Almay

Behind the brand

It all began with one woman’s delicate skin. In 1930, cosmetics were heavy and thick, made with strong pigments and powerful chemicals, too harsh for the complexion of one Fanny May Woititz. But her husband Alfred was a professional chemist, and a relentless tinkerer. He started experimenting with his wife’s makeup, testing and trying to figure out which ingredients were irritants. He enlisted a renowned dermatologist, Dr. Marion Sulzberger, to help with the experiments. Together they devised a formula for cosmetics that were pure and gentle enough for Fanny May to use every day. When need meets invention, beautiful things happen. Combining the names of the founders, Alfred and Fanny May, Almay was established in 1931 to manufacture their new, gentler cosmetics for women everywhere. Since then, Almay has consistently been an innovator in skincare purity and safety. Almay was the first hypoallergenic cosmetics brand and continued to lead the beauty industry in firsts. Almay was the first brand to make 100% fragrance-free products, the first brand to disclose all ingredients (long before it was mandatory), the first brand to perform safety testing for allergy and irritation, the first brand to formulate for contact lens wearers and the first brand to create cosmetic regimens for specific skin types. 

People and Faces

Elaine Irwin-Mellencamp (yep, John’s wife) is the face of the brand and brings the Almay woman to life. She’s beautiful on the outside and in, and takes care of her beauty needs as well herself. 

Most popular products

Their Moisturizing Eye Makeup Remover Pads are brilliant on sensitive skin, especially if your eyes tend to get irritated. 

www.almay.com.au