US. Estée Lauder, the founder of the US beauty house of the same name, has died in New York aged 97.
Tributes immediately poured in for the woman who turned home-made skin creams into a multibillion-dollar empire of skin care, fragrances and other beauty products.
The Washington Post today described her rise from humble family immigrant to become “one of the most prominent women in the worlds of commerce and society. The Duchess of Windsor and Nancy Reagan were among her friends, as was an initially surprised Princess Grace of Monaco”.
“I don’t know her very well, but she keeps sending all these things,” Princess Grace once said.
The Post continued: “Mrs Lauder’s determination, ambition and relentless imagination were legendary, as she found solutions to a series of obstacles. Early on, when prominent advertising agencies turned down her comparably small business, she took the US$50,000 she would have used on advertising to send her items directly to consumers through the mail and give away goods at charity events. Her idea brought in thousands of new customers.
“She was an early advocate for handing out extras with each purchase, a widely imitated sales device. She travelled constantly to make sure her sales force lived up to her expectations in dress, manner and coiffure. Her own emphasis on exquisitely maintained skin and the finest wardrobes made her an example of chic living and a staple of New York society for decades.
“I never dreamed about success,” she once said. “I worked for it.”
Estée Lauder is survived by her two sons, Leonard Lauder, chairman of Estée Lauder Inc, and Ronald Lauder, chairman of Clinique Laboratories; four grandchildren; six great-grandchildren – and a successful business empire that straddles the globe.
Until her death, Estée Lauder believed passionately in the quality of her products. “Time is not on your side,” she wrote in her memoirs, “but I am.”
