Estée Lauder is without doubt one of the absolute giants in the world of skincare, beauty, and fragrances.
The brand has been hitting beauty news headlines around the world in recent months after announcing Kendall Jenner (little sister to Kim Kardashian ) is to be the face of its newest eye make-up product – Little Black Primer.
But many younger fans of Estée Lauder’s products might not be aware that the brand actually started off as a small one-woman business in 1946 when the young daughter of an emigrant Hungarian in New York displayed an interest, and an extraordinary skill, for the art of cosmetology.
Then known as Josephine Esther Mentzer, the beauty entrepreneur showed a huge interest in the face creams whisked up by her chemist uncle. This, combined with her unwavering belief that all women could achieve great looking skin with the right level of care and a little bit of help from her beauty potions, helped Estée go on to, quite literally, make history.
Over the ensuing decades she became one of America’s richest self-made women and revolutionised the skincare, beauty, and fragrance industry in the process.
Almost 70 years on and Estée Lauder is still one of the world’s most successful skincare and beauty brands. The company’s enduring place at the top echelon in the cosmetics industry is not by luck or through the tricks of clever marketers (although Estée herself is still today an early shining example of how to market a brand successfully ).
Estée Lauder stayed at the absolute forefront of the industry because the brand and its products have become synonymous with innovation, luxury, and style.
Close to home
For many years, women in the west of Ireland who wanted to get their hands on Estée Lauder’s products would have to travel to Galway or Dublin. However, these days, Estée Lauder is available much closer to home, at Staunton’s Pharmacy, Main Street, Castlebar – the only Mayo agent for Estée Lauder.
Nuala Gibbons has worked as an Estée Lauder consultant for more than 20 years and knows the brand’s products, and more importantly, how and why they work for each individual’s skin type and tone, inside out.
When I paid a visit to Nuala Gibbons recently for a little skin TLC and make-up demonstration, she outlined why she thinks Estée Lauder’s products are still as enduringly popular and relevant today with women the world over as they were to the women in 1940s America.
“It is all about the ingredients of the products,” explained Nuala. “Most women today realise, especially when we reach our thirties and onwards, that you have to look after your skin. Everyone actually has beautiful skin. It is just about finding the right products that work for you.”
Estée Lauder has long held a reputation for innovation. One of its products alone, Advanced Night Repair Serum, has 21 patents on the science behind the cream.
“You just will not find any other product that can do what this serum can do,” said Ms Gibbons. “It is for every woman, of every age.”
Regime
Its big selling point is that it locks in moisture so your skin can absorb all of the active ingredients in your night cream while you sleep – one of the best times for the skin to be nourished and repaired, according to Ms Gibbons, because unlike the daytime, the skin is not facing any other challenges such as the environment, stress, or pollution and can just work on itself for a few hours.
The Estée Lauder counter at Staunton’s is really a one-stop-shop for all things skin, beauty, and fragrance related.
The great thing about browsing the counter in Staunton’s is that the Estée Lauder consultants are genuinely passionate about their brand and how it can help women get real results from a skincare regime.
For Nuala Gibbons, the top three priorities for any woman should be an effective night cream/serum (for reasons above ); a quality eye-cream; and a good foundation.
One of Estée Lauder’s most popular products, Double Wear Foundation, is available in a vast array of shades to suit all skin types.
Nuala Gibbons performs a shade compatibility test on me which picks out my skin tone and whether I have pink or yellow notes and finds the right foundation to match.
“Once you find a good foundation, you can stick with it for day and night wear,” she explained. Estée Lauder has also launched a Double Wear BB cream, which is a lighter version of the foundation with a high SPF protection – perfect for women who do not want anything too heavy on their face and ideal for summer holidaying.
The tips and advice I pick up at the counter in Staunton’s during my consultation are endless. I will certainly be paying a visit again as the products are just what you would expect from a top cosmetics brand – luxurious and fabulous.
What is more, it is great to have access to top brands like Estée Lauder right on our doorsteps instead of the hassle of having to travel to get them and it is always good to have the option to buy local whenever we can.
