Years of mixing potions instilled in him a fascination with the human form. Factor opened his own shop in a suburb of Moscow, selling hand-made rouges, creams, fragrances, and wigs. A traveling theatrical troupe wore Max Factor’s makeup while performing for Russian nobility, and the door to fame and fortune opened wide. The Russian nobility appointed Max Factor as the official cosmetic expert for the royal family and the Imperial Russian Grand Opera.
In 1904, Max Factor and his family came to America. He had a fresh start in St. Louis at the 1904 World’s Fair, selling his rouges and creams, and operating under the name given to him at Ellis Island, Max Factor. But he had stars in his eyes. Factor envisioned movie actors and actresses needing make-up and wigs. He moved his family to Los Angeles in 1908.
In 1914, Max Factor created a makeup specifically for movie-actors that, unlike theatrical makeup, would not crack or cake. Soon movie stars were filing through Max Factor’s makeup studio, eager to sample the "flexible greasepaint" while producers sought Factor’s human hair wigs. He allowed the wigs to be rented to the producers of old westerns on the condition that his sons were given parts as extras. The boys would keep an eye on the expensive wigs.
Max Factor introduced cosmetics to the public in the 1920s, insisting that every girl could look like a movie star by using Max Factor Makeup.
