Benamôr

Benamôr is a Portuguese skincare and body-care house based in Lisbon, where it was founded in 1925 [2]. It grew out of the city's apothecary tradition: its handmade "beauty recipes" are built around Portuguese botanicals such as rose, lemon, aloe vera and almond oil, and the brand takes its name from one of Lisbon's best-known historic pharmacies [5]. Its first product, the Crème de Rosto face cream, was created in that founding year and is still sold as the brand's signature item.

After decades as a quietly local name, Benamôr was acquired in 2015 and relaunched the following year for the international market. It remains in active production, manufacturing in Lisbon, and by 2021 it ran six stores in Portugal and reported a presence in around 25 countries. The company markets itself under the "Benamôr 1925" name and reached its centenary in 2025.

⚑ Thinner sourcing. The article relies largely on the brand's own statements (T2–T3). Glowpedia is seeking independent sources.

Benamôr's own account of its beginnings is deliberately romantic. The brand describes its founder only as "a mysterious apothecary" and does not name him; according to the company, he created handmade ointments and beauty recipes in a laboratory at Campo Grande nº189 in Lisbon, using ingredients "grown under the sun of Portugal" [2]. The name itself comes from an existing business: the editorial outlet die-form records that the first cream was developed in 1925 and named after one of the most famous pharmacies in Lisbon, called Benamôr [5].

From the start the products were sold in Art Deco tubes and, by the brand's telling, became popular with fashionable Lisbon society. Both Benamôr and third-party features repeat the claim that early customers included Queen Amélie, the last queen consort of Portugal; the brand later named a "Rose Amélie" collection in tribute. The figure is presented as part of the brand's heritage story rather than as a documented modern endorsement.

The brand expanded its range steadily through the mid-20th century. A storefront opened on Rua Augusta in 1927, the same year Benamôr began a supplier relationship for its aluminium packaging that the company says still continues. Later launches included the Bronzaline sunscreen in 1939, a Rouge blush in 1962 and the Alantoíne hand cream in 1970.

The modern chapter began with a change of ownership. In 2015 the Portuguese company Nally — full name Sociedade de Perfumarias Nally, Lda, the owner of Benamôr — was acquired by a group of three businessmen, among them the Frenchman Pierre Stark, who had spent some twenty years at L'Oréal, latterly heading the group's luxury division in Portugal [4]. Stark set out to revamp the label and take it abroad. Trade publication FashionNetwork dates the commercial relaunch to 2016 [4], while the brand's own history places the reopening of its Lisbon store and the start of international expansion in 2017 [2]; these describe distinct steps in the same revival rather than competing accounts. Reported revenue at the time of acquisition was around €300,000, with a stated three-year target of €1 million [4].

Benamôr is owned by Sociedade de Perfumarias Nally, Lda, generally referred to as Nally, following the 2015 acquisition [4]. Pierre Stark is identified as the company's chief executive and a partner in the business. The brand site itself does not state its current ownership; the parent company and acquisition details come from trade-press reporting on the relaunch.

Benamôr presents itself as a maker of natural, handmade skincare produced locally and ethically in Lisbon. The company stresses transparency, saying it communicates each product's full ingredient list to online customers, and describes its formulas as around 99% of natural origin and dermatologically tested. Since the relaunch the brand has been positioned in what FashionNetwork calls the "international selective beauty market," with manufacturing kept entirely in Lisbon [4]. Its products are sold directly through its own stores and e-shop and through selective beauty retail abroad.

The centre of the range is the Crème de Rosto, a rose-based face cream that the brand says has remained unchanged since 1925. Around it sit other face products marketed as hero items, including a Miracle Face Cream and a Revitalizing Face Elixir, alongside a wider catalogue of body creams, oils, soaps, hand creams and a smaller line of colognes. Collections are organised by ingredient or benefit — among them Rosto with rose, Alantoíne with allantoin, Gordíssimo with shea butter and Alecrim with rosemary — and reference Portuguese botanicals such as oranges and the jacarandá tree.

In its formulations the company says it avoids mineral oil, petroleum derivatives and parabens, and describes the products as cruelty-free. No third-party certifications are listed alongside these claims.

Benamôr frames sustainability as part of its heritage, stating that it has been "in our DNA since 1925." The company says most of its packaging — around 80% — comes from highly recyclable materials such as aluminium, glass and cardboard, with aluminium tubes and jars described as fully recyclable and containing 40% recycled content. It also emphasises ingredients of national origin and a long-standing local aluminium supplier dating to 1927. In 2019 it introduced an in-store refill system, which the brand says made it the first in Portugal to do so [3]. Benamôr also references a sustainability partnership with Sociedade Ponto Verde, Portugal's packaging-recycling organisation.

Coverage of Benamôr has focused on its heritage and natural positioning. FashionNetwork reported on the relaunch and European expansion under Pierre Stark, and editorial features in outlets such as The Portuguese List have profiled the brand and its Crème de Rosto. The die-form brand story describes Benamôr's creams as having "gained a real cult status in Portugal" [5], and the Crème de Rosto is characterised in such coverage as one of the country's cult beauty recipes.

Benamôr is an active brand. It continues to manufacture in Lisbon under Nally ownership, and recent product launches and active social channels point to ongoing operation; the brand site carried a 2024 copyright notice. Founded in 1925 and relaunched in 2016, it reached its centenary in 2025 and trades under the "Benamôr 1925" name.