Poppy Cybele King (born 23 May 1972) is an Australian entrepreneur. She is best known for her company Poppy Industries and the range 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 ...

available at Poppy Stores in Australia, during the 1990s.

Early life

King was born to a

Jewish Jews ( he, יְהוּדִים, , ) or Jewish people are an ethnoreligious group and nation originating from the Israelites Israelite origins and kingdom: "The first act in the long drama of Jewish history is the age of the Israelites""The ...

family and was educated at

Lauriston Girls' School (Holiness, Wisdom, Strength) , established = 1901 , type = Independent, single-sex, day school , denomination = Non-denominational , slogan = A school for life , principal ...

Melbourne Melbourne ( ; Boonwurrung/Woiwurrung: ''Narrm'' or ''Naarm'') is the capital and most populous city of the Australian state of Victoria, and the second-most populous city in both Australia and Oceania. Its name generally refers to a met ...

, and Wesley College, Melbourne. Her father died of cancer when she was seven.

Business career

King started her own

company in 1991 at age eighteen. Poppy Industries mainly produced a wide colour range of opaque

lipstick Lipstick is a cosmetic product used to apply coloration and texture to lips, often made of wax and oil. Different pigments are used to produce color, and minerals such as silica may be used to provide texture. The use of lipstick dates back to ...

s. The head office was located in

. Within three years, the company had grown to be one of the biggest

cosmetic Cosmetic may refer to: *Cosmetics, or make-up, substances to enhance the beauty of the human body, apart from simple cleaning *Cosmetic, an adjective describing beauty, aesthetics, or appearance, especially concerning the human body *Cosmetic, a t ...

companies in

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a Sovereign state, sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous List of islands of Australia, sma ...

. In 1995 she received the Young Australian of the Year award and that year the company made a profit of $6.5 million. In 1998, after expansion into the

U.S. The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country Continental United States, primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 U.S. state, states, a Washington, D.C., ...

market, the company went into

receivership In law, receivership is a situation in which an institution or enterprise is held by a receiver—a person "placed in the custodial responsibility for the property of others, including tangible and intangible assets and rights"—especially in ca ...

, and was sold. With further outside investment the company continued until 2002, when it was sold to and American corporation, and King moved to the United States. In 1999, the

Australian Securities & Investments Commission The Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC) is an independent commission of the Australian Government tasked as the national corporate regulator. ASIC's role is to regulate company and financial services and enforce laws to pro ...

investigated allegations that Poppy Industries traded while it was

insolvent In accounting, insolvency is the state of being unable to pay the debts, by a person or company (debtor), at maturity; those in a state of insolvency are said to be ''insolvent''. There are two forms: cash-flow insolvency and balance-sheet inso ...

, however the Commission later released a statement clearing the company of any wrongdoing. In 2006, King launched a new brand called "Lipstick Queen". Lipstick Queen is currently stocked globally in department stores including

Sephora Sephora is a French multinational retailer of personal care and beauty products. Featuring nearly 340 brands, along with its own private label, Sephora Collection, Sephora offers beauty products including cosmetics, skincare, body, fragrance, n ...

Bloomingdales Bloomingdale's Inc. is an American luxury department store chain; it was founded in New York City by Joseph B. and Lyman G. Bloomingdale in 1861. A third brother, Emanuel Watson Bloomingdale, was also involved in the business. It became a div ...

and Mecca. In 2018, Elle Australia listed her Frog Prince lipstick, which changes from green to pink on application, as one of the 10 most iconic lipstick shades of all time.

Personal life

King currently lives in New York. She wrote ''Lessons of a Lipstick Queen'', published by Atria Books in August 2008.

Footnotes

References

*Beth Dolan, ''Poppy King'', Heinemann Library Young Achievers series, Port Melbourne, 1998. *Poppy King, ''Lessons of a Lipstick Queen – Finding and Developing the Great Idea That Can Change Your Life'', Atria Books, 2008. . {{DEFAULTSORT:King, Poppy 1972 births Living people Australian businesspeople Australian Jews Australian emigrants to the United States People educated at Wesley College (Victoria) Delegates to the Australian Constitutional Convention 1998 People educated at Lauriston Girls' School