Plus, the business remains in the family, which probably explains why the ingredients and formulas have stayed consistent for so long. The cosmetics empire’s namesake, Estée Lauder, was actually born Josephine Esther Mentzer. She started genifique by concocting homemade face creams on her own and testing them on women at beauty salons while they were sitting under the hairdryers until she officially launched the Estée Lauder label with her husband in 1946 in New York City.
Founded in Korea in 2004, Dr. Jart+ pioneered the invention of the BB Cream, setting the standard for multifunctional beauty. On July 1, 2010, the company acquired Smashbox Beauty Cosmetics, Inc., a brand created in Smashbox Studios in Culver City, California, by brothers Dean and Davis Factor . In actuality, her mother Rose emigrated from Hungary to the United States in 1898 with her five children to join her husband, Abraham Lancome makeup Rosenthal. But, in 1905, she married Max Mentzer, a shopkeeper who had also immigrated to the United States in the 1890s. When their daughter was born in 1906, they wanted to name her Eszti, after her mother’s favorite Hungarian aunt, but decided at the last minute to keep the name “Josephine”, which they had agreed upon. However, the baby’s nickname became “Estee”, the name she would grow up using and responding to.
Tom Ford’s line includes a collection of fragrances and cosmetics, all designed to complement the vision of his fashion line. The product prices in this line make it another exclusive brand sold to a high-brow clientele. A NASA spokesperson told Allure that Estée Lauder approached NASA with this proposal once the space agency opened up to marketing opportunities in 2019. “We are thrilled to reinforce our leadership once again as the first beauty brand to go into space,” said Stéphane de La Faverie, group president of The Estée Lauder Companies and global brand president of Estée Lauder, in the company’s statement.
After more than 76 years in the skincare biz, it’s safe to say the pros in the laboratory at Estée Lauder know what they’re doing. And it’s also safe to say their cult-favorite Advanced Night Repair Serum is the brand’s pièce de résistance. From there, her formulas gained traction across the country and then the world. Between creams with velvety, luxurious textures and scents with impeccable, balanced notes, Lauder was rightfully seen as a pioneer in the beauty space. Throughout the second half of the twentieth century, she was lauded as a master of her craft, earning prestigious awards like the Spirit of Achievement Award from the Albert Einstein College of Medicine.
The first licensing agreement for fragrances was with fashion designer Tommy Hilfiger in 1993, followed by Kiton, an Italian fashion house , and with American fashion designer Donna Karan . It was a standout in its own right, and not just for the impressive formula. Its unique pharmacy-inspired, brown-colored bottle and apothecary dropper were ahead of its time, preserving the efficacy of the precious ingredients inside and serving as a visual reminder that this formula was different and something to be remembered. “There’s a reason it was a best-seller, and that’s because it treats so many of the symptoms and signs of aging such as enlarged pores, lines, and radiance,” Dr. Jason Emer, M.D., a Beverly Hills-based cosmetic dermatologist, tells TZR. The Climb is our series that highlights a top-selling item from brands both established and buzzworthy.