From kitchen creams to a beauty empire: the Estée Lauder story

Estée Lauder grew up in Queens and learned to make skin creams from her uncle, a chemist. With her husband, Joseph, she founded the Estée Lauder company in New York in 1946, selling a handful of creams and lotions.

She was a tireless saleswoman. She persuaded Saks Fifth Avenue to give her counter space and pioneered the gift-with-purchase, offering free samples to customers who bought a product.

Youth-Dew

In 1953 the company launched Youth-Dew, a bath oil that doubled as perfume. It was a huge hit and let the company expand nationally and overseas.

Building a portfolio

Clinique, one of the first dermatologist-guided cosmetic brands, launched in 1968. Over the following decades the company bought brands such as MAC, Bobbi Brown, La Mer, Jo Malone, Tom Ford Beauty and Too Faced.

The company went public in 1995, though the Lauder family kept voting control. Leonard Lauder, Estée’s son, led it for many years.

Recent years

The company has faced slower sales in China and in travel retail and has gone through restructuring and job cuts. It remains one of the largest prestige beauty companies in the world, and Estée Lauder herself is often cited as one of the most successful self-made businesswomen of her time.