… And still at the cutting edge!
What is truly astonishing is that a brand with so much past can still be very much of the present – but Rimmel, of course, has a tradition of breaking all the rules. Founded in London, Rimmel has kept its finger on the pulse of this most eclectic of capitals, and taken inspiration from the city’s unique street style to create a brand of beauty that’s quite different from anything to emerge from Milan, Paris or New York.
Beauty made in London is witty, edgy and streetwise. It’s about setting trends, not following them. It’s about experimentation and self-expression. In a word, it’s about having fun. And Rimmel’s affordable range of colourful, contemporary, high-quality products is designed to enable real women to do just that. Why have one identity when you can have as many as you like? With Rimmel, changing your look is as easy as hopping on the London Tube and switching from Soho to Camden, from Portobello to Notting Hill.
When it came to finding a face to project the image of Rimmel London, there was really only one possible choice. So, in September 2001, for the first time in its history, Rimmel signed an exclusive, global contract with Britain’s own homegrown supermodel, Kate Moss.
Born and bred in London, Kate is, despite her international lifestyle, in many ways the quintessential London girl. Inspirational yet accessible, her highly individual style and quirky glamour are rooted in the London street scene, and epitomise Rimmel’s experimental, no-set-rules beauty philosophy.
Kate, who has been using Rimmel since she was a teenager – “Heather Shimmer lipstick was my favourite!” she remembers – closely identifies with the brand’s London connections. “There’s so much going on in London, with all the clubs, galleries and our amazing designers,” she comments. “We’ve got freedom of choice, and people can create their own style.”
The instinctive understanding between Kate Moss and Rimmel has evolved into one of beauty’s most potent partnerships, with the supermodel’s own hip, fashion-forward image complementing Rimmel’s cutting-edge cosmetics vision to create the definitive cool, streetwise London look.
OUR FACES
SINCE 1834
BEAUTY LOVES A LEGEND, AND LEGENDS DON’T COME MUCH MORE COMPELLING THAN THE STORY BEHIND RIMMEL, ONE OF THE WORLD’S OLDEST COSMETICS BRANDS.
In 1820, a respected French perfumer who had been trained by the famous Lubin, perfumer to Empress Josephine, the wife of Napoleon I, accepted an invitation to manage a perfumery in London’s prestigious Bond Street. By 1834, the move to London had proved so successful that, together with his son and apprentice Eugene Rimmel, then aged just 14, he opened a perfumery of his own. The House of Rimmel was established.
As the