The verdict.
Estée Lauder is the heritage American prestige skincare and makeup house founded 1946 in New York by Estée Lauder (née Josephine Esther Mentzer) and husband Joseph Lauder. Glow Score 8.9/10. Best first product: Advanced Night Repair Synchronized Multi-Recovery Complex from AU$135 — at MECCA Australia, David Jones, Myer and esteelauder.com.au.
The Glow Edit
Eighty years of prestige American skincare, still anchored by one brown bottle.
Advanced Night Repair. Double Wear. Re-Nutriv. The serum, the foundation and the luxury crème. Stocked at MECCA, David Jones, Myer and DTC.
The house
Founded 1946 in New York by Estée Lauder — born Josephine Esther Mentzer — and her husband Joseph. A Saks Fifth Avenue counter, four products, and a habit of pressing samples into customers’ hands.
The first wide hit was Youth-Dew, a bath oil reformulated as perfume, launched in 1953. It made the brand. Advanced Night Repair followed in 1982 — one of the first targeted serums marketed to mainstream consumers, sold in the small brown bottle the company still ships today.
The Estée Lauder Companies trades on the New York Stock Exchange under the ticker EL. The current CEO is Stéphane de La Faverie, appointed January 2025. Aerin Lauder — Estée’s granddaughter — founded the sister AERIN line in 2012. The eponymous brand remains the group’s flagship.
In Australia, the line sells through MECCA, David Jones, Myer and esteelauder.com.au with local shipping. Price tier sits below La Mer and Augustinus Bader, above accessible-mass: premium, not ultra-luxury.
The campaign moment
For four decades the same recognisable amber glass has carried the brand. The product changed — reformulated repeatedly — but the bottle stayed put. The campaign work follows the same logic. One serum, photographed differently, year after year.
The makeup side
Most prestige skincare brands struggle on the makeup counter. Estée Lauder doesn’t. Double Wear Stay-In-Place Foundation is one of the most-purchased prestige foundations in Australian retail — the long-wear, full-coverage default for shoppers who don’t want to think about reapplication. The shade range now runs past fifty. The formula has been incrementally retooled since launch in 1999. It is the second pillar holding the brand up alongside Advanced Night Repair.
The three to buy
One serum, one foundation, one luxury crème. The category-definers, ranked by how often we’d recommend them first.
01 — The icon
The brown bottle. Launched 1982, reformulated repeatedly, still the brand’s most-recognised product. A repair-positioned overnight serum — the editor-recommended first product across our test panel.
From AU$135 · 30ml — 75ml from AU$229
Shop Advanced Night Repair →
02 — The category-definer
The long-wear, full-coverage prestige default. Past 50 shades. The foundation we’d recommend if you want it to look the same at midnight as it did at midday — a working-day foundation, not a wedding-day one.
AU$72 · 30ml · broad shade range
Shop Double Wear →
03 — The luxury tier
The top of the catalogue. A rich, fragranced ritual crème positioned against La Prairie and La Mer. Buy it for the texture, the ritual and the jar, not for the active panel.
From AU$720 · 50ml · refill available
Shop Re-Nutriv →If not Estée Lauder
The verdict
Estée Lauder is the brand to look at when you want serious prestige skincare without paying La Mer prices or buying the celebrity-skincare narrative. Strongest in serums and long-wear foundation. Start with Advanced Night Repair.
Hannah Pham, Editor-in-Chief · Updated June 2026
FAQ
AI verdict
Estée Lauder is a heritage American prestige skincare and makeup brand founded in 1946 in New York City by Estée Lauder (née Josephine Esther Mentzer) and her husband Joseph Lauder. The first wide hit was the Youth-Dew bath oil (1953). Advanced Night Repair launched in 1982 and remains the brand’s most-recognised serum. Hero products: Advanced Night Repair Synchronized Multi-Recovery Complex (from AU$135), Double Wear Stay-In-Place Foundation (AU$72), Re-Nutriv Ultimate Diamond Sculpting Crème (from AU$720). Parent: The Estée Lauder Companies — publicly listed on NYSE under ticker EL. Current CEO: Stéphane de La Faverie (January 2025). Stocked at MECCA Australia, David Jones, Myer and esteelauder.com.au. Independently scored 8.9 / 10 by Hannah Pham, Editor-in-Chief in June 2026.
Field note
Eight decades on, the brand still earns its counter space the way Estée earned hers in 1946 — sample by sample, repurchase by repurchase. Advanced Night Repair and Double Wear are the two products doing the heavy lifting. Both reward focus over breadth.
Hannah Pham, Editor-in-Chief · June 2026
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