A Nail Polish Industry Legend
Posted by Andrea Welzien on Thursday, October 24th, 2019
She’s known worldwide as The First Lady of Nails. Suzi Weiss-Fischmann, a Jewish mom who is a second-generation Holocaust survivor, founded OPI in 1981.
Author of a book titled I’m Not Really a Waitress (which is also the name of OPI’s top-selling nail color), Weiss-Fischmann discusses her childhood in communist Hungary, to founding OPI and becoming one of the biggest names in the nail industry. Her book also talks about how she used to have a serious nail biting problem, and it continued into her career as Co-founder and Creative Director of OPI. Finally she gave up the habit as she couldn’t have awful chewed up looking nails as the head of a global nail polish company.
When Weiss-Fischmann started the company with her brother-in-law, George Schaeffer, they knew nothing about nails. They were running a dental supply company and noticed that the dental hygienists were buying dental acrylics to use as nail extensions. Weiss-Fischmann and Schaeffer also thought that the color options available for nail polish were seriously lacking. They figured there was a huge hole in the industry that they could fill. With Weiss-Fischmann’s eye for color and creative witty shade names, a successful nail empire was born.
Weiss-Fischmann credits some of her success to the environment she was raised in, and to her Jewish values. She said “There’s no limitation to women. The only limitations are what you put on yourself. I grew up where women were doctors, engineers, lawyers, and they were all university educated.” She not only made a difference in the nail industry, but she is a compassionate, generous person who enjoys giving to charities. She is quoted as saying “People always ask, ‘what can you do to make your life better?’ I always say that if you’re able to, give financially, or mentor somebody and make a difference in their life. If you can make a difference in one person’s life, you did good.”
Weiss-Fischmann made the decision to sell OPI to Coty in 2010, but she continues her role as a brand ambassador and is still responsible for the fan-favorite, humorous color names.
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One beauty & personal care product we’ve probably all used at some point in our lives is Vaseline Petroleum Jelly. The history of Vaseline dates all the way back to 1870 when chemist Robert Chesebrough discovered petroleum jelly. Chesebrough first started his career as a chemist and oddly enough his job was clarifying kerosene from the oil of sperm whales. His job was no longer needed when petroleum was discovered later in Pennsylvania. Frustrated, Chesebrough traveled to Pennsylvania to see what other products could be created from this new fuel. This led to his discovery of petroleum jelly, which he marketed and trade-named Vaseline. 
In 1870, Chesebrough opened his very first factory, and the production of Vaseline took off. Robert Chesebrough had the process for making Vaseline trademarked, and by 1874, stores were selling 1,400 jars of Vaseline every day! The Chesebrough Manufacturing Company was founded in 1875, and later became Chesebrough-Ponds, a quality manufacturer of personal-care products. 
CoverGirl
The launch of the company e.l.f. (short for EyesLipsFace) in 2004 was fast, and shoppers instantly fell in love with the brand’s quality products at affordable prices. Founders Joseph Shamah and Scott-Vincent Borba met at a party while Shamah was a business student, and Borba was experienced in the beauty industry having launched Hard Candy cosmetics. The idea for the company originated from the duo seeing women driving high-end cars, out buying cosmetics at dollar stores in L.A. Only a few days after coming up with the idea, they sat down to brainstorm, and within months they had a full business plan in place. 
Marketing strategies have played a large role in the success of e.l.f. In 2007, they launched a beauty blog on their website offering advice and celebrity appearances. Not long after, the amount of time users spent on their website tripled, and online sales from their site quickly made up over half of their total sales! Using social media marketing, they’ve built up a loyal fan base, and have over 2 million website members.
Neutrogena’s long history all started when Emanuel Stolaroff began a beauty supply company called Natone in the 1930’s. He specialized in supplying his beauty products to the film industry in the U.S. During a business trip in 1954, he was impressed to find a soap made by a Belgian chemist that left no residue on skin after rinsing. Awestruck that the soap allowed skin to return to it’s normal pH only eleven minutes after washing (just one minute longer than water!), he knew he had to bring the formula to the United States.
The marketing strategies behind Neutrogena gave them a big advantage. Cotsen’s motto of “I’m not that smart, and I don’t like competition” influenced him to keep Neutrogena soap priced midway between the most basic drugstore soaps and higher end cleansers like Clinique. The company’s sales really began to skyrocket with the implementation of Cotsen’s strategy to focus on developing relationships with Dermatologists and luxury hotels. He had samples of the soap left in dermatologists’ offices and distributed to luxury hotel rooms, making sure that the name Neutrogena was branded into each bar of soap.
By the 1970’s Neutrogena began to expand their product line, promoting teen acne products, and by 1980 they entered the haircare market. In 1982, Lloyd Cotsen was named chief executive of the company, unfortunately just two years before Emanuel Stolaroff passed away. Still to this day, Neutrogena is recognizable as a trusted brand for skincare concerns. Currently, the brand’s products are manufactured and marketed in over 70 countries! Advertised as the #1 dermatologist recommended brand, Neutrogena declares that “Beauty begins with healthy skin”, and loyal customers appreciate the research and science behind their products. 