Stories from the history and science of cosmetics, skin-care and early Beauty Culture.
Recent Stories
Disinfection & Sterilisation
The history of changes in disinfection and sterilisation practices in the twentieth century through to the 1990s.
Lenthéric
The history of Lenthéric from its founding in 1885 through to 1930.
Lenthéric (post 1930)
The continuing history of Lenthéric from 1930 through to 1965 with notes on the company after that.
Sally Hansen
The story of Sally Hansen before she founded Sally Hansen, Inc. with a brief description of the company history after she sold it to Maradel.
Louis Philippe
The history of the Louis Philippe cosmetic company from its founding in 1911 through to the 1950s.
Potter & Moore
The history of Potter & Moore from its foundation in 1749 through to the present day.
William A. Poucher
A short biography of the author of the influential book ‘Perfumes and cosmetics, with special reference to synthetics’, first printed in 1923.
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New Booklets
Dubarry (c.1952)
Richard Hudnut: Three Flowers (c.1925)
Air Spun (c.1948)
Major Updates
Updated: 10th August 2026
Updated: 8th August 2026
Updated: 9th April 2026
Other great sites
Sources
Books, journals, websites and other sources that I use.
Contact
I am based in Perth, Western Australia. You can contact me by email
I am always happy to hear from others interested in this area. Thanks to everyone who has already been in touch.
