L’Oreal Paris history : worldwide success

1909 has become the number one cosmetic group in the

world.
Eugène Schueller was born in 1881 in Paris. His parents were confectioners and everyone wanted him to continue the family business, but he became a professional chemist.

first hair dyes. He formulated it, manufactured and sold to

Parisian hairdressers. The hair dye was called Oréal and created from harmless chemical components. It had a great success in France.

begins. Around the world, women are working, earning money, growing

more concerned about their appearance and searching ways to prevent grey hairs from aging. Oréal hair dyes had a great success, even beyond the borders of France, breaking new ground in Italy in 1910, Austria in 1911 and the Netherlands in 1913. A little later hair dyes was sold even even in the United States, Canada, the UK and Brazil.

quick to realize the value of one of his first

bleaching solutions, claiming: “This little bottle holds a huge industry! One day, millions of brunettes will want to be blonde.” The world of cinema was to prove him right. Hollywood stars, led by Jean Harlow—who headlined in the film “Platinum Blonde”—launched the new trend, with blond seen as the most seductive color of the time. L’Oréal Blanc bleaching powder was a huge success

their hair using mixture of black soap boiled in water

mixed with soda crystals.  L’Oréal finally creates a real shampoo without soap (fatty alcohol sulphates) that is considerably gentler on the hair and sold in 1L bottles. Known as “Dopal”, the product range is still sold today as “Dop”.

of Japanese bathing practices with the first foam bath, Obao:

a name that takes its inspiration directly from o-furo, the traditional Japanese bath.

the first step on the road to becoming a luxury

goods empire.
1965:  the acquisition of Garnier. The purchase of Garnier enables L’Oréal to acquire a portfolio of complementary haircare products with an organic positioning – a different approach to haircare.

perfumery experience, L’Oréal joins forces for the first time with

a major French couturier, Guy Laroche, to create a number of perfumes. The first product of this association is Fidji, which becomes a classic perfume with the unforgettable advertising slogan: “A woman is an island. Fidji is her perfume”.

are marked by a great period of growth for L'Oréal,

mainly driven by the significant investments made by the group in the field of research.
In 1988, François Dalle's successor, the research and development pioneer Charles Zviak, hands over the reins of the company to Lindsay Owen-Jones, a truly outstanding director.
Under his management, the Group would completely change in scope to become the world leader in cosmetics through the worldwide presence of its brands and strategic acquisitions.

desire to expanding its perfume business, L’Oréal continues the strategy

of collaborating with popular designers. It teams up with Paloma Picasso, fashion and jewellery designer, daughter of the legendary artist. She gives the perfume her name, designs the bottle, selects its composition. As a result, perfume had an instant success throughout the world.

skincare products was designed specially for men! Their refreshing, non-oily

textures, specially adapted to male skin, their ergonomic shapes, and their straight-forward media campaign win men over throughout the world. A true pioneer in 1985, Biotherm Homme is today’s leader in men’s skincare products in more than 70 countries.

bring Lancôme into state-of-the-art skincare technology. Thanks to a formula

patented by L’Oréal in 1980, for the first time ever, active ingredients are “vectorised”, that is, encapsulated in order to protect them and convey them to the epidermal layers where they are most effective.

Rubinstein, the American brand of skincare products. This luxurious, innovative

brand, created in the image of its famous founder, is already well positioned on the European, Japanese and South American markets. Following Helena Rubenstein, L’Oréal signs a licensing contract with Giorgio Armani.
L’Oréal consolidates dermatological expertise and its presence in pharmacy networks with the acquisition of La Roche-Posay, a high-tech dermatological product recommended by dermatologists all over the world.

multiple-faceted quality framed by different ethnic origins, aspirations, and expectations

that reflect the world’s diversity. With a portfolio of powerful, international brands, L’Oréal enters the 21st century by embracing diversity in its global growth agenda.

brand of professional corrective cosmetic products, used and sold by

dermatologists. Predominantly based on non-invasive acts (peeling, post-cosmetic procedure care), combining safety and efficiency, Biomedical has joined the Group brand with the highest dermatological valence, La Roche-Posay.

1998 of SoftSheen, the American company producing hair products for

ethnic hair, L'Oréal also acquired one of its subsidiaries, Mizani (Swahili for "balance"), its professional product brand. In 2001, Mizani was overhauled, repositioned as a premium brand and relaunched by the USA Professional Products Division.

for nutritional supplements for cosmetic purposes with the creation of

Innéov. The result of synergy between L'Oréal Research (knowledge of skin, evaluation methodologies) and Nestlé Research (bio-assimilation, nutritional ingredient stability), the brand is counting on scientific breakthroughs in order to develop this booming market.

signed a license agreement with Dutch designers Viktor & Rolf.

Their rich, avant-garde and extravagant esthetic universe proved attractive to the Group, which is looking to bring in new talent and expand its designer fragrance division.

luscious and transparent colors, playful image, toothsome fruit flavors: delicious

and addictive, Juicy Tubes lip gloss has proved a phenomenal success worldwide.

Russia. We can find its products everywhere, in shops and

pharmacies. And we like this brand for its high-quality.