The Man Who Made Beauty Make Sense
What Leonard Lauder taught me about storytelling, founder-led brands, and what it means to build something that lasts.
“We are the authors of our future. Dream Big.” - Leonard Lauder
It was January 2021. Some phase of COVID. Quarantine, for sure, though I’ve lost track of exactly which one.
My boyfriend at the time gave me The Company I Keep, Leonard Lauder’s memoir, in a quiet effort to motivate me. HARITES had been sitting there just an idea, a name, a maybe for three years. I had been circling it, unsure whether to move forward. To create or not? I blamed myself, silently, for what felt like a failure. I was lost, professionally and personally.
Then I started reading. And something shifted.
Lauder’s story wasn’t just a business memoir; it was a manifesto on creativity, clarity, and vision. He wrote:
“I would demonstrate that applying makeup wasn’t a mystical, time-consuming process but one that should be as automatic and quick as breathing.”
That one sentence changed something in me. I realized that beauty didn’t have to be complicated. It could be essential. Effortless.
That’s where the seed of HARITES truly took root a brand built to evolve with you, as easy and dependable as a white T-shirt.
The memoir follows Estée Lauder’s legacy through Leonard’s lens, the evolution of both a person and a brand. He was a master of vision, an aesthete, a feminist, and an extraordinary leader. From the birth of Clinique to the creation of MAC, his instinct was to trust people deeply gifted in their craft.
One story stuck with me: He brought Carol Phillips, then beauty editor at Vogue, into Clinique a bold move that led to one of beauty’s most iconic campaigns, photographed by Irving Penn. It wasn’t just a business decision. It was a moment of creative trust that changed everything.
Leonard taught me:
“Being small doesn’t mean thinking small.”
That line became a quiet mantra. HARITES was tiny and still is, in the vast, competitive world of beauty. But I knew I had to think differently. He believed in communities of creators, collaborators who together shape something larger than themselves. Maybe that’s why I’ve always gravitated toward the idea that brands are shaped by clusters of different people, evolving in rhythm with time.
He was also a pioneer of “purchase with purpose,” launching MAC’s AIDS fund before corporate social impact was a trend. And, in my opinion, he was one of the first influencers of our time long before the term existed.
Looking back at my notes from 2021, I realize just how much he accompanied me in that period of doubt. His words gave me patience. And permission.
Four years later, as I mark the second year of my brand in motion, I think it’s time I re-read his story.
In the end, his legacy isn’t just about products or campaigns it’s a blueprint for what it means to build something that lasts.
If you’re building something or simply looking for inspiration The Company I Keep offers a rare mix of warmth, wit, and wisdom. It’s not just a book about business. It’s about how vision, values, and vulnerability come together.
