We could sit and have a discussion (okay, well, an argument) regarding which is the top personal care products company in the world for hours. There are just so many choices in today’s market, where to even begin? From Lush, to Neutrogena, to Urban Decay, to Olay, and more – the options are virtually limitless, and more contenders are sprouting up all the time. This is, of course, most beneficial to you the consumer: the more companies and brands that exist, the more competition there will be in the market, and the harder these companies will need to work in order to gain your favor.

Ah, the beauty of free market and capitalism! But seriously folks, any self-respecting discussion regarding the personal care products industry would be remiss in not bringing up the excellent L’Oréal. You see, it would be easy for companies to make boasts about how great and competitively priced their products are, but some matters are purely subjective – like L’Oréal being a pioneer of this industry, and one that has driven innovation and progress above all others.

A company of French origin which boasts remarkably strong global brand recognition, L’Oréal is the largest cosmetics manufacturer in the world. L’Oréal features hair color, skin care, sun protection, make-up, perfume, and hair care departments. The company announces new and exciting developments all the time, never ceasing to strive to improve on their existing products.

We will cover the history of L’Oréal – from its origins, to its rise to personal care products titan, to its selection of products, right here in our L’Oréal Cosmetics Company Overview and Review!

L’Oréal History: From Hair Color To Global Domination!

L’Oréal advertisement.

All great companies seem to start with an ambitious young progressive with an idea, and L’Oréal is no different. In 1909, Eugene Schueller, and aspiring chemist, began to experiment in his home laboratory with formulating hair dyes. At the time, hair coloring was nowhere near as streamlined a process as it is today. Women had a desire for safe, effective hair dye treatments and were willing to pay a premium to get them, given the lack of available options on the market. Schueller eventually struck gold, developing a versatile hair dye formula called Auréale.

This became a popular product among Parisian hairdressers and beauty parlors who had never gotten to use a hair dye that was so simple and easy-to-use without compromising on effectiveness. Scheuller’s dyes also provided for a subtle, more natural look in terms of colors – this was in stark contrast to the other hair dyes available at the time which were generally loud and artificial looking. The company became officially established in 1909, and shortly thereafter Schueller set up a hair coloring school in Paris.

Some might think this poor business sense – after all, if you’re the best at what you do, why would you want to teach others your secrets of success, let alone competitors? Schueller operated under a different mindset and philosophy, driven by the feeling that his success would be tied to this growing industry, an industry which he intended to do his part to help thrive.

The company slowly began to export its hair dyes to other countries, finding success in Italy in 1910 and reaching North America within its first decade of operations. Never one for complacency, Schueller continued to develop new ideas, creating successful celluloid, varnish, and plastics to build on his hair dye success. This only further ingrained Schueller’s instinctive belief that forward progress and innovation would be the key to his success, not stagnation or self satisfaction.

Eventually, Schueller experienced a breakthrough to rival his original hair dyes in terms of success: L’Oréal d’Or, a revolutionary new hair lightening product for blonde hair that achieved unprecedented success in the beauty industry. Other exciting developments from L’Oréal around this time included:

• New hair wash which raised global awareness regarding the importance of regularly washing hair.
• Long-lasting hair dye capable of penetrating the hair fiber.
• Bleaching powder, leading to a blonde-craze in the hair care world.
• Development of the first monthly women’s personal care magazine.

L’Oréal continued down this path for some time, offering exciting new products to consumers and carving itself out a healthy market share in the personal care products world. It was in the 1950’s that L’Oréal really began to grow, as new leadership put a renewed emphasis on expansion and global branding as opposed to strictly product development. Timely as always, L’Oréal hit the market around this same time with wildly popular hairspray, home hair dyes, and bubble bath, helping to grease the wheels of the companies ambitious expansion efforts.

The 1960’s saw L’Oréal listed on the Paris stock exchange, as well as the acquisition of the cosmetics company Lancôme, which would open up a whole new world of possibilities for L’Oréal. The company would fully realize its cosmetics potential in the 1980’s aided by the development of the first line of skin related products for men. Once again, L’Oréal introduced the right product at the right time: the 80’s saw men place more focus on their skin and looks than ever before, not unlike Patrick Bateman of American Psycho lore.

More recently, L’Oréal has begun to place more of its focus on diversity and inclusiveness-driven products and campaigns. It goes without saying that L’Oréal’s actions once again strategically reflect the business climate of the times; the company has even begun to launch environmental-conservation campaigns in addition to these socially responsible initiatives.

This is also a move that a company like L’Oréal can afford to take. Having established itself as a personal care products power and with business being done all over the world, it makes sense to polish the brand name and reputation of the company at this stage. While more developments are surely on the way, L’Oréal has managed to accomplish far more than Eugene Schueller had intended back over a century ago.

From hair dyes, to shampoos, to cosmetics, to skin care, and more, L’Oréal has become a true titan of a company not just in its industry, but in the world at large.

L’Oréal Hair Color/Dye Products Review: HiColor, Feria, and More!

L’Oréal are known for their hair-coloring products. 

While L’Oréal has certainly spread its wings and taken flight since their humble beginnings, hair coloring is still among what they do best. It’s also among the most popular of their product lines among consumers, who after all this time are still looking for natural, safe, and effective ways to color their hair. L’Oréal has even managed to develop a wildly popular, quality hair coloring for women with dark hair – and that’s L’Oréal Excellence HiColor Permanent Hair Color. The lifting and toning action of the dye neutralizes orange tones before injecting the shade of choice.

The formula both conditions and penetrates the hair follicle in order to create a finished product which is vibrant, natural-looking, and long-lasting. The entire process requires no pre-lightening (!), and carries a processing time of just 30 minutes. Another one of L’Oréal’s most popular hair coloring treatments is their L’Oréal Feria Hair Coloring Treatment For Hair.

It’s funny, we mentioned earlier that L’Oréal found success in pushing products that were more subtle in tone in order to contrast the over-the-top dyes which were so commonplace in the 20th century. Now, L’Oréal is finding success in doing the opposite – providing intense colors!

Yes, they do look natural, but L’Oréal Feria is custom-blended to provide bold shades, and does so with their multi-faceted shimmering formula. The current Feria color palate includes 11 shades of blonde, 8 shades of brown, 13 shades of red, 4 shades of black, 3 shades of violet, and 3 shades of ‘other’. In other words, regardless of your hair color, you’re sure to find something that can work for you. Or, if bold colors aren’t your thing, the rest of the L’Oréal hair coloring world is open to you and ready for exploration!

L’Oréal Makeup Products Review: Mascara, Foundation, and Lipstick

Although they only got their real ‘start’ in the 1980’s, as we previously detailed, L’Oréal has come a long way in a relatively short amount of time in terms of cosmetics. Backed by the sheer power of the L’Oréal brand, the company has managed to become a cosmetics leader and a developer of high-quality makeup products. The company cosmetics categories include:

• Face: Foundation, Powder, Blush, Concealer, Perfecting Base.
• Eyes: Eye Shadow, Eye Liner, Mascara, Primer.
• Lips: Lip Color, Lip Gloss, Lip Balm, Lip Liner.
• Nails: Nail Coloring, 3D Stickers, Top Coats, Press-On Nails.

From among this wide selection we would like to highlight a few select products, in particular L’Oréal Paris Voluminous Original Mascara. This excellent maximizing formula thickens by up to five-times natural thickness, and accomplishes this in a single application. L’Oréal Voluminous is also known for leaving lashes without any smudges, clumps, or residue, making it one of the most popular mascaras on the market! Another select L’Oréal product worthy of special attention is the L’Oreal Paris Cosmetics Infallible Pro-Matte Foundation Makeup.

Boasting long-lasting effects, build-able coverage, and a “barely there” feel, this L’Oréal foundation has shot to the top of best-seller charts, and anyone who has experienced it can understand why. It’s easy to forget that you’re wearing L’Oréal’s hit concealer, because that is how light it feels – or doesn’t feel – and it needs to be experienced to be believed.

Lastly, it would be downright unfair of us to not highlight L’Oreal Paris Colour Riche Lipcolour. With ingredients like omega-3, vitamin-E, and argan oil, this is a rare lipstick that actually manages to condition and soften lips while coloring them! With an enormous range of colors available, L’Oréal Colour Riche belongs in the makeup kit of any self-respecting cosmetics enthusiast.

What Is Hair Botox And Does It Work? Hair Botox Benefits And Dangers Explained

L’Oréal Shampoo Review: Professional, Kids, and Even Sulfate-Free

Given that the company got its start in hair care, and even helped popularize the idea of daily hair washing, its only fitting that L’Oréal has managed to maintain its footing as a hair-care leader to this day. It’s funny, ‘back in the day’ L’Oréal made one simple, all-purpose wash for hair of all colors, shapes, sizes, textures. Now the company produces a vast array of hair care-related products, including:

• Products: Cleansing Conditioner, Conditioner, Professional, Hair Mask, Hair Oil, Hair Treatments, Leave-In Conditioner, Shampoo, Sulfate-Free Care.
• Concerns: Blonde Hair Care, Color Treated Hair, Curly Hair, Damaged Hair, Dry Hair, Frizzy Hair, Hair Breakage & Split Ends, Sulfage-Free, Thin or Fine Hair.
• All Brands: Advanced Haircare, Hair Expertise, L’Oréal Kids.

From among these products, categories, and brands, the three that will be justifiably highlighted are L’Oréal Professional, Kids, and Sulfate-Free care. First we have L’Oréal Professional Series Expert Intense Repair Shampoo – a shampoo so adept at repairing damaged hair that is has begun to make professionals and salons alike sweat their lost business.

L’Oréal even produces the most popular kids shampoo on  the market in their L’Oréal Kids 2-in-1 Shampoo For Extra Softness of various ‘flavors’ and types. This is a shampoo that makes bath time fun, easy, good-smelling, and pain free for kids of all ages. Lastly, L’Oréal goes sulfate-free with their L’Oreal Paris EverCreme Sulfate-Free Moisture System Nourishing Shampoo. We’ve discussed the dangers of sulfates in shampoos at length in the past, and we’re glad to see that L’Oréal has taken up the call in providing safe, effective, and quality shampoos that do not contain sulfates or other harmful additives.

Well, there you have it. L’Oréal: a quality provider of all-things personal care – not just hair dyes – for many years in the past and for many years to come. A great hope for the personal care products industry would be for every company to try to operate itself in L’Oréal’s image – the amount of innovation and progress we’d see would be nothing short of mind-boggling!