Helena Rubinstein was born in 1870 in Krakow, Poland. She was the oldest of eight girls. Helena’s mother thought that beauty was very important. She used a special skin cream that a Hungarian chemist made for her. Helena’s mother made all of her daughters uses it too.
Helena’s father wanted her to be a doctor. But she hated medicine and left school. Her father was very angry. Then he wanted her to get married, but she refused. In 1902, she went to Melbourne, Australia, to live with a cousin and an uncle. She took only her clothes and 12 jars of the face cream.
Helena didn’t speak English. She had no money and no plans. After she arrived, everyone noticed her beautiful skin. In Australia the hot, dry weather is very bad for the skin. When she told some of the women about the face cream, they all wanted some. Helena sold them her cream and then ordered more.
Helena borrowed $1,500 and opened a shop to sell the cream. She worked 18 hours a day, seven days a week. She lived simply and saved all of her profits. She also learned how to make different kinds of creams and showed women how to take care of their skin. It was the first shop of this kind in the world.
In less than two years, Rubinstein had paid back her loan and saved $50,000. She made more and more money every year.
All this time, she thought only of work and success. A newspaper reporter named Edward Titus was in love with her. But she was not interested in him. She left Australia and went to Europe to learn more about the science of beauty.
In 1908, Rubinstein decided to open a shop in London. Everyone told her she was crazy because English women didn’t use beauty products. But she didn’t listen. Her shop was a big success. Meanwhile, Titus went to London and convinced her to marry him. In 1909, they had a son. Two years later, she moved her family to Paris and opened another shop. In 1912, they had another son.
Helena Rubinstein wasn’t a very good wife or mother. Her work was the most important thing to her, and she dreamed only of expanding her business. She wanted everyone to be like her, especially the people who worked for her. She paid them very little money and they worked very hard. But Rubinstein was never satisfied. She always thought they should do more.
In 1915, Rubinstein moved her family to the United States. She wanted to open a shop in New York City. Again, people told her it was foolish. At that time, respectable American women didn’t wear lipstick or makeup. Again, Rubinstein knew better. By 1917, she had seven shops in the United States and one in Canada. In addition, thousands of shops and department stores sold her products. She was a great success. People called her “the beauty queen.” Strangely, she never followed her own beauty advice because she never had time!
Rubinstein was a workaholic. She never stopped working, and she ignored her family.
