Clairol is an American personal care-product division of company Coty, specializing in hair coloring and hair care. Clairol was founded in 1931 by Americans Joan Gelb and her husband Lawrence M. Gelb, with business partner and lifelong friend James Romeo, after discovering hair-coloring preparations while traveling in France. The company was widely recognized in its home country, the United States, for its "Miss Clairol" home hair-coloring kit introduced in 1956. By 1959, Clairol was considered the leading company in the U.S. hair-coloring industry. In 2004, Clairol registered annual sales of US$1.6 billion from the sale of its hair-care products. As of 2014, Clairol manufactures hair-coloring products sold under the brand names "Natural Instincts", "Nice 'n Easy", and "Perfect Lights".