Fabergé

The Fabergé cosmetics company was registered in 1937 by the American businessman Samuel Rubin, who licensed the famous Russian jeweller's name for a line of perfumes and toiletries unrelated to the original House of Fabergé. The brand achieved its commercial breakthrough in 1964 with Brut, a fougère cologne by Karl Mann that became one of the bestselling men's scents of the late twentieth century. Ownership has shifted repeatedly — Rayette in 1964, McGregor, Unilever, Conopco — and the brand spent years split between mass-market grooming and the dormant jewellery name. Gemfields acquired the trademark in 2007 and reunited the cosmetics and jewellery lines under one roof in London. Today Fabergé is best read as a heritage label with two distinct legacies: the drugstore staple of Brut and Brut Aqua, and the more recent fine-fragrance attempts associated with the relaunch.