The 'richest little woman in the world'

Originally named Florence Nightingale Graham, Elizabeth Arden was born in 1878 in a small town in Ontario, Canada called Woodbridge. From a young age, Arden showed the entrepreneurial spirit by declaring to her parents that she wanted to be, “The richest little woman in the world” when she grew up, she just didn’t know how to at that point in her life. Arden then suffered a devastating loss when her mother died when she was 6 from tuberculosis. She continued to live in Woodbridge with her father and siblings until she moved to Toronto to study nursing, inspired by her iconic given name.

From Nursing to Beauty

After a short stint in nursing school, she moved back home after deciding that a career in health care was not for her, but she was more interested in skin care and beauty. She began to experiment with developing a face cream in her kitchen, but after a while was forced to get a job by her father. She worked as a receptionist and bank teller before she decided to move to New York in search of her big break in the beauty business.

Arden (who was still going by her given names) eventually found a job as a low-paid cashier in a skin treatment parlor. After begging her boss to let her learn how to do beauty treatments (with no extra pay), Arden developed an excellent reputation with the clientele for her beauty and selling skills and was soon able to partner with her boss to open her own beauty parlor.

The Beginning of Elizabeth Arden

She named her salon “Mrs. Elizabeth Arden” and quickly took this name as her new persona. She decorated her salon with regal furnishings and antique treasures and quickly developed a following with the New York elite.

From there, Arden developed a whole line of cosmetics and beauty treatments that were marketed to the women of New York, at first by mail order and then through her beauty parlor. This was groundbreaking, as cosmetics use for everyday was considered “low class” and reserved for prostitutes at that time. However, Elizabeth Arden managed to bring cosmetics mainstream and successfully created an empire by selling to middle and upper class women to help them look younger and more professional.

The Empire of Elizabeth Arden

Even throughout the Great Depression, Arden managed to expand her business and continue to enjoy profits and success. Her face care and cosmetics lines were constantly evolving and she even created a best-selling perfume Blue Grass. Other popular perfumes created since have been Red Door, 5th Avenue, Sunflowers and Green Tea. Her empire spread throughout Europe and is now a name that is recognized worldwide.