Born in Krakow to a family of working class orthodox jews in 1872, she was expected to marry a rich widow and live out a modest life as a housewife. But Helena Rubinstein would choose her own destiny. At the age of 24 she emigrated to Australia, alone, with 12 vials of skin cream from her mother, a recipe blended by a pharmacist, tucked into her luggage. In Melbourne, local women were transfixed with the secret of her radiant complexion. Rubinstein sensed an opportunity, and with the help of a pharmacist, created Valaze, meaning “a gift from heaven” in Hungarian. It was the first beauty cream, and an overnight sensation.

This was the first of several business decisions, which would make Rubinstein one of the first female entrepreneurs. It also confirmed her intuition that science was the key to unlocking the compelling powers of beauty, and she would go on to work with some of the world’s leading medical experts in the creation of her skin care empire. Never restraining her thirst for knowledge and scientific discovery, she blazed a trail of innovation which the house continues to this day. The first waterproof mascara; the definition of the three skin types; an understanding of the impact of nutrition on the skin; the first beauty salon.

Visionary in the arts as she was in skincare, Helena Rubinstein understood beauty instinctively and from the heart, to her beauty was more than appearance. Beauty was power. It was freedom to be yourself. She wanted to give all women the tools to take back control. This was her true life’s work. Along the way, she defined the beauty industry as we know it.