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Home | Decades of beauty | The make-up moguls | The changing faces of power | Because they're worth it | Find out more
Max Factor | Elizabeth Arden | Helena Rubinstein
When Russian immigrant Max Factor (1877-1938), former wig-maker to the Imperial court, sought his fortune in the United States in 1904, he soon made for Hollywood and the burgeoning film industry. Obsessed by the art and science of make-up, Factor's ability to create tailor-made, natural-looking formulas (so ridding actors of the ghostly pallor typical of the early silent movies) meant he quickly made his mark.
Not only that, the strong individual styles he created for the stars - which would, in many cases, define them for the rest of their lives - meant he became the most sought-after image-maker in Hollywood. Some of the most famous creations attributed to 'the grandfather of make-up' include Clara Bow's famous 'bee stung' lips, Joan Crawford's blood-red slash of a mouth and the emphasis on Bette Davis's eyes.
Factor's decision to launch his own brand of cosmetics, including the ever-popular Pan-Cake, marked the beginning of the make-up industry as we know it. And by enlisting stars to endorse his products, he initiated one of the most successful marketing ploys of all time.
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.
Born in Krakow, Poland in 1870, 32-year-old Helena Rubinstein, who had studied medicine and dermatology, emigrated to Australia where she opened her first shop - selling imported products - in Melbourne. By 1908, she was developing and specialising in skin-care products, and had set up the Maison de Beauté in London, with another in Paris two years later. By 1917, she had established beauty salons throughout the United States, and was distributing her increasingly popular products to wealthy women throughout the world.
Rubinstein, who died in 1965, pioneered the idea of cosmetics that worked on a scientific and health-promoting basis, and popularised the idea of the beauty salon as a health spa. Her establishments offered a bizarre array of treatments aimed at improving the look and shape of the body, while her waterproof mascara remains one of her most popular creations.
The author of many ground-breaking books on beauty, Rubinstein, an astute businesswoman, did much to further the cause of female independence. She put her personal fortune - thought to be around $100,000,000 - to philanthropical use by setting up the Helena Rubinstein Foundation, dedicated to the preservation and promotion of the arts and the welfare of the poor.
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