The Rise of a Perfume Making Legend – Estee Lauder

Her fascination with beauty products grew as she watched how her uncle created his products. He also taught her how to wash her face and do facial massages. Approached one day by a salon owner who commented on her perfect skin, she was asked to return with her uncle’s products to the beauty salon and demonstrate their use. Thus, after graduating from high school in New York, Estée sold her uncle’s creams to beauty shops, beach clubs, and resorts.

This was just the beginning for the young perfume entrepreneur. In 1953, Estée introduced her first fragrance, Youth Dew. It was bath oil that doubled as a perfume and instead of applying a dab behind each ear, women were added it to their bath water. In a thirty year span, the fragrance had sold over 150 million bottles. In a 1985 TV documentary, Estée Lauder: The Sweet Smell of Success, Estée explained her success and was said that she never worked a day in her life without selling. If she believed in something, she sells it, and sells it hard.

In her early twenties, Estée married Joseph Lauter. They later changed the surname from Lauter to Lauder.

Fascinated with the Orient, Estée decide the time was right for an Eastern-influenced fragrance and in 1978 created Cinnabar. It is a warm, mysterious, endlessly appealing spicy scent that fulfills every woman’s desire for an exotic and mysterious scent. The top notes of Jasmine, Orange flower, Clove and Patchouli blends into an intense sensual experience.

Envisioning a fragrance that women would wear as a fresh, crisp and clean scent, White Linen was introduced in 1978. Capturing the essence of a perfect day, this fragrance evokes the crispness of clean sheets, the coolness of white flowers and fresh greenery. Bulgarian Rose, Violet and Orris blossoms lend a kind of natural elegance that transcends the seasons.

As her visions grew, Estée ‘s next inspiration was for a fragrance that made every woman feel that she was the most beautiful woman in the room, Thus, Beautiful was created in 1985. With Rose, Mandarin, Lily, Tuberose and Marigold top notes, this perfume was represented by a bride to symbolize a woman at her most feminine, romantic and beautiful self.

Estée’s next perfume, Knowing, was launched in 1988. While on a trip in the south of France, She was inspired by a floral scent that wafted from the garden below her balcony. Created for the self-assured woman who knows who she is and what she wants, the top notes of Rose, Tuberose, Mimosa, Plum and Pittosporum give this fragrance a worldly, warm and intensely feminine scent.

Introduced in 2003, Beyond Paradise is a fragrance that intoxicates the senses. Unfolding on your skin with a fascinating blend of Blue Hyacinth, Orange Flower Templar and blends of Laelia Orchid, Crepe Jasmin and Zebrano Wood, this fragrance transports you to a perfect world of optimism and wonder.

Following her death in 2004 at the age of 95, the company that Estée Lauder built continues to thrive and her perfumes have become legendary.