The Inspiring Success Story of Helena Rubinstein

Helen Rubinstein was a Polish-born American businesswoman who founded the Helena Rubinstein, Inc. Her cosmetics business was the source of her fortunes and made her as one of the richest women in the world during her time.

Rubinstein was born as Chaja Rubinstein on December 25, 1870. She left Poland in 1902 to emigrate to Australia. She had no money, and she knew only a little English. However, she used her milky complexion and fashion style to sell the jars of beauty cream she brought from Poland. Convinced of the potential of the market, Rubinstein decided to produce her own products.

Western Victoria is home to 75 million sheep. Huge quantities of grease (chemically known as lanolin) are secreted as wool is produced. Lanolin was the primary ingredient of Rubinstein’s products. She experimented using pine bark, water lilies and lavender to remove the pungent odor of lanolin.

In just a short time, Rubinstein launched her Crème Valaze as she opened a salon in Collins Street. She expanded to Sydney and in five years, she used her profits to open Salon de Beauté Valaze in London. Rubinstein was recognized as one of the firsts to establish a cosmetics company. As her company grew, she was known as a regular contributor to charities that support health and education.