Brand «Charles Revson»

Many claim that Charles Revson is either a 'street boy' or a 'genius without education' or a classic example of the 'American dream come true.' However, these rumors are only partly true. Charles's parents came from Russia; his father Samuel Morris left Russia on the eve of World War I and worked in American tobacco factories rolling cigars. His mother Janet Weiss moved to America as a girl and worked in an ordinary grocery store. Charles had two brothers, Joseph and Martin. Despite frequent moves, the parents gave their children a decent education.

The Revson brothers created a small company with an initial capital of $300, a considerable sum at the time. They changed the letter 's' in the name to 'l': thus in distant 1932 the company Revlon appeared, which produced red nail polish. At that time, ladies only used flesh-colored or clear polishes, but the Revsons decided that during the Great Depression, ladies' fingers needed to look cheerier and brighter. Chemist Charles Lachman participated in the development of the revolutionary polish. After 6 years, this small enterprise became a multi-million dollar company. In 1940, the company expanded its range and began producing lipstick.

The company went public in 1955, and by 1960 it was producing products in the most diverse segments of the cosmetic market. After the success of the Ultima cream, Charles Revson created the division Charles Revson Inc., where the main department Ultima II created luxury products. Revson even named his personal yacht Ultima II to promote his products and to challenge the company Estée Lauder, his competitor, who strove to take leading positions in the cosmetic and perfume industry. Due to the marketing policy of the Revlon brand and loss of success, the Ultima II division was closed in America in 2001 and in Europe in 2008. Today the brand is still represented in China and Hong Kong.