Olay (known until 1999 as Oil of Olay in South Africa and North America and Oil of Ulay in the United Kingdom)'s a Procter & Gamble brand, based around facial moisturizer skin care products. Early days Olay originated in South Africa as Oil of Olay. Graham Wulff (1916-2008), an ex-Unilever chemist from Durban, started it in 1949. The name "Oil of Olay" was chosen by Wulff as a spin on the word "lanolin", a key ingredient. It was unique in the early days because it was a pink fluid rather than a… (More on Olay)