Michèle Fitoussi

Helena Rubinstein's remarkable life--from the inception of her beauty empire to the legacy she left behind--is celebrated in this comprehensive book that retraces her inspiring story. Helena Rubinstein was the first to establish the link between beauty and science, at a time when makeup was worn only by actresses and prostitutes. Progressive and a feminist, she made beauty accessible, using cosmetics as a means of emancipation. A daring pioneer, she founded a world-famous cosmetics empire with intelligence, courage, intuition, and business acumen. Her visionary marketing and publicity campaigns secured her brand's success, and she left behind one hundred branches in forty countries and 30,000 employees. Until the end of her life, the world's richest woman remained faithful to her humble Polish‒Jewish roots and proud of her Yiddish accent. This illustrated biography recounts Rubinstein's life and legacy--the path to building her empire, her extensive art collection, her fascination with fashion and jewelry, and her groundbreaking achievements in launching the modern beauty revolution.

She understood women. She understood beauty. And she started a revolution. Helena Rubinstein was born into a poor Polish family at the end of the nineteenth century; by the time of her death in 1965 she had built a cosmetics empire that spanned the world. When Rubinstein opened her first salon in Melbourne, her scientific approach to beauty was an instant sensation. Women just couldn't get enough of her innovative advice on skincare, and her beauty products were constantly sold out. Having conquered Australia, Rubinstein went on to open salons in Europe and America, at a time when women were barely seen in business, let alone running their own multinational companies. For this visionary entrepreneur lived and breathed her work and nobody - lover, husband or child - was allowed to get in the way of business success. Helena Rubinstein was a total original, and her legacy can still be seen today in the methods used to market and manufacture cosmetics. This is her amazing life story.