Hazel Bishop

Hazel Bishop
Bishop applying lipstick, 1951
Born	Hazel Gladys Bishop August 17, 1906 Hoboken, New Jersey
Died	December 5, 1998(1998-12-05) (aged 92) Rye, New York
Nationality	American
Education	Barnard College (Graduated 1929)
Occupation	Chemist
Employer	Hazel Bishop, Inc.
Known for	Lipstick
Parent(s)	Henry and Mabel Bishop

Hazel Gladys Bishop (August 17, 1906 – December 5, 1998) was an American chemist and the founder of the cosmetics company Hazel Bishop, Inc. She was the inventor of the first long-lasting lipstick.

She was born in Hoboken, New Jersey, one of two children of businessman Henry Bishop and his wife Mabel. Her father ran a dozen successful enterprises that included numerous stores on Washington Street, which was the main concourse of Hoboken. During one Thanksgiving, her father brought Santa Claus to town on an elephant to advertise his candy emporium. According to her, the family talk around the dinner table was always about business. She attended Barnard College in New York, originally enrolling in pre-med, with intentions of becoming a physician. She would graduate in 1929 with a degree under pre-med, with plans on attending Columbia for her graduate medical studies. She would begin graduate classes that same fall, however, the stock market crash that occurred in October of that same year lead to Bishop's eventual halting of her academic career. In 1935, she began working as research assistant to A.B. Cannon in a dermatological laboratory at the Columbia University College of Physicians and Surgeons. They would later launch the Almay hypoallergenic cosmetics line.

In 1942, she worked as an organic chemist for Standard Oil Development Company, designing fuels for airplanes during World War II. During her time there she discovered the cause of deposits affecting superchargers of aircraft engines. In 1945, she joined the Socony Vacuum Oil Company until 1950.

Bishop was inspired by Cannon, and begun conducting experiments on her own time with the idea of owning her own business. Two ideas she worked on in the 1930s that did not make it to market included a pimple concealer and mentholated tissues. Aiming to appeal to a wider market, Bishop began experimenting in her own small kitchen with staining dyes, oils, and molten wax. The goal was a non-drying, smudge-proof, long-lasting lipstick that would not smear on clothing or cups. The resultant mixture, formed into a mold, was called "No-Smear Lipstick".

In 1950, she acquired some capital and founded Hazel Bishop Inc. with Alfred Berg to manufacture these "long-lasting lipsticks". The lipstick debuted at Barnard College Club of New York in 1949 and in stores in 1950. The brand was unveiled in the summer of 1950 at Lord & Taylor, where the lipstick tubes sold for $1 each. The product proved to be a success, selling out on its first day of launch. She then asked Raymond Spector, an advertiser, to help her market the lipstick to consumer s, giving Spector shares in the company rather than a specified budget. In 1951, Bishop becoming the first woman to appear solo on the cover of Business Week.