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Who Was Helena Rubinstein?
Helena Rubinstein was a pioneering entrepreneur and philanthropist renowned for her significant contributions to the beauty industry. Beginning her business journey in 1902 in Australia, she initially distributed a beauty cream inspired by her mother’s homemade recipes. Rubinstein’s entrepreneurial spirit led her to establish a beauty salon and create her own line of cosmetics, diligently working to expand her enterprise. Over time, she opened salons in prominent cities such as London and Paris, and when World War I erupted, she relocated to America. Her beauty business flourished into a global cosmetics empire, culminating in the establishment of the Helena Rubinstein Foundation in 1953, dedicated to supporting organizations focused on children’s health.
Early Years
Helena Rubinstein was born on December 25, 1870, in Krakow, Poland. She was raised in a household with a strict father and a mother who emphasized the transformative power of beauty and love for her eight daughters. Her mother even crafted her own beauty creams, which inspired Helena’s early fascination with cosmetics. As the eldest child, Helena assisted her father with bookkeeping, and her intellectual prowess led him to encourage her studies in medical sciences. Although she enjoyed laboratory work, she was reluctant to pursue a career in hospitals. Eventually, she was allowed to discontinue her studies on the condition that she marry. However, instead of accepting her father’s choice of a 35-year-old widower, Helena chose to marry a fellow student from the University of Krakow.
Business Begins in Australia
Displeased with her marriage choice, Rubinstein relocated from Poland to Australia to live with her uncle. She brought with her a dozen bottles of her mother’s beauty cream, a concoction of herbs, almonds, and Carpathian fir tree extract. The cream quickly gained popularity among local women, and Rubinstein initially distributed samples until her mother sent more. While juggling various jobs and receiving financial support from a satisfied customer, she began selling her products. This entrepreneurial endeavor led to the establishment of her first shop in Melbourne, where she met Polish-American journalist Edward William Titus. The couple married in July 1908 in London. Committed to her business, Rubinstein worked 18-hour days, eventually achieving profitability. In 1905, she traveled to Europe to study advancements in skin treatments. Upon her return, she invited her sisters to assist with the business and brought Dr. Jacob Lykusky, the creator of her mother’s cream formulas, to help expand her product line.
Building the Empire
In 1908, armed with £100,000, Rubinstein moved to London and opened the Helena Rubinstein’s Salon de Beauté Valaze within a year. She subsequently acquired a Paris salon, appointing her sister Pauline to manage it. The only interruptions to her progress were during her pregnancies, when she welcomed two sons in 1909 and 1912. By 1916, she established a salon in New York, followed by openings in San Francisco, Boston, Philadelphia, Chicago, and Toronto, in addition to distributing her products through department stores.
The 1920s saw Rubinstein in Hollywood, where she educated starlets on makeup application. In New York, she found herself in fierce competition with Elizabeth Arden and Charles Revson, the founder of Revlon. In 1928, she sold her American business to Lehman Brothers, only to repurchase it at a bargain price following the subsequent stock market crash.
After divorcing Titus in 1937, Rubinstein married Russian prince Artchil Gourielli-Tchkonia, who was 20 years her junior, in 1938. A staunch advocate for health and self-care, Rubinstein passed away in New York City on April 1, 1965, at the age of 94. Her autobiography, My Life for Beauty, was published a year later, encapsulating her remarkable journey in the world of beauty.