She watches over the fragrance end—it’s a major part of our business, and there she reigns supreme. Even though she oversees it as an individual, all the names we have on the fragrances relate to us as a couple: Sensuous. Intuition. Beautiful. Pleasures. All those names are names that have sprung, in truth, from our relationship. We did, on occasion, collaborate: I’d walk by her office and she’d say, “Come on in here,” and there would be an arm with three or four little marks on it and she’d say, “Sniff this,” and whatever I’d sniff was terrific.
— From Chemical Attraction, a profile of Evelyn and Leonard Lauder at the Wall Street Journal. Also see Judith Jamison, in which the dancer talks about smells (including her favorite perfume). Many thanks to Anna for the links!
What a wonderful article! My thanks, also – Anna.
I remembered when my brother graduated from U.Penn in ’84 and my family sat in the nosebleed section of the sports stadium, one of the recipients of an honorary Doctorate degree that year was Evelyn Lauder. I thought it was funny at the time that the head of a (granted – a major US) cosmetics company would be recognized with such an honor. Looking back now, I think it was such a privilege to have witnessed the award. What an empire they’ve built, and the millions of women they have helped made to feel beautiful.
A very sweet article — if I worked with my husband, we’d kill each other!
Oops! That’s ’86. ’84 was mine.
Enjoyed the link…thanks, Robin. (And Anna.) The Neue Gallery in NYC exists because of them; a lovely place which I recently had the pleasure of visiting, and a wonderful legacy through which their obvious love of art can be shared with many others.
Nice
I love that that “Leonard lent her a book and then would call her to ask if she had finished reading it. She would tell him she hadn’t to ensure he would call again.” She’s what they used to call a smart cookie!
It’s nice to read about people who are so rich and happy and feel they deserve it.
Yes, isn’t that a nice “how we met” story?
I like the “how we stay in love” story even better.