Helena Rubinstein

​How not to speak of this woman who created my obsession for this word: empire!
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A few years ago, when I was developing a personal business project, it was Helena's journey that inspired me and made me want more. The executive summary of my business started with this introduction:

Helena Rubinstein moved from Poland to Australia in 1896, with no money and little English.

Her first cream was named Crème Valaze, a French name to evocate Paris, symbol of luxury and elegance and sold to the rich women living in Melbourne, and then after Sydney, London, New York…

She was a pioneer in cosmetics industry and she became one of the world’s richest women by creating the eponym company Helena Rubinstein Incorporated.

Moreover, she understood better than anyone the importance of marketing and how to satisfy the customers ’needs, and that’s why at her death in 1965, her Empire was estimated at US $ 60 million and it is still flourishing today.

​Today, thanks to the magnificent exhibition "The Adventure of Beauty" which took place in Paris in 2019 at the MAJH, I’ll make you discover her story and why she's a great source of inspiration for me.
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Believe me Helena Rubinstein is a woman to know…

A complex and determined woman, she’s undoubtedly one of the pioneers of feminism.
 
Born Chaja Rubinstein in Cracow (Poland) in 1872 in a modest Jewish family, she refused an arranged marriage and the life they wanted to impose on her. In 1896, at the age of 24, she took the boat alone for Australia.
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In 1902, she created her first Valaze face cream, and a year later opened her first beauty salon in Melbourne (Australia).

Passionate about fashion, she dressed in Chanel, Poiret, Worth, Dior, Balanciaga, Rodriguez, essential according to her as an ambassador of a beauty brand.

Collecting art from 1908, she was friends with the greatest artists: Chagall, Dali, Picasso, Marcoussis…

An exhibition with her collection of African art is currently in Paris at the Musée du Quai Branly-Jacques Chirac till June 28, 2020. I put a video at the end of the article for you (sorry it's in French but you can enjoy the images).
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She also contributed to many museums and was also the model of many works of art.

In 1914, she left Europe to open her first beauty salon in New York. She therefore collaborated with the greatest architects, interior designers and artists.

All her life, art was an important part of her creativity.
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Famous names were in charge of her salons, shops, adverts but also of her residences.

With great attention to detail and innovative, she never stopped inventing, among other things, she’s responsible for the classification of skin (dry, normal and oily), sunscreen, mascara in a tube and beauty salons...

Between 1915 and 1918, her business expanded in the United States with the opening of a factory and the first school of beauticians.

In 1939, thanks to the collaboration with the inventor of the first waterproof mascara, Helena created the event by organising a nautical ballet to introduce the product. Huge success.

A year later, this is the opening of a male beauty salon in New York!

​For Helena, beauty was a weapon in the fight to make women equal to men. By feeling beautiful in her body, a woman gains self-confidence, she feels bold and becomes emancipated.

 "Beauty is nothing without taking care of the body." Helena Rubinstein

Taking care of the body, so obvious for her, not only facials, but also massages, dietetics, breathing and physical exercise. She even created her own gym class “Rubinstein Rhythmics”.

Science serving beauty, essential to innovate, be credible and listened to, she visited her factories in white coat.

Above all, she understood how to use the image in the service of business: marketing!

But Helena was also a philanthropist, in addition to Art, in 1953, she created a foundation for the education of disadvantaged girls.

She loved beautiful things, fashion, jewellery, art and science.

She travelled a lot, set up her salons and left her legacy in Melbourne, Sydney, Vienna, Paris, New York, London, Tel Aviv ... A citizen of the world, a superwoman.

Married, mother of two, divorced and remarried to a man 23 years younger, she didn’t forget to be a woman behind the business woman. She died in New York at the age of 93.

The Helena Rubinstein brand was officially created in 1920. 100 years old this year!
Had the young Chaja ever imagined such an adventure and such a heritage?

We can only respect her audacity, her decadence and her perseverance!

Read again my other articles from the Superwomen Series.
 
I don't have an empire yet, but I'm working on it more than ever, and My Solo Wedding in Santorini will certainly leave my mark in the memory of many people.
 
 
Good week everyone, take care of yourself!
 
Love & Beauty,
L.