Can we tell you how very, very sad we are to hear that Evelyn Lauder has passed away...?
She is one of our all-time beauty heroes. It may have been her mother-in-law's name on the Estée Lauder packaging, but Evelyn - wife of Estée's son Leonard - played a hugely influential role within the Lauder empire, from dreaming up the name 'Clinique' to having a say on just about every fragrance and skincare product launched. (When we'd visit her office, she'd get us to dip, dab and spritz and tell her what we thought of new creations. Such fun!)
What's more, Evelyn came up with the idea for Pink Ribbon Week, to promote breast cancer awareness, which has become one of the beauty world's all-time phenomenons.
A more gracious woman it's hard to imagine. Despite her hectic schedule (she once told Jo she and Leonard had eaten at home on Fifth Avenue about five times in the last decade, because every night was a business dinner), Evelyn never failed to drop a hand-written line to thank us for something we'd written, or a book we'd sent. When we think we're too darned frantic to dash off a thank-you letter, we always think of Evelyn - and reach for that fountain pen.
She had that knack of making everyone - family, co-workers, beauty editors - feel special.
And did we add that she was a spectacular photographer, too? As she once told us, 'It's the single thing in my life that gives me the most creative satisfaction.' You can see a blog posting here that we did about 'The Beauties', Evelyn's collection of vintage ceramic lady head vases, or see more of her exquisite photographs here, on her website.
The (pink) lights in beautyland are a little dimmer, today. We'll really, really miss you, Evelyn.
www.evelynlauder.com
