnier Fructis bottles by 25 per cent over the last five years. This equates to 180 tonnes less plastic per year and 300 tonnes less CO2 emissions.
– Gatineau was the first professional skincare brand to create an exfoliant.
Giorgio Armani - Acqua Di Gio Pour Homme is the number-one selling male fragrance in Australian department stores.
Glasshouse Fragrances - New research has discovered that around 1.5 million diamond nanoparticles are created every second in a candle flame as it burns.
Gucci - The Gucci gown that Blake Lively wears in the Gucci Premiere advertising campaign took the Gucci seamstresses over 1,000 hours to make and it features over 300,000 silver sequins.
Guinot - Guinot’s mask essential formula has stayed the same since 1978.
Head & Shoulders – Head & Shoulders is the number one global anti-dandruff shampoo and brand in the world, according to a report by Nielsen 2011.
- A drop in female hormone levels can lead to hair thinning because it causes an imbalance in the female/male hormones ratios. The increase in testosterone reacts with an enzyme in the scalp, creating a by-product that starts to kill off the hair follicle until it falls out and affecting the follicle’s chance of re-boosting another hair.
Hugo Boss - The geranium flower is sometimes referred to as the male rose” and it offers a spicy floral aspect to a fragrance. It features in the classic male fragrance BOSS Bottled, which has become one of the most successful men’s fragrances of all time since its launch in 1998.
– The minerals in Jane Iredale’s make-up can be mixed with nail polish to create customised colours for your nails.
John Frieda - Within the John Frieda Frizz Ease brand, one serum is sold every 30 seconds around the world. This is not surprising seeing as 41 per cent of all Aussie women are concerned about frizz.
– In the past 12 months, 872,966,300 grams of Johnson’s Baby Talc powder has been sold in Australia (which is approximately 2.8 million units).
- All Jo Malone colognes have been constructed so they can be mixed and matched. This means an endless number of combinations and the ability for each customer to create a signature scent that is uniquely theirs.
- The first fragrance essence Kiehl’s introduced was Kiehl’s Original Musk Oil in 1921. Its origin is shrouded in myths, but Kiehl’s lore has it that the fragrance oil was formulated by a relative of the Kiehl’s founding family – an actual Russian prince.
Lancôme - Génifique Youth Activator is the brand’s record-breaking skincare product and has already been awarded with over 100 prizes internationally. It has just crossed the threshold of 7 million units sold worldwide.
– These days they might be a part of women’s everyday beauty routine, but La Prairie reveals they launched the first ever eye serum in 1989 with their Skin Caviar Eye Essence.
- Le Tan in Le Can Deep Bronze is the number one suncare product in Australian Grocery, with one can of Le Tan in Le Can being sold in Australia every minute.
Living Nature – Bladder Kelp, found in Living Nature’s Purifying Hand Wash, is the fastest growing plant in the world, reaching lengths of up to 35 metres at maturity and growing at an incredible rate of half a metr eper day.
- L’Occitane feature Braille on all packaging and its foundation's goal is to eradicate curable blindness in the third world areas they work in by 2020.
- Mary Kay Extra Emollient Night Cream is one of the top-selling Mary Kay products of all time. It has been part of the Mary Kay product line since the company was founded 50 years ago in 1963.
Maybelline New York - In order to enhance her looks to attract the man she was in love with, Mabel Williams applied soot from her oil lamp to her lashes to darken them. Her younger brother then formulated a safer mix of carbon dust and Vaseline which later led to Maybelline (Mabel + Vaseline).
– Medik8’s epidermal growth factors are synthetically produced, therefore they are 100 per cent free from any human or animal derivatives and yet are bio-identical.
MeMeMe – The brand’s Seventh Heaven fragrance was developed especially to engage a wide number of sensory receptors to invigorate and heighten the mood of its user on application.
– The Zinc Oxide the brand uses in its foundations Z-cote, a special form of the ingredient that provides an excellent ultraviolet block without the whitening effect and avoids highly reflective shine in photos.
- ModelCo are not only experts in tanning, but have won global awards for their cosmetics range as well including Product of the Year and UK’s NW Beauty Product of the Year for their FluidSplash Foundation.
- Bushukan fruit (aka Buddha’s Hand) is used to perfume rooms in Japan and as a religious offering at Buddhist temples. Its vibrant citrus aroma makes for the perfect wake-up call, which is why its used in Molton Brown’s Fresh Bushukan Citrus range.
MOR - All MOR soaps are triple-milled, which means it is refined three or more times through a heavy duty roller mill to make the lather much smoother, creamier and more luxuriant than normal soaps.
- The NIVEA Créme blue tin was the first skin cream to enter orbit in the year 1983 – on board the Space Shuttle.
Nude by Nature - Nude by Nature is one of the only mineral formulations to not contain bismuth, which means better application with no itching or caking effects.
- Each 60mL jar of Nutri-Rich Oil is made from the oil of 100 apricot kernels.
– Oasis Beauty’s Oasis Sun SPF30+ and Rhino Repair are used by the most well known international mountaineers who specialise in the 8,000-metre realm, which are classed in the world's 14 highest mountains.
- The emu oil molecule is almost exactly the same size as the human skin molecule, which enables it to penetrate the epidermis and enhance the thickness of the dermis.
- Creator Jeff Pink was the founder of the modern day French manicure. Needing a nail colour solution for actors and actresses in Hollywood, Pink created the look to complement multiple wardrobe changes. He then took the look to the runways of Paris where it was coined the "French manicure".
- Pelactiv's key ingredient is lactic acid, which is the only AHA that has the ability to hydrate (deliver water) to the skin.
Phytomer - The only professional skincare house that has the facility to freeze-dry and maintain the stability of sea water.
Planet Eve Organics - All Planet Eve Organics products contain a minimum of 95 per cent certified organic ingredients. Only 95 per cent+ certified organic products are guaranteed free from synthetic chemicals, pesticides, artificial perfumes and dyes.
– Twenty kilograms of calendula flowers are used to make one kilogram of calendula extract used in the Pure Therapy Deep Restore Skin Concentrate.
QV Skincare – The QV stands for Queen Victoria Hospital in Melbourne because the company developed the bath oil for the hospital’s patients who suffered from skin conditions.
- Unlike some other brands, Rapid White Tooth Whitening Systems are completely peroxide free and safe for home use.
– The brushes handles are not only pretty in pink, but they’re practical too with a unique extended aluminium handle which is easy to hold and control.
– Australians spent $35 million on hand and nail products in pharmacies in the last 12 months. Revitanail Strengthener is the number-one product sold in the overall hand and nail category in pharmacies.Revlon – One in six lip products sold in Australia are made by Revlon. - The average age females start shaving is 15 years old. - Schwarzkopf launched the world’s first liquid shampoo in 1927 and the first ever crème shampoo in a tube in 1949. – Up until 1906, the only face powder used in Japan was white - which was the Japanese look. As Western fashion styles began to take hold in Japan, Shiseido developed Kaed - a yellow tinted powder, and Hana - a flesh coloured one, changing the face of Japanese women.
– Every seven seconds, one Shu Uemura cleansing oil is sold around the world.
- One bottle of SK-II's cult favourite product Facial Treatment Essence is sold globally every 22 seconds.
SkinCeuticals – SkinCeuticals’ vitamin C serum, CE Ferulic, is the most potent vitamin C product on the market.
- Skindinavia is the only near weightless, breathable, over make-up mist that keeps make-up perfectly applied up to 16 hours.
- Scars can take a year or longer to finish forming.
- SKINN has been designed to target the specific problems of men’s skin, therefore only using ingredients that address these problems.
Skinstitut – It might be loved by consumers, but Skinstitut is loathed by the beauty industry for exposing the truth of what really goes on in the skincare industry such as misleading marketing claims, ingredient myths and manufacturing costs.
Spilt Milk – The Spilt Milk Mineral Hair Powder helps disguise regrowth in-between colourings, whether you’re blonde, light or dark brunette, red, copper or black-haired.
Swisspers® – The Aloe Everything Balm can be used on dry skin, elbows and feet, to help calm flyaway hairs, to secure eyebrows in place and as a shimmer to highlight cheeks and brow bones.
– Trilogy are stocked almost as far south as it’s possible to go - with products available at Scott Base in Antarctica.
Triumph & Disaster – The brand’s moisturiser uses an ingredient derived from Ponga fern - Cyathea Cumingii - that forms an elastic film that tightens and lifts the skin and is great for crow’s feet and wrinkles.
U Little Beauty - Kakadu Plum, found in all U Little Beauty products, features 50 times the Vitamin C than an orange and is sourced from the Kakadu National Park in the Northern Territory.
– The brand’s new collection – Tea Ceremony – was born out of creative director Leanne Haining’s experiences studying fine arts under Japanese ceramicist Mitsuo Shoji. While studying under Shoji, Haining mastered the art of making traditional teapots and fell in love with the beautiful rituals and culture associated with tea.
– Vixen Eye Delights Instant Eyeliner Strips are not only great for those who struggle with eyeliner application, but they stay put for much longer - lasting up to five days.
– The new VS Sassoon Italian AC dryer series introduces the highest power and airflow to date in a hair dryer, 2400watts of power and airspeed of 130kph - that’s faster than a Cheetah, which can run 120km per hour.
WOTNOT - WOTNOT Facial Wipes Travel Case is made from recycled toothbrush material, helping to reduce the environmental footprint.
Xen-Tan Premium Sunless Tan – Xen-Tan has an olive, not orange, undertone to give its natural, warm glow.
Xtreme Lashes - With over 15,000 certified stylists worldwide, Xtreme Lashes is the industry leader for eyelash extensions.
Yves Saint Laurent – A Touche Eclat Radiant Touch is sold every 10 seconds in the world.