Hard Candy (cosmetics)
Encyclopedia
Hard Candy is an American cosmetics company, founded in 1995 by Iranian American sisters and Benjamin A. Einstein. Dineh Mohajer and ex-boyfriend Ben Einstein ( who now owns Einstein Cosmetics ) & several successful sport media comp., Pooneh Mohajer (who now owns tokidoki
). The company's first product was nail polish that Dineh mixed herself - a shade of baby blue named "Sky" to match her Charles David sandals. After receiving scores of compliments on the unique shade, Dineh began selling it at Fred Segal in Santa Monica, and Ben began selling to many other top retailers including Nordstroms . In that same year, actress Alicia Silverstone
appeared on Late Night with David Letterman
and, when asked about her pastel blue fingernails, replied, "It's 'Sky' by Hard Candy," causing an overnight explosion of the brand. Ben and Dineh appeared on segments of MTV House of Style program several times. A mere 18 months later the brand was quoted as generating $10 million a year in a Forbes
ad featuring Dineh.
Louis Vuitton Moët Hennessy (LVMH), who owns Donna Karan
, Givenchy
, Sephora
, TAG Heuer
, and Veuve Clicquot
, acquired Hard Candy in 1999 for an undisclosed amount. The acquisition afforded Hard Candy greater distribution and a larger brand to attach itself to. It was later sold to Falic Fashion group, a hollywood-Florida based corporation operating on the duty-free market, and a subsidiary of Duty Free America. In 2009 Hard Candy announced a partnership with Wal-Mart
to take the brand to mass.
NuWorld Beauty and Wal-Mart have worked together for over a year on the marketing concept, product creation and package development of Hard Candy. “We at NuWorld beauty were very excited developing this brand. It was a tremendous amount of fun. The sole direction we provided to the product development and marketing team was to create the line as if we were creating a prestige brand for the specialty market. The team exceeded my expectations.” says Stu Dolleck, President of NuWorld Beauty.
Hard Candy's new line, which premiered in the fall of 2009, consists of 261 products. The company kept some of the original Hard Candy products, among them their iconic nail polish, and introduced new products, such as Kaleyedescope Baked Eyeshadow, Eye Tattoo, Press-On Eyeshadow and Take Me Out Eyeliner, which doubles as a hair stick
.
Tokidoki
tokidoki is the Japanese-inspired lifestyle brand created in 2005 by Italian artist Simone Legno and his business partners Pooneh Mohajer and Ivan Arnold....
). The company's first product was nail polish that Dineh mixed herself - a shade of baby blue named "Sky" to match her Charles David sandals. After receiving scores of compliments on the unique shade, Dineh began selling it at Fred Segal in Santa Monica, and Ben began selling to many other top retailers including Nordstroms . In that same year, actress Alicia Silverstone
Alicia Silverstone
Alicia Silverstone is an American actress, author, and former fashion model. She first came to widespread attention in music videos for Aerosmith, and is perhaps best known for her roles in Hollywood films such as Clueless and her portrayal of Batgirl in Batman & Robin .-Early life:Silverstone...
appeared on Late Night with David Letterman
Late Night with David Letterman
Late Night with David Letterman is a nightly hour-long comedy talk show on NBC that was created and hosted by David Letterman. It premiered in 1982 as the first incarnation of the Late Night franchise and went off the air in 1993, after Letterman left NBC and moved to Late Show on CBS. Late Night...
and, when asked about her pastel blue fingernails, replied, "It's 'Sky' by Hard Candy," causing an overnight explosion of the brand. Ben and Dineh appeared on segments of MTV House of Style program several times. A mere 18 months later the brand was quoted as generating $10 million a year in a Forbes
Forbes
Forbes is an American publishing and media company. Its flagship publication, the Forbes magazine, is published biweekly. Its primary competitors in the national business magazine category are Fortune, which is also published biweekly, and Business Week...
ad featuring Dineh.
Louis Vuitton Moët Hennessy (LVMH), who owns Donna Karan
Donna Karan
Donna Karan is an American fashion designer and the creator of the Donna Karan New York and DKNY clothing labels.-Early life:...
, Givenchy
Givenchy
Givenchy is a French brand of clothing, accessories, perfumes and cosmetics with Parfums Givenchy.The house of Givenchy was founded in 1952 by designer Hubert de Givenchy and is a member of Chambre Syndicale de la Haute Couture et du Pret-a-Porter...
, Sephora
Sephora
Sephora is a chain of cosmetics stores founded in France in 1970 and acquired by Paris-based conglomerate LVMH in 1997. The Sephora chain includes more than 750 stores in 17 countries...
, TAG Heuer
TAG Heuer
TAG Heuer is a Swiss luxury watchmaker known for its sports watches and chronographs. It is a division of luxury goods company LVMH Moët Hennessy • Louis Vuitton. The company motto is "Swiss Avant-Garde Since 1860"...
, and Veuve Clicquot
Veuve Clicquot
Veuve Clicquot Ponsardin is both a champagne house in Reims, France, and a brand of premium champagne. Founded in 1772 by Philippe Clicquot-Muiron, Veuve Clicquot played an important role in establishing champagne as a favored drink of haute bourgeoisie and nobility throughout Europe...
, acquired Hard Candy in 1999 for an undisclosed amount. The acquisition afforded Hard Candy greater distribution and a larger brand to attach itself to. It was later sold to Falic Fashion group, a hollywood-Florida based corporation operating on the duty-free market, and a subsidiary of Duty Free America. In 2009 Hard Candy announced a partnership with Wal-Mart
Wal-Mart
Wal-Mart Stores, Inc. , branded as Walmart since 2008 and Wal-Mart before then, is an American public multinational corporation that runs chains of large discount department stores and warehouse stores. The company is the world's 18th largest public corporation, according to the Forbes Global 2000...
to take the brand to mass.
NuWorld Beauty and Wal-Mart have worked together for over a year on the marketing concept, product creation and package development of Hard Candy. “We at NuWorld beauty were very excited developing this brand. It was a tremendous amount of fun. The sole direction we provided to the product development and marketing team was to create the line as if we were creating a prestige brand for the specialty market. The team exceeded my expectations.” says Stu Dolleck, President of NuWorld Beauty.
Hard Candy's new line, which premiered in the fall of 2009, consists of 261 products. The company kept some of the original Hard Candy products, among them their iconic nail polish, and introduced new products, such as Kaleyedescope Baked Eyeshadow, Eye Tattoo, Press-On Eyeshadow and Take Me Out Eyeliner, which doubles as a hair stick
Hair stick
A hair stick is a straight, pointed device, usually between five and nine inches in length, used to hold a person's hair in place in a hair bun or similar hairstyle....
.