Estée Lauder

Hello, I'd like to tell you my story. My name is Estée Lauder, but that wasn't the name I was born with. I came into this world as Josephine Esther Mentzer on July 1st, 1908, in a borough of New York City called Queens. It was a place full of energy and people from all over the world. My own parents were immigrants who had journeyed from Hungary, and from them, I learned one of life's most important lessons: the value of hard work. They built a new life for our family, and I saw their dedication every single day. My world, however, truly changed when my uncle John, who was a chemist, came to live with us. In our own backyard, he set up a small laboratory. I was completely captivated. He would mix and measure, creating the most wonderful creams and lotions I had ever seen. I would spend hours just watching him, absorbing everything. He taught me how ingredients could be combined to make skin feel soft and look beautiful. It was in that little lab, smelling the scents of different formulas, that my dream began to take shape. I knew I wanted to share that feeling of beauty with the world.

In 1930, I married a wonderful and supportive man named Joseph Lauder, and together we embarked on a great adventure. He believed in my dream of creating a beauty company just as much as I did, and his encouragement gave me strength. I started small, using the knowledge my uncle had shared with me. I would personally visit beauty salons, one by one, carrying jars of the creams I had helped create. I wanted salon owners to see and feel the quality for themselves. My husband Joseph and I officially launched our own company, which we named Estée Lauder Cosmetics, in the year 1946. It may be hard to believe, but when we started, we only had four products to our name! Building a business from the ground up was incredibly hard work, but I was guided by a simple, powerful belief I called: 'Telephone, Telegraph, Tell a Woman.' I was certain that if women tried my products and genuinely loved them, they would naturally share their discovery with their friends. This word-of-mouth connection was more valuable than any advertisement. I wanted to build a personal relationship with every customer, so I often went to department stores myself to stand behind the counter and demonstrate how to use the creams.

One of the most significant moments for our growing company arrived in 1953. I had an idea for a product that would change the way women thought about perfume. I called it Youth-Dew. During that time, it was customary for women to receive perfume only as a special gift from someone else, like for a birthday or anniversary. They rarely bought it for themselves. I wanted to change that. I wanted women to feel empowered to treat themselves to something luxurious whenever they wished. So, I cleverly designed Youth-Dew as a bath oil that also happened to double as a long-lasting perfume. It was an instant success! Women absolutely loved it and felt comfortable buying it for their own use. Youth-Dew transformed our business, taking it to a whole new level. Around that same time, I introduced another idea that is still popular today: the 'Gift with Purchase.' I believed that if a customer was willing to try our products, we should give them a small token of our appreciation—a little something extra. These innovative strategies helped our company earn a place on the counters of the biggest and most prestigious department stores in the country.

My dream didn't stop at the borders of the United States; I envisioned our products being used by women all over the world. That global dream began to come true in 1960 when we opened our very first international counter. It was in a very famous and elegant department store in London, England, called Harrods. From that single counter in London, our signature blue jars and bottles began appearing in countries across the globe. We expanded into Europe, Asia, and beyond. Throughout this entire journey, I never stopped working, creating, and believing in my ideas. My core mission was always simple and clear: I wanted every woman to feel beautiful, confident, and seen. Years later, in 1998, I received an incredible honor. Time magazine named me one of the 20th century's most influential business geniuses. What made it even more special was that I was the only woman included on that list. It was a powerful moment that showed just how far a girl with a dream from Queens, New York, could go.

I continued to help guide the company for many, many years, and it became a true family business as I worked alongside my sons and later, my grandchildren. I lived to be 95 years old, and I had the great joy of watching the small business my husband and I started with just four products grow into a brand known and respected all around the globe. Today, the company that bears my name continues to create products that help people look and feel their best. I am remembered as a businesswoman who wasn't afraid of hard work, who used creativity to change an industry, and who understood the power of connecting with people personally. I hope my story inspires you to believe in your own dreams, because with passion and perseverance, you can make almost anything a reality.