Estée Lauder: Every Woman Has the Right to Be Beautiful

エスティ ローダーの世界観と代表製品「Beautiful Eau de Parfum 100ml」を表現したブランドイメージ

“You do not smell fragrance with your nose. You smell it with your heart.”
— Estée Lauder (from a conversation with Jo Fairley of The Perfume Society)

Basic Information

Note on the Japanese rendering of Estée: The English name Estée Lauder is represented in Japanese spelling and pronunciation as “エスティー・ローダー,” while “エスティ ローダー” is the established form in the Japanese market.

The Founder and the Origins of the Brand

Girlhood: An Immigrant Family and an Awakening to Beauty

Josephine Esther Mentzer was born in Queens, New York, in 1908. Her father, Max, was a hardware-store owner from Pressburg, then part of the Kingdom of Hungary and now Bratislava, Slovakia; her mother, Rose, was a beautiful Hungarian woman. Captivated by her mother’s beauty from an early age, she developed the habit of brushing her mother’s hair and applying cream every morning.

“My first awareness of beauty was my mother.”
— Estée Lauder

The name Estée grew out of the nickname Esty, and its spelling became established when she entered school. Her exact date of birth was officially kept private, and she continued to brush aside questions about it lightly: “If you ask my age, that is something that does not matter.”

Meeting Uncle John Schotz: A Turning Point in Her Destiny

Around 1924, when Estée was sixteen, her Hungarian-born uncle, the chemist John Schotz, came to stay with the family. Schotz founded New Way Laboratories in Brooklyn, where he made his own skin creams and shampoos.

Estée watched every stage of her uncle’s mixing process, first in the kitchen and later in a small laboratory converted from a stable behind the house. She described the scene in these words.

“My uncle’s creams had a magical, melting texture and a sweet fragrance. They made the skin feel like silk and, by evening, made little imperfections disappear.”
— Estée Lauder

She went on to add:

“Do you know what it means to a young girl when someone comes along who takes her dreams seriously? To have someone share their secrets with her?”
— Estée Lauder

This encounter determined the course of her life. Estée eventually made her own blends based on her uncle’s Super-Rich All-Purpose Cream and began letting her school friends try them. While she was having her hair done at a beauty salon, its owner, Florence Morris, asked why her skin was so beautiful. Estée returned later with her creams to give a demonstration. Morris was completely won over and asked her to sell them in her new salon.

The Dream of Acting, and Another Path

Estée also had ambitions to become an actress. Believing that “actresses are the pinnacle of beauty,” she actually appeared onstage at New York’s Cherry Lane Theatre. She continued rehearsing while her son Leonard watched from the back of the theater, but in the end it was skincare formulas, rather than stage lights, that captivated her.

“I wanted to see my name shining in neon lights. But I decided that having my name on a jar would be enough.”
— Estée Lauder

Marriage, the Company’s Founding, and a First Miracle

In the late 1920s, during a summer stay at Lake Mohegan in New York State, Estée met Joseph Lauter. She called him her first love. The couple married in 1930 and moved to Manhattan, changing their surname to Lauder to correct a misspelling dating from Joseph’s father’s immigration from Europe to the United States.

Estée began her business by demonstrating products beside women drying their hair in beauty salons. In 1946, she and her husband finally established the company formally. The following year, they secured their first order from Saks Fifth Avenue, worth $800, and the products sold out in two days.

Her motto was “Telephone, Telegraph, Tell a Woman.” Rather than relying on agency advertising, she put her entire $50,000 advertising budget into free samples and gifts with purchase. This idea of a purchase incentive later became standard practice throughout the industry.

What Defines the Brand

A Philosophy of Fragrance: “It Is the Heart That Smells”

Estée Lauder began as a beauty expert, but she also possessed an exceptional “nose.” The Perfume Society notes that she was described as “America’s only true nose.” She had friends try fragrance candidates and carefully observed their reactions.

“You can tell by looking into their eyes. Even if they smile, it is only when their eyes smile that I know the fragrance is right.”
— Estée Lauder

In her later years, Estée expressed her deep belief in fragrance in these words.

“We should never underestimate fragrance’s power to enrich our lives. Spray the first scent of the morning into the air and walk through it. That first spray stays on the skin longest throughout the day. It makes your spirit brighter and more youthful. You do not smell fragrance with your nose. You smell it with your heart.”
— Estée Lauder (from a conversation with The Perfume Society)

Turquoise-Blue Packaging: “A Color That Belongs in the Bathroom”

Estée herself chose pale turquoise, a light blue-green, for the brand’s cream jars. Her reasoning was that it “conveys luxury while harmonizing with every bathroom interior.” The color continues to serve as an emblem of Estée Lauder today.

An Approach to Ingredients and Quality

Estée always made the use of high-quality raw materials a non-negotiable condition of the company. Guided by her conviction that every woman has the right to be beautiful, she personally oversaw everything from product formulas to selling methods. Karyn Khoury, who later led the brand’s fragrance division as senior vice president of fragrance development, had worked directly with Estée herself. Khoury described the company’s philosophy as “a delicate balance between business considerations and passionate creativity,” and said that Estée taught her to refine her emotional instincts.

Packaging Innovation in the Luxury Fragrance Collection

In fiscal 2023, Estée Lauder switched the bottles of its Luxury Fragrance Collection to recyclable, refillable glass. According to a life-cycle assessment, using one refill can reduce emissions and water consumption by 20% compared with the initial purchase, while packaging weight was reduced by 40%.

The Fragrance Lineup

Youth-Dew: The Fragrance That Changed the Rules in 1953

Estée Lauder’s first fragrance was Youth-Dew, a bath oil introduced in 1953. At the time, American women rarely bought perfume for themselves. It was a birthday or anniversary present from a husband or lover, something worn only on special occasions.

Estée cleverly found a way around this barrier. There was no need to call it perfume. With that thought, she brought the product to market as a bath oil.

“In those days, women waited for their husbands to give them perfume on birthdays or anniversaries. Women did not buy perfume for themselves. So I decided not to call my new product ‘perfume.’ I named it Youth-Dew.”
— Estée Lauder (from a conversation with The Perfume Society)

The name Youth-Dew was borrowed from an earlier skincare range. This sensual oriental floral, layering rose, lavender, jasmine, spices, vetiver, and patchouli, instantly captured women’s hearts. By being launched as a bath oil to pour generously into the tub rather than a perfume to use a few drops at a time, it also dramatically increased consumption.

It is said to have sold 50,000 bottles in its first year and to have reached cumulative sales of $150 million by 1984.

The company of Estée’s business partner, Arnold Lewis van Ameringen, was involved in composing Youth-Dew. IFF, International Flavors & Fragrances, which was later formed with that company as one of its predecessors, explicitly identifies Josephine Catapano as its creator in its official history of perfumery.

Private Collection: Her Own Secret Scent, Released in 1973

Whenever she was asked, “What perfume are you wearing?” Estée would answer only, “It’s from my private collection.” This was more than a stylish reply: the fragrance really had been made just for her.

Composed for Estée personally by Vincent Marcello, the perfumer behind Caron’s Yatagan and Halston’s Z-14, the fragrance was finally released commercially in 1973. Grace Kelly is also said to have worn it.

It is an elegant chypre, a broad fragrance family built on tree moss, oakmoss, and similar notes, in which green notes intertwine with florals. In its earliest days, it was marketed as Estée Lauder’s most expensive fragrance. Its notes include lemon, hyacinth, narcissus, rose, jasmine, galbanum, and amber.

White Linen: A Landmark of Freshness in 1978

In 1978, Estée Lauder introduced a trio of fragrances called the New Romantics: White Linen, Celadon, and Pavilion. The three proposed a concept that was forward-looking for its time: enjoying fragrances layered together.

White Linen overwhelmingly outsold the other two and became the enduring bestseller still sold today. Created by Sophia Grojsman, it boldly uses aldehydes, bright, effervescent chemical fragrance ingredients that evoke soap and laundry, to embody the clean freshness of a starched shirt drying in the sun.

Beautiful: A Bouquet of a Thousand Flowers in 1985

Introduced in 1985, Beautiful is one of Estée Lauder’s signature floral fragrances, known for the slogan “the fragrance of a thousand flowers.” With a bridal theme, it is said to express in scent “the moment when every woman shines at her most beautiful.”

Karyn Khoury was involved in its creation. It has a rich structure in which flowers including rose, lily, tuberose, orange blossom, mandarin, marigold, jasmine, and ylang-ylang are supported by a sandalwood and amber base. The bottle was designed by Ira Levy. Models and actresses including Paulina Porizkova (1988–1994) and Elizabeth Hurley (1995–1997) served as brand ambassadors in the years following the launch through the 1990s.

Pleasures: “A Bouquet After the Rain” in 1995

Launched in 1995, Pleasures is a fresh floral created by a team of perfumers at Firmenich. Built around white lily, white peony, jasmine, and baie rose, or pink pepper, it received a FiFi Award from the Fragrance Foundation. It was designed as “a fragrance for every season and every moment.”

Karyn Khoury was deeply involved in developing Pleasures as well, connecting the concept of “a fresh bouquet after the rain” with a contemporary vision of womanhood.

Bronze Goddess: “A Beach in a Bottle”

Bronze Goddess has established itself as a perennial summer favorite. The original Eau Fraîche version was composed by Aurélien Guichard. Amber, vanilla, bergamot, jasmine, coconut milk, and sandalwood blend in a composition that evokes a tropical resort. A richer Eau de Parfum version was added in 2017.

Modern Muse: A Contemporary Vision of Women in 2013

Introduced in 2013, Modern Muse has a multifaceted composition in which mandarin, honeysuckle nectar, tuberose, lily, patchouli, amberwood, suede musk, and vanilla intertwine intricately. It was created under Karyn Khoury’s direction. Its sister fragrance, Modern Muse Le Rouge Eau de Parfum, won the 360-Degree Marketing Campaign category at the Fragrance Foundation’s 2016 Awards.

Luxury Creations and the Classic Collection

The brand’s luxury creations have included Wood Mystique, a unisex woody floral inspired by traditional Middle Eastern techniques, and Amber Mystique, contemporary scents that also share something of the spirit of Private Collection. Traditional classics such as Youth-Dew, White Linen, Beautiful, Pleasures, Knowing, and Sensuous also remain part of the active range.

By the Way…

The Galeries Lafayette Incident in Paris

One famous anecdote from Estée Lauder’s life is the “Youth-Dew incident at Galeries Lafayette.” In the 1960s, Estée approached Galeries Lafayette in Paris about carrying her products, but its buyer turned her down. As she was about to leave, she spilled Youth-Dew bath oil onto the store’s carpet, making it look accidental. A sensual fragrance immediately spread through the surrounding area, and customers began asking excitedly, “Where can we buy this?” The store is said to have had no choice but to stock the product.

This tactic of attracting attention by spilling a fragrance is also said to have been influenced by a similar anecdote about the early twentieth-century French perfumer François Coty. Some have suggested that Estée may have taken inspiration from him.

“I Wanted My Name in Lights”

As a young woman, Estée dreamed of becoming an actress. Believing that actresses were the very embodiment of beauty, she actually appeared onstage at New York’s Cherry Lane Theatre, but was ultimately drawn back to the world of beauty.

“I wanted to see my name shining in neon lights. But I decided that having my name on a jar would be enough.”
— Estée Lauder

One of Time’s “Twenty Most Influential Business Geniuses of the Twentieth Century”

In 1998, Estée Lauder was selected for Time’s list of the twenty most influential business geniuses of the twentieth century. She was the only woman on the list.

The French Légion d’honneur and the Presidential Medal of Freedom

Estée received many honors during her lifetime. She described the Légion d’honneur, France’s highest distinction, as one of the honors of which she was proudest. In 2004, she was also posthumously awarded the United States Presidential Medal of Freedom. In 1994, the American Society of Perfumers presented her with its first Living Legend Award.

“Joan Crawford Attracted Her Fourth Husband”

In her later years, Estée sold Youth-Dew by the gallon, approximately 3.8 liters, to her Hollywood fans. They included Gloria Swanson, Dolores del Río, and Joan Crawford. Crawford is said to have remarked, “That scent helped me land my fourth husband.”

References