Estée Lauder

American beauty empire — from Youth-Dew to global icon

Estée Lauder and her husband Joseph founded the company in New York in 1946, beginning with four skincare products. Youth Dew (1953) was a pivotal innovation — a bath oil that doubled as a perfume, and one of the first fragrances women bought for themselves rather than receiving as gifts. Beautiful (1985) became one of the best-selling floral fragrances of all time. Today, Estée Lauder Companies is a publicly traded global beauty conglomerate owning over 25 brands.