THE POWDER & THE GLORY

THURSDAY, MARCH 25 @ 8:00PM

They were in the cosmetic industry, but they were more than that. They were giants of industry. They created an industry. It just so happened it was in the world of powder and paint.
—Shirley Lord, Senior Editor, Vogue

The Powder & the Glory, a 90-minute documentary narrated by Jane Alexander, tells the story of two of the first highly successful women entrepreneurs — Elizabeth Arden and Helena Rubinstein. One hundred years ago these women immigrated to America and, starting with next to nothing, created what is today the $150 billion global health and beauty industry.

Operating in major cities all over the world, their competing companies defined the business of beauty, making cosmetics both newly respectable and, finally, indispensable. They developed advertising and marketing techniques that became part of the business landscape, and they themselves became household names and cultural icons. When they started their businesses, makeup was used mostly by prostitutes and performers, and businesses were run mostly by men. They changed the way we look at ourselves, built powerful businesses, and became two of the world’s wealthiest women.
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