Free Beauty Events

Mary Kay Ash

Tuesday, October 26th, 2010

Mary Kay Ash, better known as Mary Kay, is a cosmetics industry icon best known for her empowerment of women and pink Cadillacs. She was born Mary Kathlyn Wagner on May 12, 1918, in Houston. By age six, she was caring for her seriously ill father while her mother worked 14 hours a day at a restaurant. As an adult he studied to become a doctor, but focused on sales full time as her success grew. She would write weekly sales goals in soap on her bathroom mirror. Her inspiration to start Mary Kay Cosmetics came from her experience working at World Gifts as national sales director. She quit in 1963 when a male colleague hired as her assistant was promoted over her at twice her salary. With $5,000 in formulas, jars, and office equipment, Mary Kay started her business at the age of 45. She bought a formulation for a skin-care cream developed by an Arkansas tanner, promoted it as a beauty product and recruited friends to sell “Beauty by Mary Kay.” The company was profitable almost immediately and had nearly $200,000 in revenues the first year. Mary Kay held national meetings (which bring together over 10,000 consultants a year), where top associates wearing ball gowns are escorted by tuxedoed gentleman and presented with lavish gifts like glittering diamond tennis bracelets and Cadillacs. Her rationale for such big prizes was that the sales people were responsible for her company’s success, so it would be better to spend the money on employees than on a commercial. Mary Kay fashioned a three-tier approach to life and success. God came first, then family followed by career. The corporate symbol, a bumble bee, is a creature that aerodynamically should not be able to fly. Mary Kay has said, “But someone forgot to tell the bumblebee. Women are like that — given the opportunity, encouragement and awards, they will soar.” The company mission statement is, “Enriching women’s lives.” Although Mary Kay began as just a basic skin care line of five items, it evolved into a $1.2 billion international operation. Today the company has 850,000 sales associates in 37 countries and 200 products across nine beauty categories. Fortune Magazine has named Mary Kay among The 100 Best Companies to Work for in America, and also recognized Mary Kay as one of the 10 best companies for women. She died on November 22, 2001 and is interred in the Sparkman-Hillcrest Memorial Park Cemetery in Dallas, Texas.

Tags: ash, biography, cosmetics, history, mary kay
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Estee Lauder

Tuesday, March 30th, 2010

Beauty pioneer Estee Lauder was born Josephine Esther Mentzer in New York in 1908, and was the youngest child of Hungarian immigrants. Her father ran a hardware store that gave Estee her first experience as a saleswoman, arranging merchandise and window displays. Her uncle, John Schotz, was a chemist who experimented with skin care treatments and was Lauder’s source of inspiration. She helped him sell his homemade products that he created in a laboratory behind the house. Lauder started out at the beauty counter for a salon, and then began her own operations that became successful through her practice of giving out extras with each purchase. She learned this marketing tactic from her father, who gave wrapped hammers and nails for customers each Christmas.

In 1930 Lauder married Joseph Lauder, and the couple went into business together. After incorporating her company in 1946, Lauder ventured into department stores. Her first accomplishment was getting into Saks Fifth Avenue, and the products eventually became a staple at department stores. Lauder opened the counter at each store herself and trained the saleswomen to be professional and stylish.

In 1953, Estee Lauder introduced her first fragrance, Youth Dew, which was a scented bath oil used in bath water instead of the traditional French fashion (behind the ear). This grew Estee Lauder sales volume from $400/week to $5,000/week in 1955. In 1960, Estee Lauder became international, starting with Harrods in London. Lauder kept the secrets of her ingredients within the family. In the factories, a final and secret ingredient was always added to the products by a Lauder.

Lauder had creative marketing tactics, such as slogans for her products i.e. “Start the New Year with a new face.”  She also created the gift with purchase. In 1962, the Estee Lauder woman debuted. The same model was used in every advertisement – Karen Graham, Elizabeth Hurley, and Gwyneth Paltrow have all been Estee Lauder women. Products were packaged in a distinctive color she called ‘Lauder blue’. New brands were started being added to Estee Lauder in 1964: Aramis (1964), Clinique (1968), Prescriptives (1979), and Origins (1990). In the 1990’s, the companies M.A.C., Bobbi Brown, Aveda, Jo Malone, Bumble and Bumble, and Tommy Hilfiger and Donna Karan fragrances were acquired.

In 2004, Estee Lauder passed away at 97 years of age, and was later posthumously awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom, the highest civilian award in the United States.

“Not by dreaming or hoping for it, but by working for it.” – Estee Lauder

Tags: beauty pioneer, biography, cosmetics, Estee Lauder
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NYX Cosmetics Round Lipstick

Friday, March 19th, 2010

With real lipstick making a comeback, we’re putting down our lip glosses and reacquainting ourselves with intense color. We really liked Round Lipstick from NYX Cosmetics. It’s no surprise that it’s their bestseller. It’s a perfect blend that gives moisture but stays in place for the day. It fades nicely as the day goes on, instead of drying out the lips. What we loved the most was the $3.50 price tag. They have a vast selection of colors, so you can build your lip collection in no time.

Tags: cosmetics, nyx, product review, round lipstick
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Helena Rubinstein

Wednesday, February 3rd, 2010

Our love of cosmetics naturally extends to an interest in the pioneers in the industry. Helena Rubinstein is arguably one of the most important women in the modern cosmetic industry to date. With little formal education, she established one of the first mass-produced cosmetics companies. Her innovations included tinted face powder, foundation, hormonal skin creams, a mechanical mascara applicator, and cosmetics for men.

Less commonly known, Rubinstein started out at medical school but discovered she disliked to be around sickness. Rubinstein was born in 1870 in Poland. She moved back and forth between Europe and the States before marrying a Russian nobleman who became an American citizen. In 1900, Rubinstein opened her first beauty salon and sold a cream based on her mother’s formulas in Australia. As her success grew she opened a cosmetic factory outside factory and then began to open salons in the United States in 1915. By improving the quality of her products, she was able to use department stores for distribution. She even insisted that she personally train the sales associates. By 1965, the year of her death, her company employed 32,000 people and sales were $42 million.

One hundred years later, Helena Rubinstein’s cosmetics are still a success. Demi Moore is the current face of the company and products are sold worldwide. For current product information, go to www.helenarubinstein.com.

Tags: cosmetics, Helena Rubinstein, history
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L’Oreal Extra Volume Collagen Mascara

Thursday, January 7th, 2010

Eyeshadows may last forever, but it’s important to always have fresh mascara. We really liked L’Oreals new Extra Volume Collagen Mascara. Although it didn’t do much lengthening, we got a lot of volume. This mascara works by plumping the lashes from the inside out with hydra collagen. The brush is designed to get even your smallest lashes as well. What we liked best about this mascara is that we could keep layering without having to worry about clumping.

Tags: cosmetics, L'Oreal, Mascara, product review, volume
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Revlon Beyond Natural Defining Mascara

Sunday, December 27th, 2009

We’ve found mascara that isn’t so thick that it clumps but doesn’t have so much liquid that it smudges. We liked the Revlon Beyond Natural Defining Mascara creamy formula, because you can layer without clumping. This mascara also has a unique brush so you can actually comb through your lashes. The result is very natural looking; we suggest this product for when you’re going to be outside or for work.

Tags: cosmetics, makeup, Mascara, product review, Revlon
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Maybelline Mineral Power Natural Perfecting Concealer

Saturday, December 26th, 2009

Usually concealers thick enough to cover dark eye circles are creamy and not really appropriate for blemishes. We liked Maybelline Mineral Power Natural Perfecting Concealer because it hid our dark circles completely, but since it’s oil, talc, and fragrance free, we could use it on other imperfections. Now we don’t need two concealers- we can see why this product won beauty awards from Oprah Magazine and Marie Claire.

Tags: Concealer, cosmetics, makeup, Maybelline, Mineral Power, product review
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