Benefit Cosmetics LLC is a manufacturer of

cosmetics Cosmetics are constituted mixtures of chemical compounds derived from either natural sources, or synthetically created ones. Cosmetics have various purposes. Those designed for personal care and skin care can be used to cleanse or protect ...

founded and headquartered in

San Francisco San Francisco (; Spanish language, Spanish for "Francis of Assisi, Saint Francis"), officially the City and County of San Francisco, is the commercial, financial, and cultural center of Northern California. The city proper is the List of Ca ...

California California is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States, located along the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the List of states and territori ...

. It is a subsidiary of LVMH Moët Hennessy Louis Vuitton.

History

Benefit, Debenhams, Sutton, Surrey, London

Benefit was founded by twin sisters Jean an
Jane Ford
Born in

Indiana Indiana () is a U.S. state in the Midwestern United States. It is the 38th-largest by area and the 17th-most populous of the 50 States. Its capital and largest city is Indianapolis. Indiana was admitted to the United States as the 19th s ...

, they attended

Indiana University Indiana University (IU) is a system of public universities in the U.S. state of Indiana. Campuses Indiana University has two core campuses, five regional campuses, and two regional centers under the administration of IUPUI. *Indiana Universit ...

, before moving to San Francisco. In 1976, the twins opened a beauty boutique named The Face Place in

Mission District The Mission District (Spanish: ''Distrito de la Misión''), commonly known as The Mission (Spanish: ''La Misión''), is a neighborhood in San Francisco, California. One of the oldest neighborhoods in San Francisco, the Mission District's name is ...

. The Face Place later moved to Kearny Street in downtown San Francisco in the 1980s. In 1989, the Face Place product catalog was developed. The Fords then focused on department store distribution, and renamed the company Benefit Cosmetics in 1990. In 1991, Benefit opened in its first U.S. department store in

Henri Bendel Henri Bendel, Inc. (pronounced BEN-del), established in 1895, was a women's department store based in New York City which in its later history sold women's handbags, jewelry, luxury fashion accessories, home fragrances and gifts. Its New York Ci ...

, located in

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...

. In 1997, Benefit went international with its expansion into

Harrods Harrods Limited is a department store located on Brompton Road in Knightsbridge, London, England. It is currently owned by the state of Qatar via its sovereign wealth fund, the Qatar Investment Authority. The Harrods brand also applies to other ...

London London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a majo ...

. Soon after, the Benefit Cosmetics product website was launched.

LVMH LVMH Moët Hennessy Louis Vuitton (), commonly known as LVMH, is a French holding multinational corporation and conglomerate specializing in luxury goods, headquartered in Paris. The company was formed in 1987 through the merger of fashion house ...

acquired Benefit Cosmetics on September 14, 1999. In 2001, Benefit launched its first bath and boudoir line, Bathina. Benefit opened its first "Brow Bar" (a boutique specializing in brow shaping) in 2003, at

Macy's Macy's (originally R. H. Macy & Co.) is an American chain of high-end department stores founded in 1858 by Rowland Hussey Macy. It became a division of the Cincinnati-based Federated Department Stores in 1994, through which it is affiliated wi ...

Union Square Union commonly refers to: * Trade union, an organization of workers * Union (set theory), in mathematics, a fundamental operation on sets Union may also refer to: Arts and entertainment Music * Union (band), an American rock group ** ''Un ...

, San Francisco.

Notable events

On April 21, 2012, Benefit Cosmetics won a

Guinness World Record ''Guinness World Records'', known from its inception in 1955 until 1999 as ''The Guinness Book of Records'' and in previous United States editions as ''The Guinness Book of World Records'', is a reference book published annually, listing world ...

for accomplishing the most eyebrow waxes performed in 8 hours by a team, completing 382 eyebrow waxes. In 2022,

Marks and Spencer Marks and Spencer Group plc (commonly abbreviated to M&S and colloquially known as Marks's or Marks & Sparks) is a major British multinational retailer with headquarters in Paddington, London that specialises in selling clothing, beauty, home ...

announced their partnership with Benefit Cosmetics which would feature more than 200 products. Benefit Cosmetics products would be available online at M&S.com and in-store at 5 locations in Camberley, Cheshire Oaks, Handforth Dean, Hedge End, and Lisburn.

Benefit Hoola Matte Bronzer

Benefit Cosmetic's "Hoola Matte Bronzer" was recognized for the "best beauty product" by ''

Nylon Nylon is a generic designation for a family of synthetic polymers composed of polyamides ( repeating units linked by amide links).The polyamides may be aliphatic or semi-aromatic. Nylon is a silk-like thermoplastic, generally made from petro ...

'' in 2014. It was included on the list of Top 10 Best Bronzers of 2018 and named the most sold bronzer in England by ''

Vogue Vogue may refer to: Business * ''Vogue'' (magazine), a US fashion magazine ** British ''Vogue'', a British fashion magazine ** ''Vogue Arabia'', an Arab fashion magazine ** ''Vogue Australia'', an Australian fashion magazine ** ''Vogue China'', ...

''. The "Hoola Matte Bronzer" was the best-selling bronzer in the United States. The bronzer has been cited by makeup artist Lisa Eldridge, dermatologist Shereene Idriss, and singer and actress Selena Gomez.

References

External links

Official Website
{{Cosmetics Cosmetics companies of the United States Manufacturing companies based in San Francisco Chemical companies established in 1976 1976 establishments in California Cosmetics brands LVMH brands