Clarins


Clarins Group, trading as Clarins, is a French luxury skin care, cosmetics and perfume company, which manufactures and sells products, usually through high-end department store counters and selected pharmacies.

Founding and history

The family company was founded in 1954 by the medical student Jacques Courtin-Clarins, who died in 2007. The son of the company founder, Christian Courtin-Clarins, has been the chairman of Clarins since 2000.
In 1957, Courtin-Clarins developed a new approach to face and body treatments and created a few luxury products based exclusively on plants. At the beginning of the 1970s, the company started to spread internationally with its first exclusive contracts. The first subsidiary company in the United States was created in January 1981. But first established in 1987 was the Clarins sunscreen which was really the beginning of the company. At the end of 2005, the group has 19 subsidiary companies of distribution in more than 150 countries. Serge Rosinoer, who died in 2014, is credited with the international expansion.
Virginie Courtin-Clarins, Claire Courtin-Clarins, Prisca Courtin-Clarins, and Jenna Courtin-Clarins act as brand ambassadors.

Company portfolio

The Clarins brand portfolio includes Clarins and My Blend. A skin care product range for men was also launched in 2002. The group's division Clarins Fragrance Group, also included in the past Porsche Designs Parfums, David Yurman fragrances, MUGLER, Azzaro Parfums and Swarovski parfums. It also used to own the organic cosmetics brand Kibio, and used to be a stockholder in L'Occitane.
In June 2008, the Courtin-Clarins family made a $3.6 billion offer to buy out minority shareholders of Clarins SA in order to take the cosmetics company private. The deal was completed in September 2008.
In July 2019, L'Oreal acquired the brands MUGLER Parfums and Azzaro Parfums. They are no longer part of the Clarins portfolio.

The Courtin Arthritis Foundation

Founded by Jaques Courtin Clarins in 1989, this association made it possible to further the research efforts for polyarthritis and chronic inflammatory rheumatism. Also, the foundation is responsible for many of the major advances in rheumatoid arthritis research.