GOSH Copenhagen

Why it is renowned

In 2009 the British trade magazine Cosmetics Business profiled GOSH as a family-run Danish export, then on sale in 66 countries from the UK and Canada to the Middle East and Asia, every product developed, made and shipped from Lynge.¹ Today it is sold in more than 80 countries, and development, design and production still stay at its own facilities in Lynge.² Its range is known for gentle formulas: every product is vegan, more than 80 percent are fragrance-free, and much of it carries the AllergyCertified label.²

Recognition

• Cosmetics Business, United Kingdom¹2009profiled GOSH, sold in over 66 countries from Lynge

The story

Einar Tjellesen founded the wholesaler Brdr. Tjellesen on 2 January 1945, first selling medicine and later toiletries.³ His son Bo wanted a brand of his own, and in 1974 registered the name GOSH, a word his father had come across in a crossword.³ The perfume Night in Paris followed in 1979 and the first makeup in 1982; in 1984 the Shocking Pink lipstick sold 45,000 units in a single summer, and Bo became chief executive the same year.³ The next generation, Marinus, Bolette and Julius Tjellesen, now runs the house, and the products are still developed, tested and made at its factory in Lynge.³²

What to know it by

• Shocking Pink lipstick³1984discontinuedThe lipstick that sold 45,000 units in one summer
• Night in Paris³1979discontinuedPerfume
• Boombastic Crazy Mascara⁴Mascara
• Lip Glaze⁴Glossy lip colour