Aerin Lauder: Heiress To Style

Aerin Lauder draws on the taste and talents of her famous grandmother to design for the modern woman

- Alyssa Hertzig

FOR MANY WOMEN, BEAUTY CAN feel like a full-time job. For Aerin Lauder, it’s actually the family business. As the granddaughter of cosmetics pioneer Estée Lauder and daughter of Clinique chairman Ronald Lauder, she grew up in the heart of the famed lipstick-and-moisturizer dynasty, joining the company officially at the age of 22.

These days, her corporate title is style and image director for Estée Lauder, which couldn’t be more fitting. The 46-year-old mother of two has long been a powerful symbol of New York glamour. Impeccable wardrobe and accessories? Check. Jet-setting travels? Of course. And let’s not forget her exquisitely decorated homes in the Hamptons and Aspen and on Manhattan’s Upper East Side, and an office so elegant—it was designed by renowned decorator Jacques Grange— that it was published in Architectural Digest.

In 2012, Lauder followed in the steps of her entrepreneurial grandmother, launching her own namesake beauty line, Aerin. “Our goal was to create an edited collection of beauty products—the essentials—and make those products effortless, luxurious and feminine,” she says. The line soon grew to contain accessories for the home (think shagreen trays, weighty frames, gold vases—the world’s chicest hostess gifts). And, this fall, it will expand again with the addition of beautifully crafted leather and suede bags and shoes.

We caught up with the cosmetics scion to talk inspiration, travel and living a beautiful life.

You’ve been involved in the Estée Lauder brands your entire adult life—what made you want to launch your own line?