Our fearless founders
Meet the Ford twins...two Indiana farm gals turned successful models & makeup artists. They moved to San Francisco to take on a totally new approach to beauty. In 1976, they flipped a coin… heads, they open a casserole cafe, tails a makeup shop. Thankfully it was tails (no offense casseroles)!
Who better to spread the legacy of laughter & fun than the daughters and nieces of the co-founders Jean & Jane Ford? Maggie & Annie Ford Danielson have beauty in their blood! The new generation of sisters officially joined Benefit in 2008 and have since become our Global Beauty Authorities.
We're painting the world pink. We have locations in 59 countries across five continents. With more than 3,000 Brow Bars and 85 Boutiques worldwide.
1976
Jean and Jane's initial business plan was to make $33 per day to break even...but the "face place," their tiny original makeup shop in San Francisco's Mission District, was bound for more!
Have you heard the one about an exotic dancer walking into a makeup store and ordering nipple stain? Well, it’s true! The first bottle of “Rose Tint” is created for a San Franciscan exotic dancer. Years later, we call it Benetint!
The House of Benefit is born. The “face place” is renamed “Benefit Cosmetics” and the first Benefit counter opens at a US department store, none other than Henri Bendel in NYC!