Fashion blogFashionA brief history of Olay
Sixty years ago Graham Wulff invented a thick pink liquid which he named 'beauty fluid'. Now someone buys the brand's moisturiser every two minutesWhat's the story?
Sixty years old this year, Olay started life in a South African lab by an ex-Unilever employee called Graham Wulff. Oil of Olay was originally a thick pink liquid which was marketed as an anti-ageing 'beauty fluid'. In the 1970s the range expanded to include all manner of skincare products, and the company was bought by Procter & Gamble in the mid-80s. In 1999 what was called Oil of Ulay in the UK, Oil of Olaz in other European countries and Oil of Ulan in Australia, became known as just Olay the world over. It is now sold in 80 countries worldwide to an estimated 60 million women.
Why are we talking about it now?
Mother's Day always makes me think of Olay/Ulay. Back in the 90s, it was very much a brand that was aimed at ladies of a certain age who were keen to achieve younger-looking skin. But I also remember there being a strong mother/daughter focus, too. Remember this 'Nick thought we were sisters' advert from 1990? However, with the name change there has also come a change in its target audience, especially in more recent years. In fact, January this year saw the launch of Olay Essentials – a collection of cleansers and moisturisers at lower prices (cleansers are £2.49 and moisturisers £4.59) and aimed at younger women. Think of them as entry-level Olay products.
So what's good?
One of Olay's bestsellers comes from their Total Effects range – the Total Effects Touch of Foundation (£18.99, available from the Guardian Fashion Store) – one of which sells somewhere in the world every two minutes. It's a light day moisturiser with SPF15 with, as the name suggests, a hint of foundation. Others might call it a tinted moisturiser but there is a significant difference. On discussing the highly important matter with a friend who uses it most days, we declared it better than a tinted moisturiser as it actually did moisturise the skin.
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