Chapter 2

The Start of Something Beautiful

Estée built her company with the perfect mix of know-how, dedication, persistence, passion, family commitment–and a lot of free samples.

Tell-a-Woman

In 1946 Estée officially launched her namesake line with four hardworking products—The Cleansing Oil, The Creme Pack, her uncle’s Super-Rich All Purpose Creme, and The Skin Lotion. She was her own publicist, often showing up to beauty parlors around New York City to perform makeovers while women sat under the hairdryers. Applying a grassroots marketing approach—“telephone, telegraph, tell-a-woman,” as she’d explain it—Estée expanded her customer base to other salons and hotels around the city.

A Bright Idea

As a young mother in the city, Estée regularly visited the House of Ash Blondes, a beauty salon on West 72nd Street to get her haircolor “refreshed.” One day, when the owner inquired how she kept her skin in such good shape, Estée didn’t miss a beat. “It would turn out to be a great moment for me,” she’d later say, of the conversation that sparked her idea to market her family’s formulas. A month later, she returned to the beauty parlor with an assortment of homemade potions in tow and the owner was so impressed with the results, she hired Estée to run the atelier’s first beauty concession. Estée was in business.

Family Ties

Early success put a strain on Estée and Joe's marriage. The couple divorced in 1939, but four years later, when Leonard fell ill with the mumps, the couple came together to care for him—and never parted. “We were never to be separate for longer than a few days ever again,” said Estée. They soon remarried and had another son, Ronald, in 1944. Estée Lauder the brand officially became the family business. (From left to right: Joseph, Ronald, Estée and Leonard Lauder.)

True Blue

As her orders increased, Estée needed packaging that was as elegant as she was. She ultimately settled on pale blue containers, a color that “would look wonderful in any bathroom,” she determined.

By Invitation Only

After Estée’s “millionth” request, Robert Fisk, the cosmetics buyer at Saks Fifth Avenue, finally agreed to place his first order of her product—$800 worth, to be exact—in 1946.
To announce her arrival at the upscale department store, Estée sent out elegant white cards with gold lettering to inform the store’s preferred-customer list that she would be offering a free cream-based powder with every purchase. Within two days, the entire stock was sold out—and the industry’s “gift with purchase” marketing concept was born.

Chapter 3

Beauty Breakthroughs

“Success depends on daring to act on dreams,” according to Estée, who turned a homespun cream into a global cosmetics empire.

Youth-Dew

Youth Dew wasn't a perfume, but a bath oil that doubled as a fragrance- just the type of thing a woman could buy for herself without "giving tiresome hints to her husband," and could wear without waiting for a special occasion.

“I never knew I was a 'nose,'” Estée would say humbly, but in 1953 she discovered a blend of rose, jasmine, vetiver and patchouli that would bring her olfactory fame. She called it Youth-Dew. It wasn’t a perfume, but a bath oil that doubled as a fragrance—just the type of thing a woman could buy for herself without “giving tiresome hints to her husband,” and could wear without waiting for a special occasion.

It took the industry by storm, as did the advertisement, which depicted the risqué, though tastefully blurred, profile of a nude woman. Estée would later sell Youth-Dew by the gallon to fans like Gloria Swanson, Dolores Del Rio, and Joan Crawford, who claimed the intoxicating aroma helped her snare her fourth husband.

Globe Trotter

Convinced that European women were as “face-conscious” as they were “fashion-conscious,” Estée launched her brand at Harrods in London in 1960, after years of charming its buyer. Next came Galeries Lafayette in Paris, where Estée famously spilled Youth-Dew on the floor, prompting customers to ask about the intoxicating aroma, and securing her a spot at the counters. “They later said I did it on purpose. I’ll never tell,” she mused.

The brand would expand into the rapidly emerging markets of Moscow in 1981, and Shanghai in 1993. Today, Estée Lauder is sold in over 150 countries across the globe.

A Good Egg

Estée found inspiration for her next skincare innovation in her mother’s beauty regimen. Recalling how she used whole beaten eggs on her face as a mask, Estée made the egg the star ingredient in her Estoderme Youth-Dew Creme. To prove its restorative powers, Estée dabbed it on Carmel Snow, Harper’s Bazaar’s legendary—and legendarily intimidating—editor in chief. “Miss Snow did look astonished,” Estée admitted, but she was so impressed with the results that she ran a winning review in the magazine in 1951, skyrocketing the cream to success.

Read Her Lips

As her empire grew to include makeup, Estée realized that the success of her lipsticks often came down to their names. “Honest, lucid, graphic descriptions—that’s what I was after,” she’d explain. Early hits included Duchess Crimson, a clear, strong red; All Day Rose, a soft pink that was ideal for working women; and Dancing Red, a “go-out-in-the-evening” shade.

Each bullet was packaged in a golden metal case, a feminine design that became an instant icon of elegance and sophistication. In fact, this striking case, now with an updated fluted shape, is still used today in our Signature lipstick collection.

Face Value

In 1956, Estée launched her most luxurious cream yet, Re-Nutriv. At $115 per jar—equivalent to approximately $1,000 in today's money—it was pricey, but she was quick to reason that is was worth every penny. “Why do you spend so much for a Picasso? The linen under his painting costs $2.75, each jar of paint he used was perhaps $1.75. Why, then, do you pay a small fortune for a small picture? You’re paying for creativity…for experience…and something that works for you.”

Lab Partners

To ensure every Estée Lauder creation would always perform up to her high standards, Estée opened her first research and development laboratory in Melville, New York in 1967. Together with their team of scientists, Estée and Joe “mixed, tested and discovered” every ingredient that would star in their products. As the business grew, their roles became further refined: “Joe ran the factory and dealt with numbers and production. I ran the sales force,” Estée would explain.

Three Minute Beauty

Estée believed “3 minutes is all beauty should ever take.” She created quick routines for makeup and skincare, which she eagerly demonstrated on women—at every store where an Estée Lauder counter opened, while riding on a train or an elevator, or simply walking down the street. She loved nothing more than transforming a woman’s look with her personal touch, and doling out bits of advice along the way.

Family First

Estée worked non-stop, sometimes even seven days a week, and had a social calendar that was equally demanding. Family, however, was always her priority. “She loved to cook, and she always cooked with her hat on, a purse, and blush,” her son Ronald recalls. And while society luncheons and dinners abounded, Estée always made sure to remember birthdays, and to hand out her favorite chocolate-covered marshmallows as little gifts to family and friends.