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Elizabeth Arden (December 31, 1881 – October 18, 1966), also known as Elizabeth N. Graham, was a Canadian-American businesswoman who founded what is now Elizabeth Arden, Inc., and built a cosmetics empire in the United States.
After dropping out of nursing school in Toronto, she joined her elder brother in Manhattan, working briefly as a bookkeeper for the E. R. Squibb pharmaceutical company. While there, Arden spent hours in their lab, learning about skincare. She then worked for Eleanor Adair, an early beauty culturist, as a "treatment girl".
Arden was allegedly a dedicated suffragette, and there is a story that she marched for women's rights in 1912. It is a popular fiction that she supplied the marchers with red lipstick as a sign of solidarity, but there is little contemporary evidence supporting this. Women taking part in the 1912 march were advised to wear the same $7 straw hat, wear white, and to bring their children, to demonstrate their responsibility and simplicity. The use of cosmetics was never mentioned, which is hardly surprising: bold red lipstick still had tawdry associations with the theatre. Even as late as 1920 Arden herself was dismissive of "powder and rouge ... so obvious in their artifice that their use was considered in questionable taste".
In 1912, Arden traveled to France to learn beauty and facial massage techniques used in the Parisian . She returned with a collection of rouges and tinted powders that she had created. She began expanding her international operations in 1915 and started opening salons across the world. In 1934, she opened the Maine Chance residential spa in Rome, Maine, the first destination beauty spa in the United States. It operated until 1970.
Arden was largely responsible for establishing makeup as proper and appropriate, even necessary, for a ladylike image; previously makeup had often been associated with lower classes and prostitutes. She targeted middle-aged and plain women for whom beauty products promised a youthful, beautiful image. In her salons and through her marketing campaigns, she stressed teaching women how to apply makeup and pioneered such concepts as scientific formulation of cosmetics, beauty makeovers, and coordinating colors of eye, lip and facial makeup.
In 1962, the French government awarded Arden the Légion d'Honneur, in recognition of her contribution to the cosmetics industry.
Arden died at Lenox Hill Hospital in Manhattan on October 18, 1966. She was interred in the Sleepy Hollow Cemetery in Sleepy Hollow, New York, under the name Elizabeth N. Graham.
The comedy Lip Service by the Australian dramatist John Misto chronicles the life and career of Helena Rubinstein and her rivalry with Elizabeth Arden and Revlon. Lip Service premiered April 26, 2017, at the Park Theatre in London, under the title Madame Rubinstein, Madame Rubinstein by John Misto, thesoandsoartsclub.com. Retrieved 2 December 2021. before opening at Sydney's Ensemble Theatre in August of the same year.
Elizabeth Arden, as student nurse Florence Nightingale Graham, appeared in an episode of the CBC Television period drama Murdoch Mysteries (October 1, 2018), portrayed by Kathryn Alexandre.
A contract dispute that Arden faced with a former employee led the 1953 court case Crabtree v. Elizabeth Arden Sales Corp, which is now considered a seminal case on the application of the statute of frauds. Most law schools include this case in their required contract law course. (It is curious that "Graham's" love interest in the Murdoch Mysteries was named "Crabtree".)
Career
In 1909, Arden formed a partnership with Elizabeth Hubbard, another culturist. The business relationship dissolved in 1910. Wanting to have a trade name, she used "Elizabeth" to save money on her salon signs. She chose the last name, "Arden", from a nearby farm. Thus the trade name "Elizabeth Arden" was formed. From there, Arden founded the Red Door salon in New York in 1910, which has remained synonymous with her name ever since (see under Elizabeth Arden, Inc.).
Horse racing
Arden was involved in the sport of Thoroughbred racing for many years. Her stable, Maine Chance Farm (named for her spa), owned – among other stakes race winners – the 1947 Kentucky Derby winner, Jet Pilot.
Personal life and death
Arden was married to Thomas Jenkins Lewis and to Prince Michael Evlanov. Both times, she divorced them.
In popular culture
The musical War Paint dramatizes her rivalry with competitor Helena Rubinstein. After a successful tryout at Chicago's Goodman Theater, the show opened on Broadway at the Nederlander Theatre on April 6, 2017, earning four Tony Award nominations, including Best Actress in a Leading Role for Christine Ebersole's portrayal of Arden, as well as for Patti Lupone for her role as Rubinstein. and closed on November 5, 2017.
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Categories: 1881 Births, 1966 Deaths, 20th-century American Businesswomen, 20th-century American Sportswomen, 20th-century Canadian Businesswomen, 20th-century Canadian Sportswomen, American Businesspeople In Retailing, American Businesspeople In The Cosmetics Industry, American People Of Cornish Descent, American Racehorse Owners And Breeders, American Recipients Of The Legion Of Honour, American Women Chief Executives, American Women Company Founders, Burials At Sleepy Hollow Cemetery, Businesspeople From Manhattan, Businesspeople From Ontario, Canadian Businesspeople In Retailing, Canadian Emigrants To The United States, Canadian Horse Racing Hall Of Fame Inductees, Canadian People Of Cornish Descent, Canadian People Of English Descent, Canadian People Of Scottish Descent, Canadian Racehorse Owners And Breeders, Canadian Women Chief Executives, Canadian Women Company Founders, History Of Cosmetics, Sportspeople From Manhattan, Sportspeople From Vaughan, Women Sports Owners, Canadian Recipients Of The Legion Of Honour
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