November 2020 • Vol. 26 • Issue 9
Seventy Fifth Anniversary of the Society of Cosmetic Chemists, Founded by Maison G. de Navarre— An Overview of his Numerous Accomplishments and Contributions to our Society and Industry
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…by Paul Thau
s one of the few current Society of Cosmetic Chemists members who had the opportunity to meet Maison G. de Navarre, I decided to search the literature to recount his numerous contributions to our industry. Early in my career I worked at Warner-Lambert. During that time (1963), Maison de Navarre visited the company to meet with Martin Rieger and Charles Fox, both active members of the Society of Cosmetic Chemists. At the conclusion of their meeting, I was asked to drive Maison to Morristown Airport. During this trip, he told me about some of his past activities. I distinctly recall him telling me that in 1946 when he was employed by Beauty Counselor, they had considerable success with his innovative formulations, such as Liquid Beauty, which was widely recognized as the first emulsion makeup foundation. In fact, he told me that Charles Revson (the founder of Revlon) attempted to acquire this product from Beauty Counselor without success. Maison’s career in the cosmetic chemistry started in the pharmaceutical field. He received his Bachelor’s degree in Pharmacy from Wayne University in 1930. It was a difficult year for a recent graduate while the country was at the brink of the Great Depression. There were very few jobs for pharmacists, but Maison had enough confidence in himself to be a consultant to a cosmetic firm. Despite the fact that his background was primarily in pharmacy, he was able to begin a long-term relationship with George Beeman, the founder of Beauty Counselor. In addition to consulting work, he also began establishing himself as a voice for the cosmetic industry by writing articles for trade magazines that covered cosmetics, starting with The American Perfumer. The first article Maison wrote for this magazine was about “Absorption Bases,” which appeared in the December 1932 issue. In 1935, Maison’s valuable contributions to The American Perfumer resulted in him becoming Technical Editor of this magazine. He was genuinely interested in improving manufacturing standards for cosmetics. He did this through his consulting business as well as writing articles for trade journals, books, and educational programs. Maison’s extensive knowledge and interest in all aspects of cosmetic chemistry led to him writing the book The Chemistry and Manufacture of Cosmetics in 1941, which was widely acclaimed. Despite his earlier efforts that did not come to fruition, in May 23, 1945, the founding meeting of the Society of Cosmetic Chemists was held at the Hotel Lexington in New York City. On December 5, (continued on Page 4) 1945, the first meeting of the newly formed Society of Cosmetic Chemists was held with Maison de Navarre its
C L E A N B E A U T Y – AT H O M E L I V E
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NOVEMBER 19th
...see pages 6-7 for more information.