Beauty Imagined: A History of the Global Beauty Industry - Hardcover

Geoffrey Jones ... intimates in the title of his detailed economic history of the beauty business, Beauty Imagined , that [beauty] is created by the collective will of a consumer society. Assessing beauty as a social construct, Jones takes the late 19th century as his starting point, when an increase in mass visual dissemination, particularly the spread of commercial photography, saw ideals of beauty shift from the personal and private to the communal. (Nicola Copping, Financial Times)

Beauty Imagined is a pioneering work in its ambition to present a grounded account of the growth of the global beauty business. Jones relies on a wide reading of a rather fragmented literature, supplemented by data from company archives as well as interviews with entrepreneurs and executives. The volume covers much ground and is written in a fluent and accessible style. (Johan Söderberg, Economic History Review)

Both men and women have dressed their hair, painted their faces, and sought ways to enhance their sexual allure in every time and place, yet the ways they have done so are infinitely various ... Given the degree to which beauty is interwoven with cultural concepts, it might seem impossible to talk of global beauty, but it is the achievement of this book to show how what was once culture bound has expanded into a multinational business. (Kenneth Lipartito, Business History Review)

If you have a passion for beauty then you need to read this book. True stories about the people behind the most famous brands make the cosmetic industry come alive as you learn how it has become such a significant part of our global culture. (Leslie Blodgett, Executive Chairman of Bare Escentuals and founder of bareMinerals)

The book is to be admired and its author congratulated for the deft (and pioneering) fashion in which order is imposed upon such a recalcitrant subject. For anyone interested in the lineaments, scope and statistics of the beauty industries this is essential reading. It teaches us a great deal about the size and comparative structure of firms and conglomerates as they devour smaller ventures and then get gobbled up themselves. (Carol Dyhouse, English Historical Review)

comprehensive and well-illustrated, the product of Jones's extensive research into historical archives and trade journals, and his interviews with company executives. getAbstract recommends this scholarly work as required reading for those in the industry and a top choice for all business history buffs. (getAbstract)

A must read for the beauty junkie. (Julia DiNardo, fashionpulsedaily.com)

a deft, comprehensive history that charts [the beauty industry's] path from the ancient craft of perfumery to the vast commercial cornerstone it now is ... Fans of figures and appendices will find a neat summary of how the beauty business has developed, including its many mergers, acquisitions, and divestments. Those who simply love fragrance might be interested to know how Lauder transformed department store beauty halls, and her own fortunes, with Youth Dew, a fragrance whose name encapsulates the big promise in a seductively natural and simple way. The business behind it is anything but. (Tasmin Doe, Oldie)

Geoffrey Jones has written a formidable history of the Beauty Industry that reads like a novel. Beauty Imagined, A History of the Global Beauty Industry... is poised to become a classic of the genre. It should be read by anyone involved in the beauty business. (Lisa Kaaki, Arab News)

thoroughly researched...Jones offers valuable new knowledge for the critical eye of a professional business historian. At the same time the book is a must-read for anyone working in the beauty or fashion business...deserves to become the standard reference work on the history of the international beauty industry. (Ingrid Giertz-Mårtenson, EH.NET)

The global beauty business permeates our lives, influencing how we perceive ourselves and what it is to be beautiful. The brands and firms which have shaped this industry, such as Avon, Coty, Estée Lauder, L'Oréal, and Shiseido, have imagined beauty for us.

This book provides the first authoritative history of the global beauty industry from its emergence in the nineteenth century to the present day, exploring how today's global giants grew. It shows how successive generations of entrepreneurs built brands which shaped perceptions of beauty, and the business organizations needed to market them. They democratized access to beauty products, once the privilege of elites, but they also defined the gender and ethnic borders of beauty, and its association with a handful of cities, notably Paris and later New York. The result was a homogenization of beauty ideals throughout the world.

Today globalization is changing the beauty industry again; its impact can be seen in a range of competing strategies. Global brands have swept into China, Russia, and India, but at the same time, these brands are having to respond to a far greater diversity of cultures and lifestyles as new markets are opened up worldwide.

In the twenty first century, beauty is again being re-imagined anew.