S'appuyant sur plus de 25 ans d'expérience dans les relations publiques internationales de la mode, Lindy Woodhead apporte une perspective unique à son écriture. Après une carrière marquante, notamment en tant que première femme membre du conseil d'administration de Harvey Nichols, elle s'est consacrée à ses projets littéraires. Son travail explore souvent les récits de vie captivants de personnalités influentes, analysant leurs ambitions et leur impact. Woodhead est une contributrice respectée à des publications majeures, reconnue pour son analyse pointue et son style narratif engageant.
"War Paint" explores the lives and rivalry of beauty industry pioneers Miss Elizabeth Arden and Madame Helena Rubinstein, delving into their personal stories and the cultural impact they had on the cosmetics world during their era.
From the author of MR SELFRIDGE, the glittering story of two remarkable women - Miss Elizabeth Arden and Madame Helena Rubinstein - and their legacy which touches the lives of virtually all women today: the creation of the modern cosmetics and beauty industry.
Miss Elizabeth Arden and Madame Helena Rubinstein : Their Lives, Their Times, Their Rivalry
War Paint is the story of two remarkable women - Miss Elizabeth Arden and Madame Helena Rubinstein. Between them they left an extraordinary legacy which touches the lives of virtually all women today: the creation of the modern cosmetics and beauty industry. War Paint will trace the humble beginnings of both Arden and Rubinstein and examine the forces and influences that drove them. The book will also look at the period in which they lived, without which their phenomenal achievement cannot be truly appreciated. The similarities between the two are intriguing: dedicated to beauty, neither were great beauties themselves. They were both diminutive in size, if not in the size of their ego. They were both born into genteel poverty and were motivated by money and the creation of their businesses, to the exclusion of almost everything else. They were both avid social climbers and desperately thrifty. They also hated each other. This is the story of an industry, of a social movement and of a great rivalry. Gripping, glamorous and totally absorbing, this is social history at its best.
The men who created the first department stores€”what Zola called "great cathedrals of shopping"€”made vast fortunes, but no one understood how shopping could become sexy as well as Mr. Selfridge. In 1909, his department store€”London€™s first and built from scratch€”opened in a glorious burst of publicity, spearheaded by the largest advertising campaign ever mounted in the British press. In his eponymous store, Harry Gordon Selfridge created nothing less than "the theater of retail." His personal life was just as flamboyant€”one of mistresses and mansions, racehorses and yachts. In this revealing narrative, author Lindy Woodhead tells the extraordinary story of a revolution in shopping, depicts the rise and fall of a retail prince, and unravels a slice of social history that will surprise and entertain any woman who loves to shop.
Londres, 1840. Au moment où l'aristocratie commence à être concurrencée par une classe émergente d'entrepreneurs nouveaux riches, Belgravia nous entraîne dans un monde en pleine révolution. Mais l'histoire commence la veille de la bataille de Waterloo en 1815, au bal devenu légendaire de la duchesse de Richmond à Bruxelles. Anne et James Trenchard et leur fille Sophia ont été invités par Lord Bellasis, le soupirant de la jeune fille. Une invitation déplacée pour une famille qui n'appartient pas à l'aristocratie.Vingt cinq ans plus tard, James Trenchard a fait fortune en participant à la construction des nouveaux quartiers chics londoniens. Lord Bellasis est tombé au combat et Sophia est morte quelques mois après.Mais un grave secret de famille pèse sur les Trenchard : un enfant est né et donné en adoption.Anne va-t-elle à la révéler cette filiation à la mère de Lord Bellasis au risque de détruire la réputation de la famille ?On retrouve dans ce roman tout le charme « austinien » de Julian Fellowes : amours contrariées, intrigues de classes sociales, sans oublier l'importance des domestiques. Humour et romanesque garantis ! Traduit de l'anglais par Valérie Rosier et Carole Delporte