Who is Hazel Bishop? By Aine Kelly

              For years, women put up with lipstick that smears.  In the 1940s, inventor Hazel Bishop said it was enough.  She was an American chemist and cosmetics manufacturer born in New Jersey, who founded her own company Hazel Bishop Inc.  She worked during the day, and at night, she conducted lipstick experiments in her mother’s kitchen.  Bishop successfully created a smear-proof lipstick after three hundred attempts.  Her invention was a hit, leaving an indelible mark on the industry.  She made history.  She did go to school and worked hard.

            She attended Barnard College and graduated in May 1929.  She was planning to go to medical school, but the depression occurred.  Since she was anxious to stay in school, she went to work for A.B. Cannon, a well-known dermatologist at the College of Physicians and Surgeons in New York City.  Working in the lab, she took classes in biochemistry and helped him create the Almay line of hypoallergenic cosmetics.   This comes from A.B. Cannon’s name and his wife’s middle name.  She then worked as an organic chemist for Standard Oil Development Company during World War II and then for Socony Vacuum Oil up to 1949.

              Bishop was inspired by Cannon’s work and that is why she did experiments in her mother’s kitchen in the late 1940s.  She succeeded through perseverance.  She learned a lot from him.  She helped him invent things and the Almay product only was one of them.  Although she admired Cannon, she wanted to go on her own.   Therefore, she made her own company, and to this day, her business is doing fine.  It is making about $10 million a year.  She may be dead, but her life was amazing.  Her products have gone all over the world.  She has helped women everywhere including New Jersey. 

            Did you know all this about Hazel?  She made a difference and I am glad to say she was born in New Jersey.  If she weren’t born, women would be mad.  Bishop did a lot, and to this day, she should be remembered.  She made an invention that went worldwide.  Hazel Bishop is the best, and she is one important person.  The great part is her invention had one powerful effect, and it made her company rich.  Women have just as much power as men!