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L'Oréal S.A. () is a French multinational personal care corporation registered in
Paris Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, largest city of France. With an estimated population of 2,048,472 residents in January 2025 in an area of more than , Paris is the List of ci ...
Statuts
(PDF). ." L'Oréal. 16 April 2009. Retrieved 3 May 2010.
and headquartered in Clichy, Hauts-de-Seine. It is the world's largest cosmetics company.


History


Founding

In the early 20th century, Eugène Paul Louis Schueller (1881–1957), a young French chemist, developed a hair dye formula called ''Oréale''. Schueller formulated and manufactured his own products, which he sold to Parisian hairdressers. On 31 July 1909, Schueller registered his company,Corporate financial reporting by Amberr Aslamm on Prezi
Prezi.com. Retrieved on 12 April 2015.
the Société Française de Teintures Inoffensives pour Cheveux (Safe Hair Dye Company of France). The company eventually became L'Oréal. In 1920, the company employed three chemists; the number of employees continued to grow with 100 by the year 1950, and 1,000 by the year 1984; as recently as 2021, there was an estimated total of 85,252 worldwide. L'Oréal got its start in the hair-colour business, but the company soon branched out into other cleansing and beauty products. As of 2020, L'Oréal markets in all sectors of the beauty business: hair colour, permanents, hair styling, body and skincare, cleansers, makeup, and fragrance. The company's products are found in a wide variety of outlets, from hair salons and perfumeries to supermarkets, health/beauty outlets, pharmacies, and direct mail.


Recent history and acquisitions

In 2017, Liliane Bettencourt the daughter of the founder of L'Oréal, died and left the business to her daughter, Françoise Bettencourt Meyers. From 1988 to 1989, L'Oréal controlled the film company Paravision International, whose properties included the Filmation and De Laurentiis libraries.
StudioCanal StudioCanal S.A.S. (formerly known as Le Studio Canal+, Canal Plus, Canal+ Distribution, Canal+ D.A., and Canal+ Production and also known as StudioCanal International) is a French film & television production and distribution company which is a ...
acquired the Paravision properties in 1994. As of 2022, L'Oréal owned 36 brands. As of October 4, 2021, the company registered 497 patents. L'Oréal purchased Synthélabo in 1973 to pursue its ambitions in the pharmaceutical field. Synthélabo merged with
Sanofi Sanofi S.A. is a French Multinational corporation, multinational pharmaceutical and healthcare company headquartered in Paris, France. The corporation was established in 1973 and merged with Synthélabo in 1999 to form Sanofi-Synthélabo. In 200 ...
in 1999 to become Sanofi-Synthélabo. Sanofi-Synthélabo merged with Aventis in 2004 to become Sanofi-Aventis. On 17 March 2006, L'Oréal purchased cosmetics company The Body Shop for £562 million. In May 2008, L'Oréal acquired YSL Beauté for $1.8 billion. In 2014, L'Oréal finalized the acquisition of major Chinese beauty brand Magic Holdings for $840 million. In February 2014, L'Oréal agreed to buy back 8% of its shares for €3.4bn from
Nestlé Nestlé S.A. ( ) is a Swiss multinational food and drink processing conglomerate corporation headquartered in Vevey, Switzerland. It has been the largest publicly held food company in the world, measured by revenue and other metrics, since 20 ...
. As a result, Nestlé's stake in L'Oréal was reduced from 29.4% to 23.29%, while the Bettencourt Meyers family's stake increased from 30.6% to 33.2%. Nestlé has owned a stake in L'Oréal since 1974, when it bought into the company at the request of Liliane Bettencourt, the daughter of the founder of L'Oréal, who was trying to prevent French state intervention. In February 2014, Shiseido agreed to sell its Carita and Decléor brands to L'Oréal for €227.5 million (US$312.93 million (2014)). In June 2014, L'Oréal agreed to acquire NYX Cosmetics for an undisclosed price, bolstering its makeup offerings in
North America North America is a continent in the Northern Hemisphere, Northern and Western Hemisphere, Western hemispheres. North America is bordered to the north by the Arctic Ocean, to the east by the Atlantic Ocean, to the southeast by South Ameri ...
, where its consumer-products unit has faltered. In 2014, L'Oréal announced it had agreed to purchase Brazilian hair care company Niely Cosmeticos Group for an undisclosed amount. In September 2014, L'Oréal acquired the multi-cultural brand Carol's Daughter. In July 2016, L'Oréal agreed to acquire IT Cosmetics for $1.2 billion. In 2018, L'Oréal acquired the beauty augmented reality company ModiFace. In May 2018, L'Oréal announced a new beauty and fragrance partnership with Valentino. In December 2020, L'Oréal announced signing of an agreement for the acquisition of Takami Co, a Japanese company that markets the premium skincare brand Takami, particularly famous for its iconic product, the Skin Peel pre-serum. In 2021, L'Oréal announced the acquisition of the vegan skincare brand Youth to the People. In April 2023, L'Oréal purchased Australian luxury cosmetics brand
Aesop Aesop ( ; , ; c. 620–564 BCE; formerly rendered as Æsop) was a Greeks, Greek wikt:fabulist, fabulist and Oral storytelling, storyteller credited with a number of fables now collectively known as ''Aesop's Fables''. Although his existence re ...
for . In August 2023, it was announced the acquisition had been completed. In December 2023, L'Oréal announced its acquisition of the Danish research company Lactobio. In 2024, L’Oréal announced its acquisition of Gjosa, a Swiss Pioneering Water Conservation Tech Startup. In February 2024, L’Oréal announced its signing of a long-term global licensing agreement for the creation, development and distribution of luxury beauty products by the Italian brand Miu Miu. In August 2024, L'Oréal opened a state-of-the-art research and innovation center in India. In December 2024, L'Oréal expanded its portfolio by acquiring a stake in a leading Korean cosmetics company Gowoonsesang Cosmetics and its brand Dr.G from Swiss retailer Migros. In March 2025, L’Oréal sold hair care brand, Carol's Daughter, to an unnamed entrepreneur

https://www.businessoffashion.com/news/beauty/carols-daughter-divested-loreal/]


Corporate affairs


Head office

L'Oréal Group has its head office in the Centre Eugène Schueller in Clichy, Hauts-de-Seine, close to
Paris Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, largest city of France. With an estimated population of 2,048,472 residents in January 2025 in an area of more than , Paris is the List of ci ...
. The building, constructed in the 1970s from brick and steel, replaced the former Monsavon factory, and employees moved into the facility in 1978. 1,400 employees work in the building. In 2005, Nils Klawitter of ''
Der Spiegel (, , stylized in all caps) is a German weekly news magazine published in Hamburg. With a weekly circulation of about 724,000 copies in 2022, it is one of the largest such publications in Europe. It was founded in 1947 by John Seymour Chaloner ...
'' said "the building, with its brown glazed façade of windows, is every bit as ugly as its neighbourhood." Klawitter added that the facility "gives the impression of a high-security zone" due to the
CCTV Closed-circuit television (CCTV), also known as video surveillance, is the use of closed-circuit television cameras to transmit a signal to a specific place on a limited set of monitors. It differs from broadcast television in that the signa ...
cameras and security equipment. International units include: * L'Oréal USA, changed from Cosmair in 2000 - has its headquarters in
New York City New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...
, and is responsible for operations in the
Americas The Americas, sometimes collectively called America, are a landmass comprising the totality of North America and South America.''Webster's New World College Dictionary'', 2010 by Wiley Publishing, Inc., Cleveland, Ohio. When viewed as a sing ...
.Contact Us
, L'Oréal USA
* L'Oréal Canada Incorporated - Canadian operations, based in
Montreal Montreal is the List of towns in Quebec, largest city in the Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Quebec, the List of the largest municipalities in Canada by population, second-largest in Canada, and the List of North American cit ...
* L'Oréal Australia - head office is in
Melbourne Melbourne ( , ; Boonwurrung language, Boonwurrung/ or ) is the List of Australian capital cities, capital and List of cities in Australia by population, most populous city of the States and territories of Australia, Australian state of Victori ...
* L'Oréal Nordic - head office is in
Copenhagen Copenhagen ( ) is the capital and most populous city of Denmark, with a population of 1.4 million in the Urban area of Copenhagen, urban area. The city is situated on the islands of Zealand and Amager, separated from Malmö, Sweden, by the ...
, Denmark * L'ORÉAL Deutschland GmbH - legal seat is in
Karlsruhe Karlsruhe ( ; ; ; South Franconian German, South Franconian: ''Kallsruh'') is the List of cities in Baden-Württemberg by population, third-largest city of the States of Germany, German state of Baden-Württemberg, after its capital Stuttgart a ...
, head office is in
Düsseldorf Düsseldorf is the capital city of North Rhine-Westphalia, the most populous state of Germany. It is the second-largest city in the state after Cologne and the List of cities in Germany with more than 100,000 inhabitants, seventh-largest city ...


Research and development facilities

L'Oréal has 21 worldwide research and development centers: three global centers in France: Aulnay, Chevilly and Saint-Ouen. Six regional poles include one in the United States: Clark,
New Jersey New Jersey is a U.S. state, state located in both the Mid-Atlantic States, Mid-Atlantic and Northeastern United States, Northeastern regions of the United States. Located at the geographic hub of the urban area, heavily urbanized Northeas ...
; one in
Japan Japan is an island country in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean off the northeast coast of the Asia, Asian mainland, it is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan and extends from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea ...
: Kawasaki,
Kanagawa Prefecture is a Prefectures of Japan, prefecture of Japan located in the Kantō region of Honshu. Kanagawa Prefecture is the List of Japanese prefectures by population, second-most populous prefecture of Japan at 9,221,129 (1 April 2022) and third-dens ...
; in 2005, one was established in
Shanghai Shanghai, Shanghainese: , Standard Chinese pronunciation: is a direct-administered municipality and the most populous urban area in China. The city is located on the Chinese shoreline on the southern estuary of the Yangtze River, with the ...
,
China China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. With population of China, a population exceeding 1.4 billion, it is the list of countries by population (United Nations), second-most populous country after ...
, another in
India India, officially the Republic of India, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, seventh-largest country by area; the List of countries by population (United Nations), most populous country since ...
:
Mumbai Mumbai ( ; ), also known as Bombay ( ; its official name until 1995), is the capital city of the Indian state of Maharashtra. Mumbai is the financial capital and the most populous city proper of India with an estimated population of 12 ...
, one other regional pole in
Brazil Brazil, officially the Federative Republic of Brazil, is the largest country in South America. It is the world's List of countries and dependencies by area, fifth-largest country by area and the List of countries and dependencies by population ...
:
Rio de Janeiro Rio de Janeiro, or simply Rio, is the capital of the Rio de Janeiro (state), state of Rio de Janeiro. It is the List of cities in Brazil by population, second-most-populous city in Brazil (after São Paulo) and the Largest cities in the America ...
and, lastly, another was established in
South Africa South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the Southern Africa, southernmost country in Africa. Its Provinces of South Africa, nine provinces are bounded to the south by of coastline that stretches along the Atlantic O ...
:
Johannesburg Johannesburg ( , , ; Zulu language, Zulu and Xhosa language, Xhosa: eGoli ) (colloquially known as Jozi, Joburg, Jo'burg or "The City of Gold") is the most populous city in South Africa. With 5,538,596 people in the City of Johannesburg alon ...
.


Corporate governance

Jean-Paul Agon is the chairman and Nicolas Hieronimus the chief executive officer of L'Oréal. Françoise Bettencourt Meyers and Paul Bulcke are vice chairmen of the
board of directors A board of directors is a governing body that supervises the activities of a business, a nonprofit organization, or a government agency. The powers, duties, and responsibilities of a board of directors are determined by government regulatio ...
.


Stockholders

As of 31 December 2023: * Breakdown of share ownership: 34.73% by the Bettencourt family, 30.7% by international institutional investors, 20.13% by
Nestlé Nestlé S.A. ( ) is a Swiss multinational food and drink processing conglomerate corporation headquartered in Vevey, Switzerland. It has been the largest publicly held food company in the world, measured by revenue and other metrics, since 20 ...
, 6.63% by French institutional investors, 5.92% by individual shareholders, 1.89% by employees.


Business figures


Joint ventures and minority interests

L'Oréal holds 10.41% of the shares of Sanofi-Aventis, the world's number three and Europe's number one pharmaceutical company. The Laboratoires Innéov is a joint venture in nutritional cosmetics between L'Oréal and
Nestlé Nestlé S.A. ( ) is a Swiss multinational food and drink processing conglomerate corporation headquartered in Vevey, Switzerland. It has been the largest publicly held food company in the world, measured by revenue and other metrics, since 20 ...
; they draw on Nestlé's knowledge in the fields of nutrition and food safety.


Brand portfolio

Brands are generally categorized by their targeted markets, such as the mass, professional, luxury, and active cosmetics markets. Galderma is directly attached to the head office. L'Oréal also owns interests in various activities such as fine chemicals, health, finance, design, advertising, and insurance. In 2023, the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO)’s Madrid Yearly Review ranked L'Oréal's number of marks applications filled under the Madrid System as 1st in the world, with 199
trademarks A trademark (also written trade mark or trade-mark) is a form of intellectual property that consists of a word, phrase, symbol, design, or a combination that identifies a product or service from a particular source and distinguishes it from ot ...
applications submitted during 2023.


Consumer products division

* Essie * Garnier *
Maybelline Maybelline New York (formerly The Maybelline Company and Mabelline and Co.), trading as and commonly known as simply Maybelline ( ), is an American multinational cosmetics, skin care, perfume, and personal care company, based in New York City. ...
* NYX Cosmetics Mixa L'Oréal Paris La Provençale


L'Oréal luxe division

*
Aesop Aesop ( ; , ; c. 620–564 BCE; formerly rendered as Æsop) was a Greeks, Greek wikt:fabulist, fabulist and Oral storytelling, storyteller credited with a number of fables now collectively known as ''Aesop's Fables''. Although his existence re ...
* Biotherm * Cacharel * Clarisonic (Discontinued September 30, 2020) * Diesel * Giorgio Armani Beauty * Guy Laroche * Helena Rubinstein * Kiehl's * Lancôme * MUGLER * Paloma Picasso * Proenza Schouler * Ralph Lauren Fragrances * Shu Uemura * Urban Decay * Valentino Beauty * Viktor & Rolf * Yves Saint Laurent Beauté * Prada


Professional products division

* Kérastase (created by L'Oreal in 1964) * PureOlogy Research, founded in 2001 and acquired by L'Oreal in 2007 * Redken 5th Avenue NYC, founded by Paula Kent and Jheri Redding in 1960 and acquired by L'Oreal in 1993 * Shu Uemura Art of Hair * Carol's Daughter * Essie, founded in 1981 and acquired by L'Oreal in 2010


Active cosmetics division

* Vichy * La Roche-Posay * Skinceuticals * Roger&Gallet - sold in 2020 * Sanoflore * Dermablend * AcneFree * Skinbetter Science * Ambi * CeraVe * Logocos since 2018


Marketing

In Kosovo, during the growth years of the mail-order business, L'Oréal and 3 Suisses founded Le Club des Créateurs de Beauté for mail-order sales of cosmetic products, with brands including Agnès b., Commence and Professeur Christine Poelman among others. In March 2008, L'Oréal acquired three Suisse's stake, taking sole control of the company. In November 2013, L'Oréal announced that Le Club des Créateurs de Beauté would cease activity in the first half of 2014. Since 1997, L'Oréal has been an official partner of The Cannes Film Festival. In the years of L'Oréal sponsorship, many L'Oréal beauty ambassadors walked the red carpet of the
Cannes Film Festival The Cannes Film Festival (; ), until 2003 called the International Film Festival ('), is the most prestigious film festival in the world. Held in Cannes, France, it previews new films of all genres, including documentaries, from all around ...
. In 2017, L'Oréal beauty ambassadors, including
Julianne Moore Julie Anne Smith (born December 3, 1960), known professionally as Julianne Moore, is an American actress and children's author. Prolific in film since the early 1990s, she is known for her portrayals of emotionally troubled women in independent ...
, Susan Sarandon, Andie MacDowell, and Eva Longoria, were responsible for the film selection for the outdoor cinema during the Cannes Film Festival. L'Oréal's advertising slogan, "Because I'm worth it", was created by a 23-year-old English art director and introduced in 1973 by the model and actress Joanne Dusseau. In the mid-2000s, this was replaced by "Because you're worth it". In late-2009, the slogan was changed again to "Because we're worth it". In 2012, L'Oréal inaugurated the largest factory in the Jababeka Industrial Park, Cikarang, Indonesia, with a total investment of US$100 million. The production will be absorbed 25 percent by the domestic market and the rest will be exported. In 2010, significant growth occurred in Indonesia with a 61 percent increase of unit sales or 28 percent of net sales. In 2020, chief digital officer Lubomira Rochet reported in a video conference of the growing importance of e-commerce for the company, remarking that e-commerce makes 24% of their turnover in the third quarter of the year. Rochet stated as well that this 24% of the turnover "made it possible to offset 50% of the losses due to the closing of physical stores this year".


List of spokespeople

L'Oréal Paris has a group of ambassadors, artists, actresses, and activists referred to as the L'Oréal Paris "Dream Team". * Laetitia Casta (1998–present) * Aishwarya Rai (2004–present) * Eva Longoria (2005–present) * Blake Lively (2013–present) * Helen Mirren (2014–present) * Luma Grothe (2015–present) * Soo Joo (2015–present) * Aja Naomi King (2017–present) *
Camila Cabello Karla Camila Cabello Estrabao (; ; born March 3, 1997) is an American singer and songwriter. She rose to prominence as a member of the Pop music, pop girl group Fifth Harmony, one of the List of best-selling girl groups, best-selling girl gro ...
(2017–present) *
Elle Fanning Mary Elle Fanning (born April 9, 1998) is an American actress. Her works include both independent films and blockbusters, and her accolades include a National Board of Review Award, in addition to nominations for a Primetime Emmy Award and ...
(2017–present) * Amber Heard (2018–present) * Andie MacDowell (2018–present) * Duckie Thot (2018–present) * Jaha Dukureh (2018–present) * Céline Dion (2019–present) * Cindy Bruna (2020–present) * Katherine Langford (2020–present) * Aditi Rao Hydari (2020–present) *
Viola Davis Viola Davis ( ; born August 11, 1965) is an American actress and film producer. List of awards and nominations received by Viola Davis, Her accolades include both the Triple Crown of Acting and EGOT. ''Time (magazine), Time'' named her one of ...
(2021–present) * Kate Winslet (2021–present) * Yseult (2021–present) * H.E.R. (2022–present) * Anushka Sharma (2022–present) * Thuso Mbedu (2023–present) *
Kendall Jenner Kendall Nicole Jenner (born November 3, 1995) is an American model, socialite and media personality. She rose to fame in the reality television show ''Keeping Up with the Kardashians,'' in which she starred for 20 seasons and nearly 15 years ...
(2023–present) * Cody Simpson (2023–present) * Mary Fowler (2024–present) * Simone Ashley (2024–present) * Temi Otedola (2024–present) * Alia Bhatt (2024–present)


Corporate social responsibility


Position on animal testing

L'Oréal has many products which are tested on animals. Since the 1980s, L'Oréal has invested €900 million in researching alternatives to animal testing for product safety, using methods such as reconstructed skin models, such as the Episkin model at their research centres in Gerland, France, and Pudong, China. Nevertheless, this is complicated by markets such as China, where it is difficult to sell a beauty product without animal testing. Cosmetics by brands such as The Body Shop, which refuse to do
animal testing Animal testing, also known as animal experimentation, animal research, and ''in vivo'' testing, is the use of animals, as model organisms, in experiments that seek answers to scientific and medical questions. This approach can be contrasted ...
, are thus not sold in China. In 2013, L'Oréal was part of a consortium calling on the EU to invest more in research on alternatives to animal testing.


Promoting new methods for plastic recycling

In 2020, L'Oreal announced a cooperation with French biochemistry pioneer Carbios, aiming to establish a method of dissolving plastic waste by using enzymes.


Ukraine war

In 2022, L’Oréal Paris donated €1 million ($1.09 million) to charities supporting refugees from the
2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine On 24 February 2022, , starting the largest and deadliest war in Europe since World War II, in a major escalation of the Russo-Ukrainian War, conflict between the two countries which began in 2014. The fighting has caused hundreds of thou ...
. L’Oréal Paris also suspended all commercial activity in Russia, both retail and wholesale. After the suspension, L'Oreal increased cooperation with other sites, including sanctioned ones. The company officially works in Crimea. Advertising expenses were not stopped - all investments were suspended for only 2–3 months. Now everything has been restored and even increased. The delivery of goods through Turkey and Kazakhstan was arranged. The company also supplies hygiene products to hospitals, maternity homes, centers with forcibly displaced persons, homes for the elderly, the military, etc. L’Oréal Paris financially supports employees in Ukraine, guaranteeing the payment of wages and providing additional financial assistance, and provide accommodation for employees who are abroad and assist with temporary employment in other L'Oréal branches.


Community involvement

In 2014, L'Oreal was listed 61st among 1200 of India's most trusted brands according to the Brand Trust Report 2014, a study conducted by Trust Research Advisory, a brand analytics company. In 2008, L'Oréal was named Europe's top business employer by the European Student Barometer, a survey conducted by Trendence that covers 20 European countries and incorporates the responses of over 91,000 students. The L'Oréal-UNESCO Awards for Women in Science was established to improve the position of women in science by recognizing outstanding women researchers who have contributed to scientific progress. The awards are a result of a partnership between the French cosmetics company L'Oréal and the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (
UNESCO The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO ) is a List of specialized agencies of the United Nations, specialized agency of the United Nations (UN) with the aim of promoting world peace and International secur ...
) and carry a grant of US$100,000 for each laureate. The same partnership awards the UNESCO-L'Oréal International Fellowships, providing up to US$40,000 in funding over two years to fifteen young women scientists engaged in exemplary and promising research projects. L'Oréal organises the yearly L'Oréal Brandstorm, a business game for students in 46 countries. The game is related to marketing and has a first prize of $10,000, the second prize of $5,000 and the third prize of $2500. L'Oréal is also a founding member of the "Look Good ... Feel Better" project, a charity that was formed over 16 years ago to help women combat the visible side effects of cancer treatment. L'Oréal also holds a global competition known as "L'Oréal Brandstorm" each year to invite students from around the world to be creative, innovative, and build their own business plans based on different topics. In 2015, Standard Ethics Aei gave a rating to L'Oreal in order to include it in its Standard Ethics French Index.


Controversies


Involvement in fascism by L'Oréal key figures

L'Oréal has conceded that its founder, Eugène Schueller, was a
Nazi Nazism (), formally named National Socialism (NS; , ), is the far-right politics, far-right Totalitarianism, totalitarian socio-political ideology and practices associated with Adolf Hitler and the Nazi Party (NSDAP) in Germany. During H ...
sympathizer and antisemitic
fascist Fascism ( ) is a far-right, authoritarian, and ultranationalist political ideology and movement. It is characterized by a dictatorial leader, centralized autocracy, militarism, forcible suppression of opposition, belief in a natural soci ...
. He was also a member of La Cagoule, which supported the Vichy regime, and was a violent, pro-fascist and anti-communist organisation. Eugène bankrolled La Cagoule and some meetings of La Cagoule were held at L'Oréal headquarters. Some of the criminal activities perpetrated by La Cagoule include firearms transportation, assassinating a former minister, and firebombing six synagogues. Schueller provided financial support and held meetings for La Cagoule at L'Oréal headquarters. La Cagoule was a violent French fascist-leaning and anti-
communist Communism () is a sociopolitical, philosophical, and economic ideology within the socialist movement, whose goal is the creation of a communist society, a socioeconomic order centered on common ownership of the means of production, di ...
group whose leader formed a political party Mouvement Social Révolutionnaire (MSR, Social Revolutionary Movement), which in Occupied France supported the Vichy collaboration with the Germans. L'Oréal hired several members of the group as executives after
World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...
, such as Jacques Corrèze, who served as CEO of the United States operation. Other controversy arose when Jean Frydman, a shareholder and board member of Paravision, a film subsidiary of L'Oréal, was fired. He claims that he was let go because L'Oréal wanted to avoid an Arab boycott of businesses associated with Jews. In turn, Frydman decided to expose the past of L'Oréal executives. André Bettencourt who married Schueller's daughter, Liliane Bettencourt, and became deputy chairman for L'Oréal, wrote 60 articles for La Terre Française, an antisemitic Nazi propaganda sheet. André has admitted ownership of the
propaganda Propaganda is communication that is primarily used to influence or persuade an audience to further an agenda, which may not be objective and may be selectively presenting facts to encourage a particular synthesis or perception, or using loaded l ...
but claimed he was poisoned by the Vichy regime and said, "I have repeatedly expressed my regrets concerning them in public and will always beg the Jewish community to forgive me for them." André Bettencourt also sheltered Schueller and several collaborators from the
French Resistance The French Resistance ( ) was a collection of groups that fought the German military administration in occupied France during World War II, Nazi occupation and the Collaboration with Nazi Germany and Fascist Italy#France, collaborationist Vic ...
after Liberation. It was also revealed that Eugène Schueller hired Jacques Correze, who was the honorary head of L'Oréal's U.S. affiliate, Cosmair, and was involved with La Cagoule. Further controversy arose when it was revealed that L'Oréal had its German headquarters for over 30 years, before being sold in 1991, on land confiscated from a Jewish family during
World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...
. The Jewish family has been battling for restitution from the company for three generations, the latest of which is Edith Rosenfelder, a Holocaust survivor. Fritz Rosenfelder was forced to sell the house to a Nazi official, of which the family never received the proceeds of the sale. Instead, the family was deported. The Allies passed Jewish restitution legislation which states that transactions with Nazis, even if appearing to be with the owner's consent, can be considered invalid. As the land was sold to an offshoot of L'Oréal, which was later bought out in 1961 by L'Oréal, the company claims that it is not responsible for anything that happened before then. The basis for Rosenfelder's argument is that since the original sale was illegal, all subsequent sales are equally unlawful. There was restitution paid in 1951 to the Jewish Restitution Successor Organization, though this was done without the family's consent and none of the money ever reached the family. A book by Monica Waitzfelder, daughter of Edith Rosenfelder, published in French as ''L'Oréal a pris ma maison'' and in English as ''L'Oréal stole my house!'', details how L'Oréal took over the Waitzfelder home in the German city of Karlsruhe (after the Nazis had engineered the removal of the family) to make it its German headquarters. Monica Waitzfelder is quoted as saying, "All the other businesses which took Jewish property have since returned it, without any great debate. I don't understand why L'Oréal should be any different from the others." A case was brought before the Supreme Court in France, but the public prosecutor ruled that there could be no trial. As of 2007, she is bringing the case to the
European Court of Human Rights The European Court of Human Rights (ECtHR), also known as the Strasbourg Court, is an international court of the Council of Europe which interprets the European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR). The court hears applications alleging that a co ...
.


Garnier boycott

On 31 July 2014 during Operation Protective Edge launched by the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) in the Gaza Strip, the Israel advocacy organisation StandWithUs posted several Facebook photos of care packages, which they said were donated by Garnier Israel to female IDF soldiers. This sparked several calls to boycott Garnier and L'Oréal worldwide. Garnier disavowed the giveaway and stated on their Facebook page, “Garnier USA is aware of recent activity in social media. It is very important to us that our fans know that Garnier worldwide promotes peace and harmony and has a strict policy of not getting involved in any conflict or political matter. Garnier was astonished to discover this in social media. After investigation, the hand-out of about 500 products appeared to be part of a one-time local retailer initiative. Garnier disapproves of this initiative managed strictly at local level and is very sorry to have offended some of its fans.”


Animal testing

L'Oréal began ''
in vitro ''In vitro'' (meaning ''in glass'', or ''in the glass'') Research, studies are performed with Cell (biology), cells or biological molecules outside their normal biological context. Colloquially called "test-tube experiments", these studies in ...
'' tissue testing in 1979, and does not test any of its products or ingredients on animals anywhere in the world since 1989–14 years before it was required by regulation. Controversy came from the fact that L'Oréal sells products in China, whose regulators conduct animal testing on cosmetics to be sold within its territory. Even though a ban on animal testing in China came into effect in January 2020, Chinese authorities still perform this practice for imported "ordinary" cosmetics. Following L'Oréal's 2006 purchase of The Body Shop, which does not support animal testing, The Body Shop's founder Anita Roddick was forced to defend herself against allegations of "abandoning her principles" over L'Oréal's involvement on animal testing. Calls were made for shoppers to boycott The Body Shop. L'Oréal sold The Body Shop to Brazilian group Natura Cosméticos in 2017.


Racist discrimination lawsuits

On 11 August 2005, the
Supreme Court of California The Supreme Court of California is the Supreme court, highest and final court of appeals in the judiciary of California, courts of the U.S. state of California. It is headquartered in San Francisco at the Earl Warren Building, but it regularly ...
ruled that former L'Oréal sales manager Elyse Yanowitz had adequately pleaded a cause of action for retaliatory termination under the California Fair Employment and Housing Act, and remanded the case for trial.''Yanowitz v. L'Oréal USA, Inc.''
36 Cal. 4th 1028
(2005).
The case arose out of a 1997 incident in which Jack Wiswall, then the general manager for designer fragrances, allegedly told Yanowitz to fire a dark-skinned sales associate despite the associate's good performance. When Yanowitz refused, Wiswall pointed to a "sexy" blonde-haired woman and said, "God damn it, get me one that looks like that." Wiswall retired as president of the luxury products division of L'Oréal USA at the end of 2006. The company faced discrimination lawsuits in France related to the hiring of spokesmodels and institutional racism. In 2007, the Garnier division and an external employment agency were fined €30,000 for recruitment practices that intentionally excluded women of colour from promoting its hair wash, "Fructis Style". L'Oréal continues to sell skin whitening products, which have been criticised as "capitalising on women's insecurities due to colourism." They advertise these controversial products, which have been criticised for promoting a colonial attitude as well as having safety concerns, on their website by claiming; "Achieve clear, translucent and radiant skin. Our skin whitening products work to fade dark spots and brighten skin to give you the fair, flawless complexion you desire."


False advertising

In May 2007, L'Oréal was one of several cosmetic manufacturers (along with Clinique, Estee Lauder, Payot, Lancôme) ordered by the Therapeutic Goods Administration in Australia to withdraw advertising regarding the wrinkle removal capabilities of their products. In the UK, L'Oréal has faced criticism from
OFCOM The Office of Communications, commonly known as Ofcom, is the government-approved regulatory and competition authority for the broadcasting, internet, telecommunications and mail, postal industries of the United Kingdom. Ofcom has wide-rang ...
regarding the truth of their advertising and marketing campaigns concerning the product performance of one of their mascara brands. In July 2007, the British Advertising Standards Authority attacked L'Oréal for a television advert on its "Telescopic" mascara, featuring Penélope Cruz, stating, "it will make your eyelashes 60% longer." In fact, it only made the lashes look 60% bigger, by separating and thickening at the roots and by thickening the tips of the lashes. They also failed to state that the model was wearing false eyelashes. In July 2011, the British Advertising Standards Authority took action against L'Oréal, banning two airbrushed Lancôme advertisements in the UK featuring actress Julia Roberts and supermodel Christy Turlington. The agency issued the ban after British politician Jo Swinson argued that the two ads misrepresented reality and added to the self-image problem amongst females in the UK. L'Oréal acknowledged that the photos had been airbrushed but argued that the two cosmetic products could actually produce the results depicted in the ads and that the results of the products had been scientifically proven. In June 2014, the company reached an agreement with the U.S.
Federal Trade Commission The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) is an independent agency of the United States government whose principal mission is the enforcement of civil (non-criminal) United States antitrust law, antitrust law and the promotion of consumer protection. It ...
not to make claims about its anti-aging products unless it had credible scientific evidence supporting the claims. The settlement followed an investigation by the commission into claims being made in relation to two products, which the commission described as "false and unsubstantiated". L'Oréal has a team of 400 members of staff who post content to
Facebook Facebook is a social media and social networking service owned by the American technology conglomerate Meta Platforms, Meta. Created in 2004 by Mark Zuckerberg with four other Harvard College students and roommates, Eduardo Saverin, Andre ...
every day, according to Marc Menesguen, the company's chief marketing officer.


Patent lawsuit

In July 2017, the University of Massachusetts Medical filed a patent lawsuit against L'Oréal. In August 2017, Dennis Wyrzykowski and his company, Carmel Laboratories LLC, joined the lawsuit. The two parties claimed that L'Oréal's brands used UMass' patented technology for skin creams with the chemical
adenosine Adenosine (symbol A) is an organic compound that occurs widely in nature in the form of diverse derivatives. The molecule consists of an adenine attached to a ribose via a β-N9- glycosidic bond. Adenosine is one of the four nucleoside build ...
. In 2021, a judge found the patents invalid. In 2022, the U.S. Appeals Court reversed the decision, stating that UMass could continue to purse its lawsuit.


Corporate misconduct

L'Oréal was fined by Autorité de la concurrence in France in 2016 for price-fixing on personal hygiene products.


Munroe Bergdorf

In August 2017, L'Oréal dismissed Munroe Bergdorf, a mixed-race
transgender A transgender (often shortened to trans) person has a gender identity different from that typically associated with the sex they were sex assignment, assigned at birth. The opposite of ''transgender'' is ''cisgender'', which describes perso ...
model, after she responded to the
Unite the Right rally The Unite the Right rally was a White supremacy#United States, white supremacist rally that took place in Charlottesville, Virginia, from August 11 to 12, 2017. Marchers included members of the alt-right, neo-Confederates, neo-fascists, whi ...
in
Charlottesville, Virginia Charlottesville, colloquially known as C'ville, is an independent city (United States), independent city in Virginia, United States. It is the county seat, seat of government of Albemarle County, Virginia, Albemarle County, which surrounds the ...
, by stating in a Facebook post: "Honestly I don't have the energy to talk about the racial violence of white people any more. Yes ALL white people"; the post was also quoted as saying that " hite people'sexistence, privilege and success as a race is built on the backs, blood and death of people of colour", "racism isn't learned, it's inherited and ... passed down through privilege" and that "white people" ought to "begin to admit that their race is the most violent and oppressive force of nature on Earth". Shortly after terminating Bergdorf, L'Oréal released a statement claiming their commitment to " upportdiversity and tolerance towards all people irrespective of their race, background, gender and religion" and had terminated their partnership with Bergdorf because her comments were "at odds with those values".


Amber Heard

In 2018, L'Oréal Paris hired Amber Heard as a Global Ambassador, also giving a special tribute to her. In 2020, after a tape leaked of Heard admitting to having hit her ex-husband Johnny Depp, several petitions were filed requesting L'Oreal to fire her. As of June 2021, L'Oreal continued to include Heard among a team of "ambassadors" that also includes Kate Winslet,
Jane Fonda Jane Seymour Fonda (born December 21, 1937) is an American actress and activist. Recognized as a film icon, Jane Fonda filmography, Fonda's work spans several genres and over six decades of film and television. She is the recipient of List of a ...
,
Elle Fanning Mary Elle Fanning (born April 9, 1998) is an American actress. Her works include both independent films and blockbusters, and her accolades include a National Board of Review Award, in addition to nominations for a Primetime Emmy Award and ...
, and French singer-songwriter Yseult. Heard was being sued in a defamation trial by Depp in which he accused her of domestic abuse. She was found to have defamed her ex-husband with malice on June 2, 2022, by a jury; Heard then appealed her case.


Child Labour

In May 2024, a BBC World Service documentary titled "Perfume's Dark Secret" uncovered widespread child labor in Egypt's jasmine fields, an essential source for fragrances used by major beauty brands, including L'Oréal. The investigation exposed that children, some as young as five years old, were engaged in the physically demanding task of picking jasmine flowers. These children worked under grueling conditions, often beginning their shifts at 3 a.m. and working in high temperatures. The documentary highlighted the poverty these children faced, with some earning as little as $1 per day, far below a living wage. The BBC's findings sparked global concern over labor practices in the perfume industry, particularly regarding the exploitation of children in rural areas of Egypt. The country’s jasmine flowers are a key ingredient in high-end perfumes produced by companies like L'Oréal, leading to questions about the ethical sourcing of raw materials in the beauty and fragrance sector. Despite claims by L'Oréal and other luxury brands of strict monitoring systems, the documentary suggested that these children had been overlooked by current auditing processes and that insufficient measures were in place to protect workers from exploitation.


See also

* Trademark#Top Madrid Trademark Applicants


References


External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:L'oreal CAC 40 Chemical companies established in 1909 Companies in the Euro Stoxx 50 Companies listed on Euronext Paris Cosmetics brands Cosmetics companies of France French brands French business families French companies established in 1909 History of cosmetics Multinational companies headquartered in France Nail polish Personal care companies Fragrance companies