Estée Lauder Companies

American cosmetics house, a leader in luxury products for facial treatments, perfumes, and make-up. It is named after the woman who founded it in 1946 with her husband Joseph. A woman of great intuition, with an innate sense of refinement and quality, she was often ahead of her time, introducing new theories and innovative beauty products. When her cosmetics appeared at Sacks in New York, she invented the idea of offering gift-samples to clients with each purchase. Then came the first seasonal make-up collections. In 1952, she launched a bath line inspired by the fragrance Youth Dew. Today, the group has production plants all over the world and about 10,000 employees. It is present in 127 countries with many different brands, some its own, and some acquired. Proprietary brands include Estée Lauder, Aramis, Clinique, Prescriptives, and Origins. The acquired brands include M.A.C, Bobby Brown, Essentials, Tommy Hilfiger, Kiton, Donna Karan, and Aveda.
Bobby Brown, a make-up company acquired some years earlier, is launched in Italy.
The acquisition of Darphin, a company specialized in aroma-therapeutic crèmes, and of Michael Kors Perfumes, absorbed by the Aramis and Designer Fragrances division.
Tom Ford, the former creative force at Gucci, returns to center stage, signing an agreement with Estée Lauder for the production and distribution of fragrances and a cosmetics line under his name.
A license agreement with Missoni perfumes. The first woman’s fragrance for 2006 is announced. The company signs a contract with Gwyneth Paltrow, who becomes the spokesperson for the griffe‘s make-up and fragrances, among which is the historic perfume Pleasures.