Valmor Products

Last updated

Valmor Products was a Chicago-based cosmetics and personal care company founded in 1926, targeted at African American consumers. The company was known for its distinctive artwork used in its advertisements. [1]

Contents

History

Valmor was founded in 1926 as Valmor Products Co. by husband and wife team Rose and Morton Neumann. [2] Morton Neumann (1898–1985) was a Jewish Hungarian-American chemist from Chicago. [3] He created Valmor when he realized that there was an untapped market for African American-focused cosmetics. Valmor products had several sub-brands including Lucky Brown, Madam Jones, King Novelty, and Famous Products Co. [4] The company was based on the South Side of Chicago throughout its history, selling perfumes, hair pomades, incense, and other beauty products. [1] The Neumann’s ran Valmor until the company closed in 1984. [5] [6]

Design and imagery

Valmor was known for its stylized packaging and advertisements featuring illustrations and photographs of African-American models. Notable artists who illustrated for early Valmor product labels and ads were Charles C. Dawson and Jay Jackson. [2] The Chicago Cultural Center created a retrospective of Jackson and Dawson's work for Valmor in 2015, entitled "Love For Sale: The Graphic Art of Valmor Products." [7]

Valmor advertising images of wig styles for sale were used in the album cover for the Rolling Stones' album Some Girls , [3] [2] and in artist Ellen Gallagher's "DeLuxe" series. [8]

Related Research Articles

Maybelline New York, trading as and commonly known as simply Maybelline, is an American multinational cosmetics, skin care, perfume, and personal care company, based in New York City. Founded in Chicago in 1914, it has been a subsidiary of French cosmetics company L'Oréal since 1996.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Paramount Records</span> American record label

Paramount Records was an American record label known for its recordings of jazz and blues in the 1920s and early 1930s, including such artists as Ma Rainey, Tommy Johnson and Blind Lemon Jefferson.

Revlon, Inc. is an American multinational company dealing in cosmetics, skin care, perfume, and personal care. The headquarters of Revlon was established in New York City on March 1, 1932, where it remains. Revlon was founded by brothers Charles and Joseph Revson, and chemist Charles Lachman. Revlon products are sold in 150 countries and the company has many global locations including Mexico City, London, Paris, Hong Kong, Indonesia, Sydney, Singapore, and Tokyo.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">The Estée Lauder Companies</span> American multinational cosmetics company

The Estée Lauder Companies Inc. is an American multinational cosmetics company, a manufacturer and marketer of makeup, skincare, perfume, and hair care products, based in Midtown Manhattan, New York City. It is the second largest cosmetics company in the world after L'Oréal. The company owns a diverse portfolio of brands, including La Mer, Jo Malone London, Clinique and Tom Ford Beauty, among many more, distributed internationally through both digital commerce and retail channels.

Landor is a brand consulting firm founded in 1941 by Walter Landor, who pioneered some research, design, and consulting methods that the branding industry still uses.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">L'Oréal</span> French multinational cosmetics and beauty company

L'Oréal S.A. is a French multinational personal care corporation registered in Paris and headquartered in Clichy, Hauts-de-Seine. It is the world's largest cosmetics company, with activities spanning skin care, sun protection, make-up, perfume, hair care and hair color.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">ChapStick</span> Brand name of lip balm

ChapStick is a brand name of lip balm owned by Suave Brands Company and is used in many countries worldwide. It is intended to help treat and prevent chapped lips, hence the name. Many varieties also include sunscreen to avoid sunburn.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sephora</span> French cosmetics retailer

Sephora is a French multinational retailer of personal care and beauty products, offering nearly 340 brands alongside its own private label, the Sephora Collection. Its product range includes cosmetics, skincare, fragrance, nail color, beauty tools, body products, and hair care items.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Shredded wheat</span> Breakfast cereal made from whole wheat

Shredded wheat is a breakfast cereal made from whole wheat formed into pillow-shaped biscuits. It is commonly available in three sizes: original, bite-sized and miniature. Both smaller sizes are available in a frosted variety, which has one side coated with sugar and usually gelatin. Some manufacturers have produced "filled" versions of the bite-size cereal containing a raisin at the center, or apricot, blueberry, raspberry, cherry, cranberry or golden syrup filling.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Olay</span> American skin care brand owned by Procter & Gamble

Olay or Olaz, previously Oil of Olay, Oil of Olaz, Oil of Ulan, or Oil of Ulay, is an American skin care brand owned by Procter & Gamble. For the 2009 fiscal year, which ended on June 30, Olay accounted for an estimated $2.8 billion of P&G's revenue.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Morton Salt</span> American salt production company

Morton Salt is an American food company producing salt for food, water conditioning, industrial, agricultural, and road/highway use. Based in Chicago, the business is North America's leading producer and marketer of salt. It is a subsidiary of holding company Stone Canyon Industries Holdings, Inc.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Shiseido</span> Japanese cosmetics producer

Shiseido Company, Limited is a Japanese multinational cosmetic company founded in Tokyo, Japan in 1872. Its product categories consist of: skin care, makeup, body care, hair care, and fragrances. The company is one of the oldest cosmetic companies in the world and celebrated its 150th anniversary in 2022. It is the largest cosmetic firm in Japan and the fifth largest cosmetic company in the world. In Japan, Shiseido is available at cosmetic counters at selected department stores and most pharmacies. The company owns numerous brands and subsidiaries worldwide, in addition to its founding label. The company is headquartered in Tokyo, and is traded on the Tokyo Stock Exchange, where it is a constituent of the Nikkei 225 and TOPIX Large70 indices.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Coty</span> French American beauty company

Coty Inc. is an American multinational beauty company founded in 1904 by François Coty. With its subsidiaries, it develops, manufactures, markets, and distributes fragrances, cosmetics, skin care, nail care, and both professional and retail hair care products. Coty owns around 40 brands as of 2024.

CoverGirl is an American cosmetics brand founded in Maryland, United States, by the Noxzema Chemical Company. It was acquired by Procter & Gamble in 1989, and later acquired by Coty, Inc. in 2016. The Noxell Company advertised this cosmetics line by allowing "cover girls", models, actresses, and singers who appear on the front cover of women's magazines, to wear its products. CoverGirl primarily provides a wide variety of consumer-grade cosmetics.

Helene Curtis Industries, Inc. was an American cosmetics and beauty parlor products firm based in Chicago. The company acquired a hair-coloring line through the acquisition of a competitor business. Later the retailer diversified into the field of personal care products, manufacturing Degree, among other items.

Ellen Gallagher is an American artist. Her work has been shown in numerous solo and group exhibitions and is held in the permanent collections of many major museums. Her media include painting, works on paper, film and video. Some of her pieces refer to issues of race, and may combine formality with racial stereotypes and depict "ordering principles" society imposes.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Aesop (brand)</span> Luxury skin care brand

Aesop is an Australian luxury cosmetics brand that produces skincare, haircare and fragrance products. It is headquartered in Collingwood, Victoria and is a subsidiary of L’Oréal.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Cosmetic industry</span> Industry that manufactures and distributes cosmetic products

The cosmetic industry describes the industry that manufactures and distributes cosmetic products. These include colour cosmetics, like foundation and mascara, skincare such as moisturisers and cleansers, haircare such as shampoos, conditioners and hair colours, and toiletries such as bubble bath and soap. The manufacturing industry is dominated by a small number of multinational corporations that originated in the early 20th century, but the distribution and sale of cosmetics is spread among a wide range of different businesses. Cosmetics must be safe when customers use them in accordance with the label's instructions or in the conventional or expected manner. One measure a producer may take to guarantee the safety of a cosmetic product is product testing. FDA occasionally does testing as part of its research program or when looking into potential safety issues with a product. Both the cosmetics business and consumers can benefit from the FDA's resources on product testing.

FSN E-Commerce Ventures Ltd, d/b/a Nykaa, is an Indian retail company, headquartered in Mumbai. It sells beauty, wellness and fashion products through its website, mobile app and over 100 physical stores. In 2020, it became the first Indian unicorn startup headed by a woman.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Charles C. Dawson</span> African American artist

Charles C. Dawson was an American painter, printmaker, illustrator, and graphic designer.

References

  1. 1 2 "Love for Sale: The Graphic Art of Valmor Products". www.chicago.gov. Retrieved 2022-11-26.
  2. 1 2 3 Nittle, Nadra (2018-01-23). "Before Fenty: Over 100 Years of Black Makeup Brands". Racked. Retrieved 2022-11-19.
  3. 1 2 Leviton, Mark (2022-06-09). "The Rolling Stones' 'Some Girls': The Grooves of Now". Best Classic Bands. Retrieved 2022-11-19.
  4. Chicago Public Library, "Valmor Products Label Collection"
  5. DNAInfo
  6. Made in Chicago Museum "Valmor Products Co."
  7. "Love for Sale" Design Observer
  8. "Ellen Gallagher DeLuxe".