Benefit Cosmetics LLC | |
Type: | Wholly owned subsidiary |
Founder: | Jean and Jane Ford |
Location City: | San Francisco |
Location Country: | United States |
Area Served: | Worldwide[1] |
Industry: | Cosmetics |
Parent: | LVMH |
Benefit Cosmetics LLC is a manufacturer of cosmetics founded and headquartered in San Francisco, California. It is a subsidiary of LVMH Moët Hennessy Louis Vuitton.
Benefit was founded by the twin sisters Jean and Jane Ford.[2] Born in Indiana, they attended Indiana University before moving to San Francisco.[3] In 1976, the twins opened a beauty boutique named "The Face Place" in San Francisco's Mission District. The Face Place later moved to Kearny Street in downtown San Francisco in the 1980s.[4]
In 1989, the Face Place product catalog was developed. The Fords then focused on department store distribution and renamed the company Benefit Cosmetics in 1990.[5] In 1991, Benefit opened its first U.S. department store in Henri Bendel, located in New York City. In 1997, Benefit went international with its expansion into Harrods in London. Soon after, the Benefit Cosmetics product website was launched. The new generation of sisters officially joined Benefit in 2008 and have since become our Global Beauty Authorities.
LVMH acquired Benefit Cosmetics on September 14, 1999.[6] In 2001, Benefit launched its first bath and boudoir line, Bathina. Benefit opened its first "Brow Bar" (a boutique specializing in brow shaping) in 2003, at Macy's Union Square, San Francisco.[7] [8]
On April 21, 2012, Benefit Cosmetics won a Guinness World Record for accomplishing the most eyebrow waxes performed in 8 hours by a team, completing 382 treatments. This record was broken again on May 20, 2017, by a team in Melbourne, completed 435 waxes.[9]
In 2022, Marks and Spencer announced their partnership with Benefit Cosmetics which would feature more than 200 products. Benefit Cosmetics products would be available online at M&S.com and in-store at 5 locations in Camberley, Cheshire Oaks, Handforth Dean, Hedge End, and Lisburn.[10] [11]
In 2023, Yasmin Benoit was also the first asexual person to be in a Benefit Cosmetics Campaign, alongside intersex activist Anick Soni.[12]