ESTÉE Lauder

With her high cheekbones, elegant blonde coif and perennial string of pearls, Estée Lauder exuded old-world, European refinement. Certainly, she moved with ease through the upper echelons of society – whether draped in Christian Dior and kissing Diana Vreeland on the cheek at the Met Gala, hosting a dinner party for Princess Grace of Monaco in her Manhattan townhouse, or sharing a laugh with Princess Diana at a polo match, Lauder “exemplified the American concept of graciousness”, as The New York Times would write. But the public saw what the cosmetics tycoon wanted them to see. A master marketer and savvy businesswoman, she understood image was everything and gave her personal history the same sheen of untouchable sophistication that she promised her customers.

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