Johnson Publishing Company

fashion fair is a wholly-owned subsidiary of johnson publishing company, llc and was created for women of color by the late eunice w. johnson, the creator of the ebony fashion fair show. as pioneering businesswomen, johnson took the risk that most major cosmetic companies refused to take by entering the untapped market of makeup for women of color. the journey to becoming the largest black-owned cosmetics company in the world began when johnson noticed models, in the ebony fashion fair show were mixing foundations to create the right blend to match their hues. initially she approached existing cosmetics companies and urged them to create a line to meet the specific needs of women of color. unfortunately, this request was met with great resistance. mrs. johnson and her late husband john h. johnson, publisher of ebony and jet magazine, went to a private lab that developed formulas out of the mixtures the models created. after successfully applying this makeup on the models in the fashion