Mrs Estée Lauder and her husband Joseph originally launched just four beauty products, developed with a chemist: Super Rich All-Purpose Cream, Crème Pack, Cleansing Oil and Skin Lotion. Their flagship brand, named for Mrs Lauder, was first sold through the Lauders’ department store account at Saks Fifth Avenue in 1948. Estée Lauder then spent 15 years expanding the range and building a strong reputation for quality products within the USA. They then expanded internationally in 1960, launching at Harrods in London and opened an office in Hong Kong shortly thereafter.
The first Estée Lauder fragrance, Youth-Dew, was introduced in 1953. Other notable firsts from Estée Lauder include their launch of the Aramis fragrance and grooming products for men in 1967; developing and releasing the allergy tested, fragrance free cosmetics brand Clinique in 1968 through collaboration with dermatologists; the launch of a second men’s product line in 1976; and, that Estée Lauder broke through both political and business barriers by launching products into the Soviet Union.
Products in today’s Estée Lauder’s namesake beauty regime include the DermSolutions line, designed to cleanse, repair, moisturise and care for skin that has begun to age prematurely because of sun damage; the handy Take It Away makeup removal products; Lifting Essentials, such as Resilience Lift Extreme for visible results in wrinkle and age spot reduction, as well as improving the overall appearance of the eye area; facial products like So Moist hydrating facial, winner of a 2005 Allure Editors’ Choice award; the Re-Nutriv collection of products which visibly firm and lift; the Perfectionist anti-ageing products, offering corrective help for lines, wrinkles and age spots; as well as the Vérité range of products for sensitive skin.
In addition to the vast selection of staple products, Estée Lauder produce a good line of self-tanning products, suncare products and targeted blemish concealers to suit most skin types. Estée Lauder also sell a number of body products, ranging from anti-cellulite serums to exfoliating body polishes and pedicure treatments.
Estée Lauder makeup is sold in seasonal colour collections, which can be tailored to suit individual styles and skin tones. Innovations, such as the Artist’s and So Ingenius lines of pencils, pads and other accessories, ensure that you always have the products you need, right at your fingertips. The Estée Lauder colour palette is exhaustive, providing everything from blush to eyeliner, from bronzer to lip gloss and from concealer to nail polish. Estée Lauder’s range of makeup products consistently wins awards from the beauty press and industry.
Brands under the Estée Lauder umbrella of today include: Aramis, American Beauty, Aveda, Bobbi Brown, Bumble & bumble, Clinique, Darphin, DKNY fragrance, Donna Karan fragrance, Donald Trump fragrance, Estée Lauder, Flirt!, good skin, grassroots, Jo Malone, MISSONI, Kiton, La Mer, Lab Series Skincare for Men, MAC, Michael Kors, Origins, Prescriptives, Rodan & Fields, Sean John fragrances, and Tommy Hilfiger.
Notably, Estée Lauder is the largest corporate sponsor of The Breast Cancer Research Foundation, has a collection of ‘pink ribbon products’ and a portion of the proceeds from the sale of these goes directly to the foundation, over $300,000 was donated through these products in 2005. Estée Lauder does not conduct testing on animals and prides itself on its product safety record.
Estée Lauder products are available in fine department stores and chemists the world over as well as from online retailers.
© UK Beauty.com 2006.