Benefit Cosmetics

Benefit was founded by the twin sisters Jean and Jane Ford.^[2] Born in Indiana, they attended Indiana University before moving to San Francisco.^[3] In 1976, the twins opened a beauty boutique named "The Face Place" in San Francisco's Mission District. The Face Place later moved to Kearny Street in downtown San Francisco in the 1980s.^[4]

In 1989, the Face Place product catalog was developed. The Fords then focused on department store distribution and renamed the company Benefit Cosmetics in 1990.^[5] In 1991, Benefit opened its first U.S. department store in Henri Bendel, located in New York City. In 1997, Benefit went international with its expansion into Harrods in London. Soon after,^[when?] the Benefit Cosmetics product website was launched.

LVMH acquired Benefit Cosmetics on September 14, 1999.^[6] In 2001, Benefit launched its first bath and boudoir line, Bathina. Benefit opened its first "Brow Bar" (a boutique specializing in brow shaping) in 2003, at Macy's Union Square, San Francisco.^[7][8]

On April 21, 2012, Benefit Cosmetics won a Guinness World Record for the most eyebrow waxes performed in eight hours by a team, completing 382 treatments. Benefit beat their own record on May 20, 2017, when a team in Melbourne completed 435 waxes.^[9]

In 2022, Marks and Spencer announced their partnership with Benefit Cosmetics which would feature more than 200 products. Benefit Cosmetics products would be available online at M&S.com and in-store at five locations in Camberley, Cheshire Oaks, Handforth Dean, Hedge End, and Lisburn.^[10][11]

In 2023, Yasmin Benoit was the first asexual person to be in a Benefit Cosmetics campaign, alongside intersex activist Anick Soni.^[12]