WAR PAINT Author Lindy Woodhead Tells More of Where the Cosmetic Titans Duelled

In the most recent issue of The New Yorker, readers get more insight of the story behind War Paint straight from the author herself, former fashion publicist Lindy Woodhead. Woodhead brings The New Yorker on a journey to revisit where beauty queens of Helena Rubenstein and Elizabeth Arden duelled, from their first homes to the funeral chapel. Rubenstein passed away in 1965, and Arden passed 18 months later. Woodhead mentions that, "For once, Elizabeth was happy to come in second."

Rubenstein and Arden fought like felines and avoided crossing paths, even though they lived and worked very close to one another. Woodhead recalls Arden being chauffeured to and from work, while Rubenstein chose to walk, never passing up a weight-loss opportunity.

Both immigrating from humble beginnings and having a genius for branding, the two powerhouses count as pioneering feminism. But ambition came with sacrifice. Woodhead mentions that the women's ambitions sabotaged their domestic lives, saying "I think they were pretty sexless... [Elizabeth] hated to be touched." In their early days, Woodhead mentions both facing snobbery. When Rubenstein first applied for a lease, she was turned down because she was Jewish. In Arden's early career, she was considered "trade" when she started as a beauty parlor cashier. But both rose to the top and overcame the snobbery; Ruberstein bought that same house she was turned away from, and Arden bought a duplex on Fifth Avenue below Laurance Rockefeller.

Illustration by Tom Bachtell