Charles of the Ritz

Charles of the Ritz was an American cosmetics and fragrance company that grew out of a beauty salon in the Ritz-Carlton Hotel in New York City. Hairdresser Charles Jundt, who had worked in Paris and London before emigrating to the United States, took over the ladies' salon at the Ritz-Carlton in 1919 and began building a clientele around personalized beauty services.[1][3] In 1926 he launched cosmetics under the Charles of the Ritz name, initially focusing on face powder and rouge marketed through department and specialty stores.[1][3]

Fragrances were introduced in 1927, with the first perfumes simply labeled A, B, and C, reflecting a functional, almost laboratory-style approach to naming rather than storytelling.[1] Over the following decades the company expanded into a full-scale cosmetics and fragrance house, gaining particular recognition for individually blended face powders and for later fragrance hits like Jean Nate and Enjoli.[1][4] These mass-appeal launches showed a shift from exclusive salon origins to wide distribution in the American market.

Corporate changes shaped the brand's trajectory. In 1964 it combined operations with French fashion and perfume house Lanvin under the Lanvin - Charles of the Ritz banner, linking American beauty distribution with a European couture heritage.[1][7] In 1971 the company was sold to Squibb, which later divested Lanvin and renamed the business Charles of the Ritz Group, Ltd in 1978.[1][3][7] Yves Saint Laurent, whose fragrances Charles of the Ritz had been marketing since the early 1960s, acquired the firm from Squibb in 1986, consolidating fragrance production and licensing.[1][3] Ownership eventually passed to Revlon, which discontinued the Charles of the Ritz brand in 2002.[1]

Although the name is no longer active, vintage Charles of the Ritz perfumes are still traded among collectors. Scents such as Charles of the Ritz Original (1977) are remembered for rich white floral and amber compositions with aldehydic, powdery and warm spicy nuances, illustrating the brand's late-20th-century preference for full-bodied, feminine blends typical of that era.[5]