Estée Lauder, born Josephine Esther Mentzer, was an American entrepreneur from Queens, New York, who founded the Estée Lauder cosmetics company together with her husband Joseph in 1946. Her first creams were cooked from the recipes of her chemist uncle, and the Youth-Dew fragrance taught women to buy perfume for themselves. Yet the most dramatic part of this story is love: she divorced Joseph — and three years later married him again.

In this story:

▶We made a video for this story — it's waiting for you at the end of the article. But don't rush to scroll: there are facts here that aren't in the video — about the Vienna legend Estée was in no hurry to deny, about the age she hid, and about a perfume trick in Paris. To the video ↓

Who was Estée Lauder really?

First — the scene our video opens with. A lawyer's office. A young woman signs divorce papers, and the man she has lived with for nine years sits apart and says nothing. She seems to love him. So why?

Estée Lauder signing her divorce from Joseph in a lawyer's office
She walks away from a man she seems to love. This scene will return at the end of the story.

To understand it, you have to go back to Queens — a working-class part of New York where Josephine Esther Mentzer grew up. Her parents were Jewish immigrants from Austria-Hungary: her mother Rose was from Hungary, her father Max ran a hardware store. At home the girl was called Esty — and from that pet name the refined "Estée" would later be born.

Later, in New York's high society, very different legends would circulate about her. They say Estée happily let people believe she had grown up in Vienna, in a family with European polish. There was no Vienna childhood. There was Queens, her father's store, and an old stable behind the house.

It all began in that stable. Her mother's brother, the chemist John Schotz, set up a makeshift lab there and cooked creams. Little Esty watched him spoon the thick white mass into jars — and then smoothed the cream onto her mother's face with her fingers. She brushed her mother's hair for hours. From childhood, beauty for her was a touch, not an advertisement.

The stable behind the house in Queens where Estée Lauder's uncle cooked creams
The future empire's first "factory" — an old stable, steam, and light from the doorway.

How did Estée Lauder start selling creams?

The girl grew up — and carried her uncle's creams to the one place women couldn't escape: hair salons. Clients sat under hot dryers while she rubbed cream into their cheeks, foreheads, necks. Later Estée would turn this into a creed: just touch a woman's face, and half the sale is already made.

And now — a scene she described herself in her autobiography. A salon, a wealthy client, a beautiful silk blouse. Estée shyly asks where she could buy one. The woman looks down at her: "What difference does it make? You could never afford it anyway."

A salon client looking down on young Estée Lauder
One sentence about a blouse that Estée remembered all her life — and retold in her autobiography.

Estée walked out into the street, her cheeks burning with shame. And she promised herself: one day she would have everything she wanted. Tell me honestly — has anyone ever said something to you that you still remember word for word?

Why did Estée Lauder divorce Joseph and marry him again?

She married Joseph Lauter at twenty-one. Quiet, reliable, no drama. Later the couple changed their surname to Lauder. A son, Leonard, was born. But inside her grew the feeling that real life was happening somewhere nearby — in light-filled halls she was not invited to.

And she left. Divorce, a suitcase, Miami Beach. There Estée sold creams at a resort where wealthy women vacationed. They say she had affairs. Biographers mention the name of Arnold van Ameringen — a fragrance industrialist with whom she shared a long, close friendship. What really happened, history keeps silent.

Estée Lauder leaving with a suitcase while Joseph holds their son
She leaves a reliable husband and a small son — for Florida, for a life she was afraid of missing.

And three years later — the familiar door. Estée marries the very same Joseph a second time. She later explained: only from a distance did she understand what a gentle man had been beside her. Soon a second son, Ronald, was born into the family.

Estée Lauder's second wedding to the same Joseph Lauder
A second wedding, the same groom. This time — for good.

What was it — the crisis of a woman who married too young? Or did she have to leave in order to finally choose? What do you think?

How was Estée Lauder founded and what was the first product?

In 1946 Estée and Joseph found a company bearing her name. Now they are together not only in life. Joseph gives up his own business and takes on production and money; Estée takes sales. At the start — four skincare products from her uncle's recipes: an all-purpose nourishing cream, a cream mask, a cleansing oil, and a skin lotion.

At first the creams were cooked in their own kitchen, then on the stoves of a former restaurant. Fourteen-year-old Leonard delivered the jars by bicycle. A family business in the most literal sense: no investors, no advertising budget, just pots and stubbornness.

Estée Lauder creams being cooked on the stoves of a former restaurant
Pots instead of a factory: that's how the start of a brand now sold worldwide looked.

The first serious breakthrough — Saks Fifth Avenue, one of New York's most luxurious department stores. Estée persistently pushed for her creams to be put on the shelves. The first order was modest — a few hundred dollars. It sold out in two days.

How did Youth-Dew teach women to buy perfume for themselves?

Here's a detail that's easy to miss, though it was a real revolution. American women back then almost never bought perfume for themselves. A fragrance was a gift — from a husband, on a holiday, "when you'd earned it." Buying a bottle yourself was seen as almost wasteful.

Estée came up with a trick. Her Youth-Dew came out as a bath oil — a care product, not a luxury. It smelled rich, spicy and warm, and women began applying it to their skin like perfume. For the first time they were buying a fragrance themselves. For themselves.

Estée Lauder creating the Youth-Dew fragrance as a bath oil
Not perfume, but bath oil — and women no longer had to wait for a gift.
Fact. They say that when the buyers of the Paris department store Galeries Lafayette were in no hurry to take her fragrance, Estée "accidentally" spilled Youth-Dew right onto the floor of the sales hall. Shoppers asked what smelled so good — and the store gave in. Whether it all happened exactly that way, no one can confirm, but this was a legend Estée loved.

Estée Lauder's secrets that aren't in the video

Estée knew how to sell not only creams but also a legend about herself. Some secrets remained half-open to the end.

Fact. The exact year of her birth still differs across biographies: there are two versions two years apart. Estée was never in a hurry to clarify. A woman who sold youth was under no obligation to report her own years.

And the Vienna that wasn't in her childhood did appear in the family's story after all. Her younger son Ronald later became US ambassador to Austria. As if fate had finished writing the legend her mother once never denied.

Fact. At the end of the 20th century, Time magazine compiled a list of the twenty most influential business geniuses of the century. Estée Lauder was the only woman on it — alongside, among others, Henry Ford. The girl who was told "you can't afford it" ended up among those who changed the economy of an entire era.

What happened to Estée Lauder after Joseph's death?

Joseph was gone when he was eighty. And the woman who had never lived a single day without work found herself, for the first time, unable to work. For months she sat at home by the window.

Estée Lauder's hand with her wedding ring after Joseph's death
She never took off the ring: Estée never married again.

She never married again. Mansions, silk, pearls, society receptions — all of it she had. The only thing she didn't have was one more day with Joseph. She outlived him by twenty-one years.

Today The Estée Lauder Companies is one of the largest cosmetics conglomerates in the world: Clinique, La Mer, Jo Malone London, Tom Ford Beauty, and also MAC — whose birth in a kitchen behind a salon we'll cover in a separate episode. The Lauder family still retains control over shareholder votes.

Estée Lauder with a tear looking at an old photo with Joseph
She can afford everything. Except one thing — one more day with Joseph.

Brand passport

Parameter Value
Founders Estée Lauder and her husband Joseph Lauder
Year and city 1946, New York
First products Four skincare products from the recipes of uncle John Schotz: Super Rich All-Purpose Creme, Creme Pack, Cleansing Oil, Skin Lotion
First major client Saks Fifth Avenue department store — the batch sold out in two days
Iconic product Youth-Dew — a fragrance in the form of a bath oil
Today The Estée Lauder Companies: Clinique, MAC, La Mer, Tom Ford Beauty and other brands

Timeline

Year Event
1908 Birth of Josephine Esther Mentzer in Queens (by the most common version)
1930 Marriage to Joseph Lauter, later Lauder
1939 Divorce and departure for Florida
1942 Remarriage to Joseph
1946 Founding of the Estée Lauder company
1953 Release of Youth-Dew
1983 Death of Joseph Lauder
2004 Death of Estée Lauder in New York
A 1940s former-restaurant kitchen in New York with SINART hydrophilic oil and cream blush in the center

Estée's first line had four products — and among them a cleansing oil. The evening ritual began with it: gently, with your fingers, taking a whole day off your face. Today that ritual takes you two minutes: Nourishing Rich Cleansing Oil dissolves makeup during a light massage.

And in the morning — a fresh flush, like the heroine who touched dozens of faces every day: Creamy Blush by Veronika Kyryliuk is easy to blend right with your fingertips.

Nourishing Rich Cleansing Oil · Creamy Blush by Veronika Kyryliuk

SINART Catalog →

You've read to the end — now watch the tenth episode of "SINART. DNA of Beauty" about Estée Lauder: the divorce, Florida, and the return to the very same man — on screen. Subscribe to SINART on YouTube so you don't miss the next stories.

Estée Lauder left her husband so she wouldn't miss life — and came back because she understood that he was her life all along. Together they cooked the first creams in a kitchen, together they turned them into an empire. The woman who was once told "you'll never afford it" could afford everything. Except one day that can't be bought.

The next episode of "SINART. DNA of Beauty" is about Cleopatra and a face that became a weapon. And for now, tell us: could you have left in order to understand what you love?

Frequently asked questions

Who was Estée Lauder?

Estée Lauder was an American entrepreneur, founder of the Estée Lauder cosmetics company. She was born in Queens, New York, to a family of Jewish immigrants from Austria-Hungary. She started by selling her chemist uncle's creams in hair salons, and in 1946 she founded her own firm together with her husband Joseph. Time magazine named her one of the twenty most influential business geniuses of the 20th century — she was the only woman on that list.

What was Estée Lauder's real name?

Her real name was Josephine Esther Mentzer. At home she was called Esty, and from that pet name the signature accented "Estée" later grew. She took the surname Lauder from her husband Joseph: his family first spelled it Lauter, and the couple later changed the spelling. The name Estée Lauder itself became the company's name.

When and by whom was the Estée Lauder company founded?

The Estée Lauder company was founded in New York in 1946 by Estée Lauder and her husband Joseph. The roles were clearly divided: Joseph handled production and finances, Estée handled sales. At first the creams were cooked in their own kitchen, then on the stoves of a former restaurant, while their son Leonard delivered the jars to clients by bicycle.

What was Estée Lauder's first product?

At the start the company had four skincare products created from the recipes of Estée's uncle, the chemist John Schotz: the all-purpose nourishing cream Super Rich All-Purpose Creme, the Creme Pack cream mask, the Cleansing Oil, and the Skin Lotion. Its first major client was Saks Fifth Avenue — the opening batch there sold out in two days.

Why did Estée Lauder divorce her husband?

Estée married Joseph at twenty-one and over time felt life passing her by. In 1939 they divorced, and she moved to Miami Beach, where she sold creams. Biographers write about her possible affairs, but the details are unknown. Three years later, in 1942, Estée married the same Joseph a second time and stayed with him until his death.

Who was Joseph Lauder?

Joseph Lauder was Estée Lauder's husband and the company's co-founder. He married Estée twice: first in 1930, and again after three years of divorce, in 1942. For the sake of their shared firm, Joseph gave up his own business and took on production and finances. He died in 1983 at the age of eighty, and after that Estée never married again.

What is Youth-Dew and why did it become iconic?

Youth-Dew is an Estée Lauder fragrance released in 1953 in the form of a bath oil. Back then American women rarely bought perfume for themselves: they waited for it as a gift from a husband. Bath oil was seen as a care product, so women bought it themselves — and applied it to their skin like perfume. That is how Estée changed the habit of an entire generation.

Was Estée Lauder from Vienna?

No. Estée Lauder was born and raised in Queens, a working-class part of New York. They say that in high society she did not get in the way of legends about a Viennese or European origin, because it added charm to her image. Her parents really were immigrants from Austria-Hungary, and her younger son Ronald later became US ambassador to Austria.

Who was Estée Lauder's uncle?

Estée's uncle was John Schotz, her mother's brother, a chemist from Hungary. He set up a makeshift lab in the stable behind the family's house in Queens and cooked creams there. Little Estée helped him, and later sold his products in hair salons. It was from his recipes that the first Estée Lauder products were created.

When did Estée Lauder die?

Estée Lauder died on 24 April 2004 in New York. By the most common version she was 97, though the exact year of her birth differs across biographies — she was never in a hurry to clarify it. She outlived her husband Joseph by twenty-one years and never married again.

Which brands belong to Estée Lauder today?

Today The Estée Lauder Companies is one of the largest cosmetics conglomerates in the world. It includes Clinique, MAC, La Mer, Bobbi Brown, Jo Malone London, Tom Ford Beauty and other brands. The company is public, but the Lauder family still retains control over shareholder votes.