The top-selling Booze & Baccy, Beard Oil & Moustache Wax has quickly made its way into the Polish cosmetics scene in cities like Warsaw and Krakow, but most interestingly, Poles from all different backgrounds are opening stylised and fashionable barber shops that are well worth stepping into. It turns out this is all part of a long tradition in Poland, a country where posh preening finds its natural home.
Early Polish Cosmetics
Antoni Cierplikowski at work, photo:Władysław Sławny/Forum
Poland may not be necessarily known for its barber shops or bearded men, but there certainly were key Polish figures in history who indulged themselves in the cosmetics business and became world-class magnates. Two names directly come to mind: Helena Rubinstein and Antoni “Antek” Cierplikowski.
Helena Rubinstein (1872 - 1965) was born into a Jewish-Polish family in the Kazimierz district of Kraków. After relocating to the United States at the outbreak of the first World War, Rubinstein established one of the biggest early cosmetics companies. It still operates under her initials, HR - Helena Rubinstein- Beauty, Care & Make-up Products, outcompeting names like Elizabeth Arden.
Helena Rubinstein during a facial care workshop, photo: Archivo Agencia / EL UNIVERSAL / Forum
Respected not only as a self-made millionaire, but also as a proto-feminist, as well as a philanthropist and early collector of African and Oceanic sculpture who made friends with artists such as Picasso and Dali, Rubinstein’s life was most recently represented in a Jewish Museum in New York exhibition named after her famous quote, Beauty is Power.
Another famous name from the early 20th-century beauty scene was Antoni "Antek" Cierplikowski (1884 – 1976), known as the world’s first celebrity hairdresser. Working in Paris as Monsieur Antoine, Cierplikowski became known for his signature haircut, “the Bob”, which still remains a favourite among stars such as Katie Holmes and Rihanna.
