Zenobia Royal
Shannon Sinclair
Honors Chemistry
September 10th, 2012
Personal Biography Hazel Bishop was born in an urban area on August 17th, 1906 in Hobokon, New Jersey. The daughter of Henry and Mabel Bishop. Her parents were both jewish. Hazel lived amongst entrepreneurs, and business was the only thing discussed at the dinner table during her childhood. Hazels father owned many enterprises in Hoboken, and accommodating a motion picture company. Her mother always reminded her that the best way to have an independent life was to establish her own business someday. Hazel, a brilliant young lady, graduated from the Bergen School for Girls in New Jersey. In 1925, she was accepted into Barnard College in New York. She completed a pre-med program and graduated four years later with a bachelor's degree. Hazel persisted her medical studies at Columbia University to follow her career. In October, a stock market crash and economic depressions occurred, and this intruped her plans for medical school. She searched for a job, and she recieved the opportunity to work at the New York State Psychiatric Hospital and Institute in New York to become a biochemical technician, where she conducted routine analyses of medical samples. Hazel dedicated her time to skin care research, and she loved dabbling in cosmetics. In her kitchen, she created her own laboratory and invented products, such as an acne cream. In 1935, Hazel moved up to become a research assistant to Dr. A. Benson Cannon, a highly recommended dermatologist at the Columbia University Medical Center. Hazel started working for the Standard Oil Development Company in 1942, as a organic chemist, where she designed fuels for airplans and helped create a new form of gasoline for bombers during World War II. Three years past, and Hazel switched to the Socony Vaccum Oil Company, but her work remained the same. Hazels partner, Dr. A. Benson Cannon helped Hazel compose the hypoallergenic cosmetics line known as Almay. Soon she became interested in producing a long lasting, non-smearing lipstick for women. She believed women would appreciate a lipstick that's smudge-proof, long-lasting, and wouldn't come off on coffee cups, shirtsleeves, and people. During her experiment, bromo acid dyes became the key that was used to make the lipstick last longer. Her reciepe was large amounts of Bromo acid dyes that has the ability to stain color into the skin, molten wax, and oil. She began mixing them with the oils and molten wax. When the mixture turned out perfectly the way she wanted it, she molded it and singed it smooth and glossy. Her new product that changed was finally invented by 1949 after it took over three hundred experiments. She introduced this new product to women at a Barnard College alumnae fashion show in November, 1949. Later, she formed her own business called Hazel Bishop, Inc. She developed household and personal care items, such as a solid perfume concentrate that was contained in a lipstick-shaped tube, and a leather-cleaning formula. The Raymond Spector Company, Inc. were hired to advertise and sell her new product. The no, "eat off, bite off, or kiss off" long lasting lipstick became a success! It made more than ten million per year. Hazel Bishop changed the entire world for women by developing the kiss-proof lipstick. One of the first modern cosmetics of its kind. Today, women do not have to worry about smudging anyone, or getting their lipstick on objects thanks to this invention. Many new scientist were affected, they know that if they want to make a successful invention, all its takes is hard work, dedication, and most likely more than a few experiments. Hazel became a stockbroker at Bache & Company in New York, concentrating in chemical, cosmetics, and drug companies. In time she joined Evans & Company after she left Bache to become a financial analyst. In 1978, Bishop left Wall Street and started a new career, to become a teacher in New York. In the same exact year is when she became a professor and started teaching at the Fashion Institure of Technology. She enjoyed sharing to her students about the cosmetics industry and whats she has learned over the years. Her success in that role appointed her in 1980 to the Revlon chair in cosmetics marketing, funded by the cosmetics giant Revlon, Inc. Hazel continued teaching until the late 1980s. In Rye, New York is where Hazel moved to a retirement community. She was never marreid with kids. She died on December 5th, 1998 at the age of 92. At her death she was addressed for her pioneering success in industry as well as on Wall Street, paving the way for women in both fields. She was named a fellow of the American Institute of Chemists in recognition of her contributions to scientific research.