Which company did Estée Lauder and Joseph Lauder found in 1946 as a cosmetics business?

Estée Lauder and Joseph Lauder founded Estée Lauder Companies in 1946 as a cosmetics business.

Estée Lauder, born Josephine Esther Mentzer, learned about skin-care products from her uncle John Schotz, a chemist. She and her husband, Joseph Lauder, began the company with four products: cleansing oil, skin lotion, super-rich all-purpose crème and crème pack. They sold the products in beauty salons and department stores.

The company’s early strategy included giving customers demonstrations and samples, a practice that helped build its reputation in department-store cosmetics. Estée Lauder Companies later became a multibrand beauty group, adding names such as Clinique and MAC. The founder’s personal name is often used as if it were the full corporate answer, but the company’s formal name is Estée Lauder Companies.