subject: The History Of Max Factor [print this page] There are many different brands of make-up and perfume on the market today. One of the most interesting in terms of historical detail is the well know Max Factor brand.
Max Factor is the name of a man, now deceased and who has become the most famous name in Western cosmetics. He was born in Lodz, Poland, in 1877 and began his career as an apprentice to a wig maker. By the time he was 20 years old, he was running his own makeup shop. Today the name Max Factor is world renowned as one of the most successful make up brands, found in almost every make up store, shop or chemist selling make up. It is a solid, trusted brand and has expanded and developed over the years, continuing to hold an excellent image.
In 1902 Max Factor, travelled to the United Sates. He took his family to the St. Louis World's Fair. From this journey, he never looked back and stayed in America, selling hair goods, imported cosmetics and stage greasepaints to local stage actors in St. Louis. His name spread as his fame grew until actors who were now beginning to emerge from the developing film industry that had begun to escalate, came to him for advice for their stage make-up. As the motion picture industry began to take off in a big way in Hollywood, Max Factor followed the trend. He settled in Los Angeles with his family in 1909.
It was not long before he was perfecting make up for the movies as early as 1914. By now he had improvised a new alternative to dye greasepaint. He had the opinion that this looked horrendous on the screen and really quite terrifying. As his new more natural make up was created for film, he had many famous clients on his list such as Jean Harlow, Bette Davis, Joan Crawford and Judy Garland, all of whom became regular visitors at his salons. By 1918 he had developed his face powder in the 'colour harmony' range, which, due to the wide range of shades, allowed him to create make up for each individual based on their skin tones. This was a fantastic breakthrough. Soon false eyelashes, the eyebrow pencil, lip gloss, and pancake make-up followed and were soon eagerly bought by actresses and then general public wanting to look good in everyday life. Max Factor make up was born.
