Ever looked at a beauty product and thought, “how on earth did they think of this genius idea!?” Read on for the best stories behind Australia’s most successful buys.
Let’s rewind 100 years back, and talk about a special lady by the name of Mabel Williams, who wanted to seduce a special man who was actually in love with another woman. As eye products didn’t really exist a century ago, she started to apply soot from her oil lamp to her lashes and brows to darken them (don’t try this at home ladies!), which caught her younger brother’s attention… who also happened to be a chemist. He then formulated a much safer mix of carbon dust and Vaseline, and thus, Maybelline (Maybel + Vaseline) was born. Fortunately, this product isn’t on the market anymore but Great Lash mascara is still one of their best-sellers, even after coming out more than 30 years ago. Oh and by the way, Maybel and her dream man did end up together. Try Maybelline NY Great Lash Mascara, $12.95
This story about Elizabeth Arden’s iconic Eight Hour Cream will make you feel warm and fuzzy on the inside. Miss Arden was famed for owning beautiful horses, and used to treat their skin ills with petroleum jelly. She then developed a nourishing vitamin E-rich cream and massaged the lotion into the legs of her horses before and after races to comfort their skin. Soon after, the miraculous cream became a hit in stables and of course counters – it’s a wonder product to treat wind burns, soothe dry and chapped skin or even tame flyaways. Try Elizabeth Arden Eight Hour Cream, $25
Can’t live without your lash curler? ModelCo founder Shelley Barrett felt the same way, and found a big gap in the market eight years ago. “When I was a model agent, I used to notice my models walking into shoots with red blowdry burns on their eyes… they used to heat their lash curlers with hairdryers, and applied hairspray over their lashes afterwards.” Forget that method, there’s a much easier way to get luscious curled lashes. Try ModelCo Turbo Lashwand Heated Eyelash Curler, $28
Kirsten Carriol, founder of Lanolips, spent her childhood on a humble sheep farm in Luncindale, South Australia and discovered Lanolin – a natural moisturiser found in freshly shorn sheep’s wool. For over six years, she worked with her father (who was also a DNA Professor) on creating a ultra-pure medical grade lanolin-based ointment to moisturise and treat skin. If you haven’t tried this product then do it now – it’s a handbag staple of mine! Try Lanolips 101 Ointment, $17.95
This top-selling fragrance even has a sweet story to match. The perfume was first launched in 2007, and was named after Marc Jacobs’ dog… who was also named after Daisy Buchannan from The Great Gatsby. To this day there’s been 15 interpretations of the scent, and they all share the iconic white floral base. Try Marc Jacobs Daisy EDT, from $90
This hair product has an exciting back-story. “It was developed by accident on a beach in Malaysia during a shoot for Sports Illustrated. I had been experimenting with the salt, sun and sand concept that made everyone’s hair look amazing,” says Kevin Murphy, international editorial stylist and founder of Kevin.Murphy. “On the beach, my hair gel had been washed up by a wave with the makeup artist’s eye shadow. The salt water and eyeshadow had contaminated my hair product but time was running out so I had to apply the product to the model anyway. Amazingly the powder from the eye shadow made the gel dry faster and I got the result I was after.”
Do you know of any other fun beauty stories? Share it with us in the comments below…
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