The story of Bourjois and “les genials petits pots” !

Bonjour !

Bourjois has a special place in my heart, it was the first makeup item I ever bought and I believe it has been my good luck charm in the competitive world of the freelancing makeup artists. It has been in my makeup case from my very first student photographic shoot and will be there forever ! So, if you like me you have a bit of a thing about cosmetics, you probably have used the clever Bourjois little pot and their long lasting power…Here is the history of the iconic little pot. Bourjois was born on the great boulevards of the Paris theatre district in1863, at a time when France was the world’s second leading economic power. Joseph-Albert Ponsin was an actor and the company’s first creator. Unimpressed with the poor quality of greasy stage makeup he saw at the theatre, he prepared makeup and perfumes for actors in his own home.

His early creations were  waxy makeup sticks and had amusing names like Lovesick and Jealous. His cosmetic palette broadened rapidly, and the refinement and choice of his makeup brought success which grew beyond the circle of actors. His “Supplier for the Theatre” slogan on the makeup boxes soon changed to “Special Manufacturer of Products for Feminine Beauty”. He was a great cosmetologist and visionary. In 1868, Ponsin entrusted his entire activity to Alexandre-Napoléon Bourjois. Word spread beyond the theatre walls and in 1879 the blushers became widely available to the public. Monsieur Bourjois made the company grow and it soon became internationally known.

Bourjois created and developed a special baking process and “Le petit pot” was born !

How to achieve a very fine and silky powdered texture that made the blusher world famous ?

Combine a careful amount of of powder and water, mix it delicately, pour it into rounded moulds and put it in the oven and bake ! Here is the principle behind a complex recipe that Bourjois has been improving since 1863, then add a few grams of shimmering mother-of-pearl and bake again ! One hundred and fifty years of baking the perfect rouge blusher, the first shade was “Cendre de Roses” and to this day is still a best-seller.

 

The Java rice powder was launched in 1879, designed to lighten and soften the skin, it became a huge success and was sold in many countries.

A steam factory was built at on the outskirt of Paris in Pantin in 1891. By 1897 two million boxes of Java rice powder were sold worldwide. Product information was translated into five languages.

BOURJOIS,the ladies friend

This was the name of a very practical makeup kit created in 1890. Bourjois had already addressed concerns with simplifying beauty and making life easier for women. The kit included a small midnight blue cylindrical box containing lipstick, powder, a puff and mascara. Bourjois also designed an ultra-thin version with a moiré palette and built-in mirror, a mini push-up lipstick in a deep red shade, a mini face powder and a small powder puff in swan’s-down material. Packaged in elegant and avant-gardist design.

BOURJOIS THE PERFUMER, CREATOR OF “MON PARFUM” IN 1924, “SOIR DE PARIS” IN 1928, AND MANY OTHERS  The amber, floral and spicy scent of Soir de Paris, designed by Ernest Beaux, came in a sculptural midnight blue bottle. In the United States, the name “Soir de Paris” became “Evening in Paris” and was extremely successful. With “Evening in Paris”, the luxury of the bourgeoisie became accessible to the growing middle classes of the thirties.

Initiating “story-telling” marketing, Bourjois told about the adventures of “Babette” in 1924. She was a young and elegant imaginary woman, who was the ambassadress of Pastel perfumes and makeup in all the leading newspapers for six years. She was the heroine of a series of over 200 short, punchy titles such as “Babette Exterminates Some Statues”, “Babette in Trouble!” “Babette Tries to Close Her Trunk,” “Babette Prepares a Masterpiece,” “Babette and the Reluctant Fiancé,” etc…

BOURJOIS SUPPORT FOR FEMININE EMANCIPATION

In 1936, Bourjois evoked women’s right to vote through one of its campaign while the idea was still under discussion in the French parliament. Women were not effectively given the right to vote until 1945 !

Now over 150 years after its conception, the cute little round pot of Bourjois blusher is still one of the brand’s bestselling lines and Bourjois sells something over 3.5 million pots worldwide each year. (£7.49 at Boots)

Mon dieu! That is a enormous amount of “petit pots”…

It is not just the blusher that comes in the hallmark Bourjois packaging. In the 1980s, the “Little Round pot” range expanded to vast collection of eyeshadows, of which there are now over 30 shades (£5.99 each).

And if you don’t like little round pots?

Bourjois invented the Coup de Théâtre mascara, the first double-ended mascara. Suivez Mon Regard, a loose powder eyeshadow in a clever box that delivers the right amount of powder onto the built-in brush. For Little Round Pots fans, Bourjois regularly launches limited edition vintage series. Last summer Java powder was re-launched with a bit of ingredients tweeking and there are products like the new creme blushes etc…

In 2014 Bourjois is still innovating after 150 years in the cosmetic business. One of the first makeup brand in the world, it offers know how quality with fun and quirky products at a reasonable price. It will without any doubt carry on being enjoyed and popular for many years to come. So I say : long live “les petits pots” and they have truly won a place in the pantheon of great makeup !!

AM xx