You have no idea where your favourite cosmetics come from

For any entrepreneur, opening  a business in a major city is an achievement. Opening a store in New York is like a blessing. Finally, having a store at Time Square sounds like winning the lottery. (Without mentioning rental costs and taxes, obviously). Here we have two examples: Inglot and Max Factor.  Have you ever thought where the companies originally come from? The answer might surprise you. 

Inglot at Times Square, New York

If you are a man, you might have never heard of Inglot. It’s a colour cosmetics company with a global reach. It began its international expansion in 2006, launching the first store in Montral, Canada. Then the success naturally followed. At the moment, the company  has nearly 500 retail outlets in more than 50 countries on six continents, including prestigious locations like The Dubai Mall, Macy’s in USA, Caesars Palace in Las Vegas, Dundas Square in Toronto, Edgars in South Africa, Westfield London, and many others.Moreover, it has a dominant position in the domestic markets of cosmetics in Malaysia, Azerbaijan and Ireland. Inglot cosmetics use a lot of first-cover celebrities like Britney Spears, Avril Lavigne, Sofia Vergara or Kim Kardashian.

Now you know why the company is pretty successful, don’t you? You might think it’s probably British, German, French or American invention. Maybe Italian? None of them. 95% of Inglot cosmetics is being produced in a small town, Przemyśl, in Poland. The company was founded in 1983 by Wojciech Inglot who  was one of the most outstanding entrepreneurs businessman and chemist. He died unexpectedly at the age of 57 last year but his cosmetic empire is still growing.

Wojciech Inglot, a Polish chemist and businessmen, founder of Inglot cosmetics. He died in 2013, at the age of 57.

Mr. Inlot’s final life achievement was developing an innovative formula of healthier alternative for polish nail  that became a hit among Muslim women. According to the Quran, women are not allowed to wear polish nail during prayer. This is a part of wudu ritual that requires washing with water any time before the prayers. Inglot’s O2M halal nail polish is tolerable for women since it has been tested and certified  as being “breathable”. It means that it enables oxygen and liquid pass through the nail.

Currently, the brand international presence  is supported by a Polish supermodel, Anja Rubik, who is widely recognised in the fashion industry. She has launched her debut perfume line, called “Original”. The fragrance has just started its promotional campaign across the major cities in the world.

Max Factor is another cosmetic comapny that has its roots in… Poland. Maksymilian Faktorowicz, a Polish cosmetician and businessman, was the founder of  this cosmetics giant brand. After immigrating to Los Angeles, U.S,  in 1904, he changed his name into Max Factor and soon after he launched his own cosmetic company: Max Factor. Now the company is owned by  Procter & Gamble.

Max Factor, born Maksymilian Faktorowicz, z Polish businessman and founder of cosmetics giant Max Factor company Source: time2save.pl

Anja Rubik: from top model to role model

Challenge you assumptions. When you think about a model, what do you mean? She either eats cotton balls dipped in juice or simply nothing. Probably a dumb blonde girl? She is vain or this kind of a valley girl who should, rather, keep her mouth closed.

If you think so, you overestimate your abilities.

I’m really proud of all these successful Polish people who play the role of so-called “country ambassadors”. Let me introduce you the first one – Anja Rubik.

She breaks all the stereotypical images about models and Polish people who decide to settle down somewhere in the world and climb the career ladder there.

Source: afterparty.pl

Over the past decade, she has racked up countless covers, ad campaigns, and catwalk exclusives. As of May 2010, Anja is ranked 3rd on the Top 50 Models Women list and 18th on the Top 25 Money Girls list, which ranks the highest earning high fashion models in the industry, by models.com. As of September 2012, she is ranked as an industry icon.

She is one of those high-achieving models who are successfully becoming businesswomen. Two years ago she launched and became Editor in Chief of her own magazine, 25. She described it as a fashion magazine, “but with an erotic twist”. In addition to collaborating with big designers names  such as Giuseppe Zanotti for whom she designed a capsule footwear line, she is actively engaged in charity organisations.

She became a strong PR weapon that a lot of top designers and fashion brands can only dream of. Nevertheless, she took time out of her busy schedule to support Polish artists, designers and fashion companies.

It’s time to show you couple of Anja’s latest collaborations from her homeland that you might have never heard of.
Most recently, she launched exclusive line collection campaign for Mohito. The general idea was to take the best pieces of her wardrobe and present them on the catwalk. That’s why the collection ideally portrays Anja’s style which might be a unique selling point of this line.

Anja Rubik for Mohito, the collection will be available since 14th of November.
Photos: Paola Kudacki

Anja as a host and judge of Polish version of Project Runway produced by TVN.

Source: elle.pl

Anja has made several guest appearances throughout Top Model show, produced by TVN as well. The show was based on Tyra Banks’ America’s Next Top Model.

Source: kobieta.onet.pl

Anja Rubik became an ambassador of Apart, Poland’s  largest producer and chain of jewellery showrooms.

Anja Rubik for Apart Source: fashion.apart.pl

There were quite a lot of controversy surrounding Anja’s musical debut. She has collaborated with writer and producer Mister D to produce a track in Polish called Chleb. Mister D is the stage name of acclaimed Polish literary wunderkind Dorota Masłowska. The video had nothing to do with glamour and luxury and rapidly went viral. “I’ve been a fan of hers since her first book was published, which was a huge hit in Poland. Now, all of her writing is very controversial, and it’s kind of addressed to people who know the situation in Poland — the social situation, what’s happening in Poland when it comes to interactions between people, how we approach different things” – Anja said.

A shot from the ‘Chleb’ music video. Source: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-1-z48cJDbc

Give Anja  a round of applause!