To ward off competition from Revlon, Estée Lauder launched Clinique—the first dermatologist-approved skincare line—in 1968

Much of Estée Lauder's success stemmed from her laser focus on serving her target market: wealthy women who saw beauty as an investment.

Explore the brands owned by Estée Lauder Companies

While Estée Lauder remains the flagship brand and namesake of the cosmetic conglomerate, the company owns more than 20 premier brands. Some of the brands—like Clinique and Origin—were created in-house, but others—like Tom Ford and Jo Malone—are a result of the company's acquisition strategy, which often targets companies with high-end retail products.

With the advent of charge cards, Estée Lauder fought to get her products in department stores to benefit from impulse purchases

Because Estée Lauder focused on personal relationships and demonstrations as one of her primary sales strategies, getting her product in front of enough people was an early struggle. Similarly, many customers wanted to buy her products, but didn't always have the cash on hand. One of her biggest accomplishments was earning a retail spot at Saks on 5th Ave in Manhattan, which paved the way for her brand to become a household name and gave customers more flexibility to make purchases on the spot.

Estée Lauder once broke a bottle of the hit perfume 'Youth Dew' to convince French department stores to carry the product

Youth Dew, originally launched in 1953 as a bath oil, was wildly successful in the American market and one of the early products that cemented Estée Lauder as a luxury cosmetics brand. When the Galeries Lafayette in Paris hesitated to sell the perfume, Lauder "accidentally" broke a bottle of Youth Dew, causing the smell to spread throughout the department store. Shoppers began asking for the scent, and the department store agreed to sell it.

Estée Lauder's family ran a hardware store in Corona, Queens

Estée Lauder grew up organizing the storefront window of her father's hardware store, which her family lived above. Lauder was reportedly a natural salesperson, and her experience working with her father is frequently cited as her earliest business training.

Read Time Magazine's profile of Estée Lauder—the only woman named to a list of the most influential business leaders of the 20th century

Time Magazine's 1998 profile of Estée Lauder credited much of Lauder's global success to her incredible work ethic and her dedication to creating the highest-quality products, even if those products weren't trendy.

Estée Lauder used wealthy people's bathrooms to curate the color of the jars her products were sold in

While Lauder herself was just starting her cosmetics empire, she knew wealthy people who could afford high-quality products would always be her target market. In order to make her products as appealing to this market as possible, Lauder held up different colors of glass bottles in people's bathrooms to see what would look best with their decorations before landing on a turquoise bottle with a gold cap.

'Telephone, telegraph, tell a woman:' Listen to Estée Lauder's legendary vision for word-of-mouth marketing

Without a large advertising budget, Lauder focused her marketing strategy on making high-quality products that women would love enough to tell their friends about. Those friends would later inevitably buy Estée Lauder products.

Estée Lauder's son, Leonard Lauder, transformed Estée Lauder into a global powerhouse

Leonard Lauder became president of Estée Lauder Companies in 1972 and is credited with much of the brand's expansion. Under his leadership, the company launched new lines like Aramis and acquired luxury brands to bolster its position in the luxury beauty market.

Explore old photos of Estée Lauder's life

Despite her humble upbringing, Estée Lauder's love of beauty and glamour helped propel her social climb. Lauder became friends with many elites over the course of her life—including the late Princess Diana—owned homes in the Hamptons and the South of France, and turned her family business into a cosmetic empire. (Some users may experience a paywall.)

The Lauder family still controls more than 80% of the voting power in Estée Lauder Companies.

Leonard Lauder, one of Estée's sons, invented the slant on a tube of lipstick

Leonard Lauder was known for being an innovator, both in business and in product. He's credited with creating the now-standard slant of a lipstick tube, slicing the top off a then-bullet-shaped lipstick to better fit women's lips. (Some users may experience a paywall.)

Estée Lauder was famously evasive about many personal details of her life

While Estée Lauder's name is known worldwide, many details of her life are shrouded in mystery, such as the year she was born. Lauder was criticized for her lifelong "social climb" and her drive to join "high society," which may be why she never shared many particulars about her humble childhood. (Some users may experience a paywall.)

Estée Lauder divorced and later remarried Joseph Lauder, her husband and business partner

After first marrying in 1933, Estée Lauder divorced Joseph Lauder, primarily because he wasn't as driven and ambitious as Estée. They ultimately remarried in 1942 and were rarely seen apart. While Estée was a visionary leader for the company, Joseph handled much of the behind-the-scenes work.

Concierge medicine officially began in 1996, with the first concierge practice

MD2 International, a concierge medical office that opened in Seattle, Washington, was founded based on the idea of unrushed, no-wait-time visits and personalized care offerings with strong relationships between patients and their providers.

Coca-Cola began developing Diet Coke to compete with a diet cola called Tab

Launched in 1963, Tab was successful in part because of its diet-conscious branding, with the name "tab" referring to the idea of "keeping a tab on your weight." Diet Coke made its debut in 1982.

CES debuted in 1967 amid a wave of miniaturization in at-home electronics

The rapid development of integrated circuits—the basis of computing power—in the 1960s catalyzed an industrial shift toward miniature devices, including pocket transistor radios, smaller TVs, and more. This first consumer electronics trade show (with a slate of 117 exhibitors and 17,000 attendees) sought to make everyday electronics accessible and portable. See a timeline of early consumer tech with photos.

The first private equity fund was launched in 1960

At the time, the industry—and the public's understanding of it—was rather limited, and few private equity firms existed until the 1980s. The first leveraged buyout is thought to have taken place in 1955.

One of LVMH's key business innovations was widening the luxury market's target audience

While certain items under the LVMH umbrella can cost thousands of dollars, like large Louis Vuitton bags, others, like coin purses or lipstick, cost significantly less. Some argue that these comparatively lower-priced items allows LVMH's target audience to be much larger in size than it would have been if it only targeted the world's wealthiest shoppers, whereas others argue that it makes the brand more vulnerable to economic downturns.

In 2026, the US FDA approved a light-activated gel combined with red light therapy as a nonsurgical treatment option for the most common type of skin cancer.

The first nationally broadcast soap opera was 'Clara, Lu, 'n Em'

The show first aired in Chicago in 1930, but was then picked up by NBC and broadcast across the country in 1931. The show followed three women who lived in the same duplex. Listen to a 1934 episode below, including the preshow's soap-centric advertising.

The 1980s brought luxury items into the bathroom

Companies produced items like waterproof radios and targeted them at people under 30, marketing the devices as hip ways to stay clean.

The first chocolate Advent calendar appeared in 1958

Chocolate Advent calendars began in 1958, when German companies first paired the traditional countdown with small pieces of chocolate behind each door. The idea spread slowly at first, but eventually became one of the most popular Advent calendar formats worldwide.

Modern consulting traces its roots to 1886

Arthur D. Little Inc. was the first management consulting firm. Starting as a chemical analysis lab, the firm evolved to play pivotal roles in projects like developing the NASDAQ system and supporting Apollo 11.

LSD (better known as acid) was created in 1938 by Swiss chemist Dr. Albert Hofmann

Lysergic acid diethylamide, better known as LSD or acid, was first developed synthetically in 1938 by Swiss chemist Dr. Albert Hofmann. It's since become a linchpin for an entire aesthetic, fueled a counterculture movement, and is being studied for potential therapeutic uses.

Kevin Warsh married Estée Lauder's granddaughter in 2002

The newest Chairman of the Federal Reserve, Kevin Warsh, is married to Jane Lauder, who served as Estée Lauder Companies' chief data officer until late 2024. Her stake in Estée Lauder Companies is part of what makes Warsh the richest Fed chair on record.

Premarin was the bestselling drug in the US in 1992

The drug, derived from the urine or pregnant mares, raised ethical and animal welfare concerns, but also became wildly popular until the Women's Health Initiative study findings in 2002 (which have since been largely disproved). In the 1990s, Premarin was used to treat menopause symptoms and also to protect against osteoporosis and heart disease among older women.

Claire's has filed for bankruptcy multiple times

Between competition from online retailers such as Shein and Temu, and too many physical stores for today's retail climate, Claire's has had a difficult time modernizing.

Hear the first classic girl group record: the Chantels’ ‘Maybe’

While there were all-female vocal groups before the Chantels, most critics consider the group’s 1957 single “Maybe” to be the first record of the classic girl group sound because it established the model’s foundational elements: a mid-tempo backbeat, soaring harmonies, and yearning lyrics.

American Express was the first company to offer 'gold' cards to borrowers

American Express began offering gold cards to affluent consumers in 1966. However, other credit card companies began offering similar, premium cards in the 1980s, which quickly became a status symbol for wealthy Americans.

Natural food stores began sprouting up in the US in the 1960s and 1970s

Health food stores began opening in the ‘50s, though they were primarily focused on vitamins and holistic supplements. Natural food stores, however, provided pesticide-free produce and often relied on local farmers for their products. One of the first was New Age Natural Foods, in San Francisco’s Haight-Ashbury neighborhood, which opened in 1965.

Collagen supplements have become a multibillion-dollar industry

Beginning in our 20s, the amount of this protein in our skin, muscles, and connective tissue declines. But independent, high-quality studies—like those that are double-blind—have not yet shown a significant association between their use and evidence of it improving skin elasticity, reducing wrinkles, or combating hair loss. Some collagen supplements do seem to help with joint pain and knee function, but NPR cautions that studies on that purpose are industry-funded.

Cosmetic surgery during the Edwardian era

This 23-minute video explores cosmetic surgery in the United Kingdom during the Edwardian era, from about 1901 to 1914. Reconstructive surgery already existed by then, though it wasn't considered elective as it was used to repair damage suffered...

Modern Champagne owes much of its existence to one woman: Widow Clicquot

Barbe-Nicole Ponsardin, better known as the Widow Clicquot, might not have actually invented Champagne, but her innovative approach to winemaking yielded many techniques still used today. Taking over her husband’s failing business after his death, the Widow Clicquot combined business savvy and innovative thinking to make the process easier, more efficient, and, most important, more profitable.

Advertising powerhouse Mary Wells Lawrence became the first female CEO of a public company listed on the NYSE when her ad agency went public in 1968.

Soap operas earned their name thanks to the sponsorships of soap brands

Many early 20th-century radio programs for women were sponsored by brands that introduced each new episode. Because these dramas were aimed at women, many of their sponsors were for household products, like soap. The association led some to refer to the shows as "soap operas," a title that stuck.

The pharmaceutical industry evolved, in part, from the discovery of synthetic dyes

In 1856, a chemist accidentally discovered mauveine, the world's first synthetic dye, while trying to make quinine to treat malaria. The synthetic dyes that followed helped reveal germs under microscopes, paving the way for modern imaging techniques and breakthrough treatments, such as antibiotics.

How Korea’s beauty industry is impacting its healthcare system

Hallyu, or the spread of Korean culture, has made South Korea a global leader in the beauty industry. People worldwide travel to the country, seeking aesthetic procedures like microneedling and noninvasive lifting. The $4B industry attracts many doctors seeking high profits. However, the result is a healthcare system facing a critical shortage of general practitioners and hospital physicians.

Dove’s ‘Real Beauty’ campaign sparked conversations about beauty standards in media

For the 20-year anniversary of the campaign in 2024, Dove conducted a brand-commissioned study to gauge how perceptions of beauty standards have shifted since its launch. While 81% of US women thought “the media and advertising set an unrealistic standard of beauty that most women can’t ever achieve” in 2004, the share had shrunk to 69% in 2024. Watch the ad here.

Many of the 2010s girlboss-era founders experienced a public fall from grace in 2020

In the 2010s, dozens of female founders were celebrated on the covers of business magazines like Inc. for their recent startup success, from Emily Weiss’s Glossier makeup brand to Steph Korey’s Away luggage company. But many of these companies were also the subject of large takedown articles around the year 2020.

Apple, the tech giant renowned for products like the iPhone, iPad, and Mac, started out in a garage in 1976.

American Express debuted its first charge card in 1958 to give travelers access to cash abroad

The original American Express charge card was made of purple paperboard and allowed customers to book travel. Unlike credit cards, the card's balance had to be entirely paid off each month. When the card first launched, 250,000 customers used it, and 17,500 companies had agreed to accept it.

US concierge and direct primary care practices surged 83.1% between 2018 and 2023

Research published in December 2025 in the journal Health Affairs indicates that these retainer-fee care models are expanding across the country. Concierge medicine charges monthly or annual fees, as does direct primary care (which doesn't take insurance).

Older, medically complex patients are a high proportion of concierge practices, a membership-based model which is sometimes referred to as retainer medicine or VIP medicine.

Modern roll-on deodorant design was modeled on the ballpoint pen

Instead of a messy cream, which had been the norm in the 1940s, a new roll-on deodorant inspired by the easy flow of a ballpoint pen debuted in 1952.

See every brand that LVMH—the world's largest luxury goods holding company—owns, from luxury fashion and jewelry brands like Tiffany & Co., Fendi, and Louis Vuitton to beauty supply store Sephora and the hotel group Belmond.

The history of contact lenses may have begun with Leonardo da Vinci, who developed a concept of vision correction based on placing a substance directly on the eye's surface.

Despite many influencers having loyal followings, creator-led brands often fail when the hype from first-time buyers dies down and doesn't translate into repeat purchases.

Certain visible light therapies, when applied at specific intensities, can be used to treat skin conditions, including acne.

Lyme disease was first identified in Lyme, Connecticut in 1975

A cluster of 51 children and adults in the town all began experiencing uncommon arthritic symptoms and the cases were reported to the state health department. A quarter of the cases were preceded by a skin lesion. The patients tended to live near the woods.