Max Factor, now the most famous name in Western cosmetics, was born in Lodz, Poland, in 1877, and began his career as an apprentice to a wig maker. By 20, he was running his own makeup shop. He travelled to the United Sates in 1902 and took his family to the St. Louis World’s Fair.
By 1914, he was perfecting makeup for the movies. He had improvised a new alternative to dye greasepaint, which he thought looked dreadful and ‘terrifying’ on the screen. He formed flexible greasepaint, which was the first make-up created for film. It helped make actresses look more natural in close up.
Creating false eyelashes, the eyebrow pencil, lip gloss, and pancake makeup, Factor created a whole new language for screen cosmetics. Inevitably, once the actresses had been made to look so stylish on screen, they wanted to maintain the same effect in everyday life, so they wore the new Max Factor ‘makeup’ in personal appearances.
It was in 1927 that Max Factor introduced his first cosmetics to be sold to non-theatrical consumers. Before Max Factor, few women used cosmetics. Factor popularized both the word "makeup" and the use (and abuse) of the cosmetic repertoire. Credited as the father of modern make-up, Max Factor is responsible for inventing many key cosmetic products (for both on screen and off) and is still the inspiration behind beauty trends and innovations today.
He died on the 30th August 1938.
