Brand Spotlight February 2014: Kiehl's

I started my Brand Spotlight series with a very popular makeup company last month and this month I will be focusing on a skincare brand.  I first started reading about the Kiehl's brand in Allure several years ago and I have been interested in trying their skincare products ever since.  This is one of the oldest skincare companies that I am aware of and it reminded me of what I used to love about the C.O. Bigelow skincare line.  That company has discontinued tons of their products and I have been looking for another line to fill the void, I fully believe that products from this line will be among my new favorites and I see myself ordering a good amount from this brand.

I had to order all of my products from the Kiehl's website, they are not carried at Sephora or Ulta and the closest store to me is over an hour away.  I made one huge order from them several weeks ago and I would love to visit one of their stores in the coming months.  I ordered a whole range of skincare products and a hydrating lip balm and I decided that winter would be the best time for me to put many of these new products to the test.  I think that is the reason that I didn't want any new skincare in my Most Wanted for this month...

Here is a brief history of this brand...

In 1851, the original Kiehl's apothecary opened at the corner of Thirteenth St and Third Avenue in New York City.  Then in 1894, John Kiehl completed his training as a pharmacist and began operations under the name "Kiehl Pharmacy", growing the business and expanding on the Kiehl's name.  The business grew the most in the early 1920s, the business was taken over by John Kiehl's apprentice and he then turned the apothecary into a full service pharmacy.  In 1921, the first-ever Kiehl's brand product was introduced.  This product is the Original Musk Oil, a product that is now considered the brand's signature fragrance.  This is also the when the brand started to grow it's customer service skills and became known for their great products and one-on-one apothecary customer service.

In 1924, Kiehl's became the first company to list the ingredients of their products right on the label, this practice soon became commonplace and grew the level of transparency needed in the cosmetics industry.  The next period of big growth for this company started in 1962, this is the year that many of the best selling products for this brand were introduced.  I have ordered and used several of these best selling products and I look forward to trying even more of them.

photo courtesy of Google