Forward-looking women
Walker, Arden, Brown pioneers in beauty products
We march further into Women’s History Month this week; in my last column, we gave props and love to three incredible ladies who changed our lives in the world of fashion: Coco Chanel, Diane von Fürstenberg and Stella McCartney. They each threw down the gauntlet with waves of dressing that revolutionized women’s comfort, ability to move, the sustainability of the materials we wear and our general level of chic.
This week we’re going to do the same for the beauty industry, with a look at three ladies in history who have made similar strides. Madam C. J. Walker
Think Mary Kay before Mary Kay. The first female self-made millionaire in America and a pioneer in the world of beauty, Walker developed and marketed products for black women in the 1900s. At first selling her hair and beauty items door-to-door, she at the same time trained women with grooming tips, product use and hair styling, and went on to open a company that housed a factory, a salon, beauty school and also a training program to teach employees to sell more products. This was all during an era when women — black women in particular — faced an uphill battle in creating any kind of career or succeeding in business.
Elizabeth Arden
Suffice it to say, there would be no such thing as a “makeover” if Arden hadn’t existed. She literally invented the concept — and marketed it to millions. The plucky makeup enthusiast was born in Canada in 1884, and opened her first salon in New York City in 1910. She traveled back and forth to Paris, gathering product ideas for her cosmetics company that embraced makeup for women of all classes — before her, it hadn’t been considered “respectable” for the upper class to wear any — and sold her products worldwide. By 1929, she had 150 salons in the U.S. and Europe, with products sold in 22 countries. Today the Elizabeth Arden brand is still in operation, and Arden’s impact on the industry lives on in how we view the transformative power of makeup.
Bobbi Brown
It’s tough to think of someone who has changed and influenced our modern aesthetic more than Brown, who began her career as a makeup artist in New York City. In contrast to the harsh, bright colors of the 1980s and the dramatically “made up” visages of eras past, she advocated for more natural looks that enhanced a woman’s innate beauty. She became incredibly popular for her tips and techniques that embodied that approach, and her makeup line that followed has become one of the bestknown in modern beauty. Her message is one of empowerment for women — that makeup is a tool for celebrating your individual beauty and self-expression.