“I never dreamed of success. I worked for it”. It is the fundamental tenet behind the life philosophy of the unrivaled Estée Lauder. Learn more on newyorka.
Estée Lauder was the first in the cosmetics industry to found one of the most well-known and enduring brands in history. She was the only woman to be listed as one of the twenty most influential businesspeople of the twentieth century by TIME magazine in 1998. Estée Lauder established her own skincare and makeup company in 1946. To this day, it remains one of the leading cosmetic brands in the world.
Estée Lauder has always been a role model who proved that everything is possible, under the only condition that you have to not only dream but have the courage and guts to take a step toward your desires.
Estée Lauder not only skillfully combined the management of one of the world’s most prominent and innovative companies but also was a wife, mother and loyal friend. She handled each task with charm, humor and exquisite style. She had a passion for beauty and believed in its power with all her heart.
Estée Lauder started her business with four skincare products and a simple premise: every woman can be beautiful. Armed with this philosophy, as well as tenacity and creativity, she changed the face of the cosmetics industry. Over time, Estée Lauder expanded its range to include skincare, makeup and beautiful fragrances.
The unrivaled Estée Lauder’s life and career began in the distant 1930s when the journey of the cosmetics industry icon began.
Estée’s childhood, her early years and her first passions
Descended from a family of Jewish migrants, Josephine Esther Mentze was born on July 1, 1908, in Queens, New York. Her mother was Hungarian and her father was Czech. However, some speculation exists that she was born two years earlier, in 1906. Although she was given the name Josephine, she preferred to be called by her nickname Estée.
Her family was large, Estée being the youngest among the other eight siblings. Her father first worked as a custom tailor, but then he opened a hardware store on the ground floor of their house.
While helping her father, she learned the basics of retailing. Back then, Estée already realized the leading factor of a successful business is perfectionism in everything, from the appearance of goods to the active promotion of quality products. She especially remembered how they packed the hammers and nails that her father used to give his customers for Christmas. Ten years later, she would use the same strategy to attract more customers.
As a young girl, Estée Lauder showed an interest in beauty. Although her mother, Rose, had a large family to take care of, she was a beautiful woman. Her mother would always find a free moment to take care of her appearance and always use an umbrella to protect her skin from UV rays. Estée loved to brush her mother’s hair, wishing she could grow up to be like her.
A little later, Lauder joined the staff of her uncle, chemist Dr. John Schotz, who ran the New Way Laboratories company. The company has been selling cosmetics, namely, velvet lotions and creams, blushes and fragrances. Estée watched the process of creating cosmetic products with fascination. The uncle taught her how to thoroughly cleanse her skin and the basic rules of the miracle healing facial massage.
Taking her first independent steps in the cosmetics business
An ambitious and creative young blonde with perfect skin, Estée Lauder persevered to create her own beauty brand, learning from her uncle. She helped perfect one of his blends, which she named Super Rich All-Purpose Cream. Also, Lauder gauged customer reaction by selling the cream to her friends. As a result of its success, she began to market her uncle’s other cosmetic creams, including Dr. Schotz’s Vienna Cream and Six-In-One Cold Cream. Estée Lauder was selling their products to local beauty salons and beach resorts.
One day, the young Lauder was getting her hair done at the House of Ash Blondes salon. Its owner, Florence Morris, complimented Lauder’s perfect skin and asked her secret. Estée didn’t just share her facial care routine but brought a few of her own creams to the salon and demonstrated them to her customers. Morris was impressed and commissioned Lauder to sell her beauty products in the salon.
The young woman marketed her products as ‘jars of hope’ and even gave away free samples. Estée Lauder officially established her Estée Lauder company in 1946, with four skincare products distributed to local salons and hotels.
The love, support and strong male shoulder of Joseph Lauter
Estée met Joseph Lauter, a businessman in the garment industry, while she was in her early twenties. In January 1930, they got married. Three years later, the couple had a son, Leonard. Not allowing motherhood to slow her down, Lauder went on to grow her cosmetics business. She divorced her husband in 1939, took her son and moved to Miami Beach, where she established an office in one of the city’s most opulent hotels back then, the Roney Plaza on Collins Avenue.
Estée Lauder’s goals were always clear and straightforward: a woman has just ten minutes in the morning and evening, and in that time, her skin should become younger-looking and glowing. The concept of Quick and Effective was brilliant. Estée Lauder decided to focus entirely on her career.
In 1942, son Leonard became seriously ill, which reunited Lauder with her ex-husband. So, on December 7, they remarried.
From then on, Estée and Joseph decided to work together in the company. Estée took charge of development and marketing, while Joseph handled finance and production. After all, they created the Estée Lauder Cosmetics empire. It was in 1944 that they opened their first store in New York City. That same year, Estée had a second son, Ronald, but the young mother would not work any less.
New developments and Estée Lauder Cosmetics bestsellers
Until the 1950s, most women were reserving perfume for special occasions. A woman would wait for her husband to give her perfume for her birthday or anniversary.
Estée wanted to find a way for women to be able to purchase their perfume. So, in 1953, she developed Youth-Dew, a unique bath oil that also functioned as a skin fragrance. This innovation created a sensation in the cosmetics industry, changing the way of marketing fragrances and transforming a young startup company into a multi-million dollar business. In the first year, sales reached 50 thousand bottles, growing to 150 million by 1984.
Estée Lauder produced another breakthrough in 1964 when she introduced Aramis, a men’s fragrance. Also, a separate product line for men has been developed, which currently includes 20 different products.
Estée Lauder supervised the establishment of five brands, including Aramis, Clinique, Prescriptives, Lab Series and Origins. She always insisted on ensuring that her brand’s products were made with the highest quality ingredients.
Estée Lauder resigned as President of the company in 1973 in favor of her son Leonard, though she remained Chairman of the Board. By then, the company’s products had been marketed in 70 countries across the globe.
An American icon of the cosmetics industry
Estée loved New York City and drew inspiration from its sophisticated, vibrant and stylish culture. Although her heart belonged to New York City, she traveled the world and loved visiting museums, art galleries and fashion shows. She has supported numerous community and cultural programs and other charitable causes. She had participated in the creation of various playgrounds in New York City’s Central Park, as well as the restoration of the Palace of Versailles.
Over and above her own brand, only her family was more important. Estée Lauder was delighted as her children and grandchildren joined the family business. Estée retired in 1995 and passed away in 2004.
She was always a very special woman with boundless energy and an all-encompassing love for everything she was surrounded by.
The New York Times Magazine characterized her as “the last independent titan of the cosmetics industry” who held a special place in the cosmetics world during her lifetime and left behind a lengthy legacy.
Jack Wiswall, president of the Designer Fragrances Division at rival L’Oréal, said about her, “Estée changed the whole landscape of the industry. She put the bar so high that everybody else had to play catch-up.” In fact, it was so because Estée Lauder herself wanted it.