Fragrance house

Rimmel

Rimmel was established in London in 1834 by perfumer Hyacinth Mars Rimmel and his 14-year-old son, Eugène. It began as a perfumery and fragrance business, and Eugène developed scented fans, perfumed Valentine cards and a cologne-spraying perfume fountain shown at London’s 1851 Great Exhibition. His experimentation also extended to cosmetics: around 1880, he introduced a non-toxic mascara, and historical accounts note that “rimmel” became a word for mascara in several languages. After Eugène’s death in 1887, his two sons inherited the business and expanded its colour cosmetics, especially eye-enhancing products and mascara. After the Second World War, Robert and Rose Caplin acquired Rimmel, broadened its colour range and modernised its packaging. Coty acquired the brand in 1996; today, Rimmel is a London-rooted consumer beauty brand focused on self-expression and innovative products with mass appeal. In 2021, Coty named Adwoa Aboah Rimmel’s global activist as part of a renewed emphasis on individualism, diversity and inclusion. Its fragrance legacy is rooted in its founding perfumery and Eugène’s scent innovations, rather than a single signature fragrance.