![Eugene Rimmel](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/8/81/Eugene_Rimmel.jpg)
Eugène Rimmel (1820–1887) was a French-born British
perfumer and businessman, responsible for manufacturing and marketing some of the earliest commercially made
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 ...
, through his company
House of Rimmel, (now a division of
Coty Inc.).
Early life and career
Rimmel was born in France, he moved with his family to London when his father accepted an invitation to manage a perfumery on
Bond Street.
Rimmel was
apprenticed
Apprenticeship is a system for training a new generation of practitioners of a trade or profession with on-the-job training and often some accompanying study (classroom work and reading). Apprenticeships can also enable practitioners to gain a ...
to his father. In 1834, he opened his own perfumery, the House of Rimmel. In the same year father and son produced their first
cosmetic products. By the age of 24, Eugène Rimmel had become an immensely talented perfumer and cosmetics innovator. Considered by many beauty historians as a trail-blazer of the beauty and
healthcare industries, Rimmel contributed greatly to the concept of hygiene and bathing. He was also among the first to develop scented
pomade
Pomade (; French ''pommade'') or pomatum is a greasy, waxy, or water-based substance that is used to style hair. Pomade generally gives the user's hair a shiny and slick appearance. It lasts longer than most hair-care products, and often re ...
s,
mouth rinses and his signature "Toilet Vinegar".
His most innovative invention may well be the first commercial
non-toxic
Toxicity is the degree to which a chemical substance or a particular mixture of substances can damage an organism. Toxicity can refer to the effect on a whole organism, such as an animal, bacterium, or plant, as well as the effect on a subs ...
mascara
Mascara is a cosmetic commonly used to enhance the upper and lower eyelashes. It is used to darken, thicken, lengthen, and/or define the eyelashes. Normally in one of three forms—liquid, powder, or cream—the modern mascara product has vari ...
, which became so popular that "rimmel" is to this day the word for "mascara" in several languages including French, Italian, Portuguese, Persian, Romanian, Spanish, Turkish and Arabic.
Rimmel was also considered an exceptional
marketer
Marketing is the process of exploring, creating, and delivering value to meet the needs of a target market in terms of goods and services; potentially including selection of a target audience; selection of certain attributes or themes to emph ...
and produced detailed
mail order
Mail order is the buying of goods or services by mail delivery. The buyer places an order for the desired products with the merchant through some remote methods such as:
* Sending an order form in the mail
* Placing a telephone call
* Placing ...
catalogues and advertising programmes with English theatres.
Publication
In 1865, he published ''The Book of Perfume'', which appeared in 1870 in a French translation (''Le Livre des Parfums'') with a preface by
Alphonse Karr
Jean-Baptiste Alphonse Karr (24 November 1808 – 29 September 1890) was a French critic, journalist, and novelist.
Life
Karr was born in Paris to German pianist and composer Henri Karr (1784–1842), and after being educated at the C ...
.
Bodleian Library online catalogue
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Later life
Rimmel was so successful that he was granted ten Royal Warrants from heads of state all over Europe, including Queen Victoria
Victoria (Alexandrina Victoria; 24 May 1819 – 22 January 1901) was Queen of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland from 20 June 1837 until her death in 1901. Her reign of 63 years and 216 days was longer than that of any previo ...
, for his perfumes and fragranced products.
With the headline "The Prince of Perfumers", ''The New York Times
''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid d ...
'' printed Rimmel's obituary on 15 March 1887. It stated that he was one of the founders of the French Hospital and Dispensary in London, and a constant advocate of its claims to the support of the public.
Rimmel married a woman from Seurre, eastern France, Elisabeth Letroublon with whom he had three children, Jules, Henry and Herminie. The sons assumed control of the beauty company at Rimmel's death in 1887, though they delegated the management of the company, which passed out of Rimmel family hands. After many difficulties Rimmel's cosmetics brand is now owned by Coty Inc.
References
External links
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Rimmel, Eugene
1820 births
1887 deaths
British cosmetics businesspeople
Businesspeople from London
French cosmetics businesspeople
French emigrants to England
History of cosmetics
Naturalised citizens of the United Kingdom
19th-century French businesspeople
19th-century English businesspeople