Luster Products Co. was founded in 1957 by hairstylist Fred Luster, Sr. The African-American-owned company makes professional and consumer hair care products for people of African descent. Its products are sold to men and women under several brand names, including Renutrients, Pink, and S-Curl. Luster Products sells children's items under the PCJ Pretty-n-Silky & Smooth Roots name and products for stylists under the Designer Touch line. It sells its products worldwide through its own sales force and through specialty retailers. The hair care firm operates manufacturing facilities in Illinois and international branch offices in South Africa and the UK.

MacAndrews & Forbes Holdings Inc. company has investments in an array of public and private firms, most notably cosmetics giant Revlon and M&F Worldwide, which deals in licorice flavors and financial products. It also has an influential role in entertainment, with significant stakes in Panavision, the top provider of cameras for movies and TV shows, and Deluxe Entertainment Services Group, the largest processor of motion picture film. MacAndrews & Forbes' other holdings include biotech firm SIGA Technologies, lottery system and gaming developer Scientific Games, and AM General, maker of Humvee and HUMMER vehicles.

Mana Products, Inc. was founded in 1975 by president Nikos Mouyiaris. Mana Products company develops, manufactures, and packages private-label cosmetics, skin care, and hair care products for leading beauty brands throughout the US. It also provides forecasting and consulting services to clients to develop products for the fickle, trend-driven beauty industry. In addition to its private-label business, Mana makes hair care products under the Profound Beauty brand. The company manufactures its products at two plants in the US and with partners in Asia, including China.

Marietta makes miniatures -- those little packages of personal care amenities (soaps, dental and hair-care products, and other items) found in hotels and bed-and-breakfast inns. The company also distributes brand-name (Pantene, Vaseline, Yardley of London) and private-label (Fleur de Lis, Lord & Mayfair) products to gift shops, the health-care market, correctional institutions, and military bases. Using its sample-size packaging know-how, the company makes trial-size units for other companies' products, as well. Marietta went public in 1986. When corporate officers were convicted of fraud in 1996, it was acquired by BFMA Holding, which, in turn, sold the company to private equity firm Ares Management in 2004.

Marilyn Miglin manufactures luxury cosmetics, fragrances, and skin care products, as well as offering salon services in Chicago. Its signature fragrance, Pheromone, sells for $500 an ounce. The company's goods are sold at high-end retail outlets such as Neiman Marcus, Nordstrom, and May's Lord & Taylor, as well as online or by mail order. Other products include scented candles and vitamins. The company was founded by its president and CEO (and promotional TV personality) Marilyn Miglin in 1963. Miglin, known as the "Queen of Makeovers," is the widow of murdered real estate developer Lee Miglin.

President and CEO Dr. Mark Lees founded Mark Lees Skin Care, Inc. in 1983. Mark Lees Skin Care, is a personal care products firm that specializes in skin care and operates a day spa in Florida. It makes cleansers, masks, moisturizers, sunscreens, and toners under brand names Concept Clean, Moisture Support System, Sensitive Science, Alpha Advance, Pept-Eyes, Mark Lees signature line, and others. The company also manufactures Hydramatte non-clogging makeup and produces instructional books and videos for its products. Customers can order products by calling, emailing, mailing, shopping through the company's Web site, or through local sales reps.

Markwins International Corporation company develops, manufactures, and markets cosmetics, personal care products, and accessories. Its ethnic-themed cosmetic lines include Black Radiance (aimed at black women) and Tropez (aimed at Hispanic and Asian women). Markwins also makes the popular and inexpensive Wet 'n' Wild cosmetics line and packages beauty kits under the Color Workshop and Spa Institute brands. Its Soho unit designs makeup bags and jewelry cases. Through partnership agreements, Markwins produces cosmetics under licensed name brands. The company, which has manufacturing facilities in the US and China, distributes its products to retailers worldwide.

Mary Kay Cosmetics Ltd., founded in 1993, represents one of Mary Kay's more than 30 international markets. The UK boasts more than 5,000 independent sales representatives who work full-time or part-time based out of their homes. These sales reps peddle Mary Kay products directly to customers at home parties or at work. Mary Kay's products include skin care, cosmetics, fragrances, nail polish, men's grooming products, and sunscreen.

Celebrating more than 40 years in business, Mary Kay is in the pink as one of the top direct sellers of beauty products in the US. It offers more than 200 products in six categories: body care, color cosmetics, facial skin care, fragrance, nail care, and sun protection. More than 1.8 million independent sales consultants demonstrate Mary Kay products in the US and some 35 other countries. Consultants vie for awards each year, ranging from jewelry to the company's trademark pink Cadillac (first awarded in 1969). The company also founded the Mary Kay Ash Charitable Foundation in 1996 to fund cancer research and domestic violence programs. The family of founder Mary Kay Ash owns most of the company.

Founded in 1985 to market a tea tree oil formulation called Melaleuca Oil, the firm sells personal care products, cosmetics, household cleaning supplies, and vitamins directly to consumers through a network of sales representatives, catalogs, and its Web sites, but members only please. Melaleuca now sells more than 350 products, many of which are environmentally friendly and derived from natural ingredients, including tea tree oil. Tea tree oil is a powerful antiseptic and antifungal agent used for skin care, as well as the treatment of a variety of ailments, insect bites, boils, and wounds.

Inviting Real Estate Agents, Job Placements Agents, Educational Institutes, Software Service Providers, Real Estate Builders, Marriage Bureaus, Travel Agents, Restaurant Owners, Health & Fitness Centers and other Local Businesses to Post a FREE Classified Advertisement on Cootera.com Classifieds Website.