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Elizabeth Arden

Born into a Canadian farming family in 1884, Florence Nightingale Graham, possessed of a desire to heal, initially trained as a nurse before leaving Toronto for the bright lights of New York. Having secured a job as a bookkeeper for a pharmaceutical company, she became intrigued by the research and development carried out there. Her interest, combined with a nurse's training, led to a job creating and applying formulas in a beauty salon.

By 1909, she was developing flagship beauty creams of her own and had set up her first Red Door salon on Fifth Avenue in New York. At the same time, she adopted the personal and business name of 'Elizabeth Arden'.

As did her life-long rival Helena Rubinstein, Arden continued to open branches of her salon throughout the globe, eventually establishing more than 100. The two businesswomen jostled to be the first to bring out new super-products – and where one led, the other was sure to follow with an even bigger and better version. Arden's legendary Eight-Hour Cream – a formula originally developed as a balm to soothe her beloved horse's legs – continues to be a worldwide bestseller. She died in 1966.

Max Factor | Helena Rubinstein