Fifth Avenue glamour girl

Average Rating

Author

Rosen, Ren�ee

Publisher

Varies, see individual formats and editions

Publication Date

2023.

Language

English

Description

"A young woman gets pulled into Estâee Lauder's enigmatic orbit as the future cosmetic icon prepares to take the world by storm. From the USA Today bestselling author of The Social Graces and Park Avenue Summer comes a story of friendship, glitz, and glamour in 1940s New York. New York City, 1938. Gloria Downing is done with lies. Eager to distance herself from a family scandal, what she needs is a total makeover and a friend she can lean on--and into her path walks a young, idealistic woman named EstâeeLauder. The chance encounter changes Gloria's life, giving her the fresh start she seeks. But Estâee has enormous dreams and is determined to become a success. Before Gloria knows it, she is swept up in her new friend's mission to become a household namelike Elizabeth Arden, Helena Rubinstein, and Revlon. While Estâee rolls up her sleeves, Gloria begins to discover her own talents when she lands a job at Saks Fifth Avenue, New York's finest luxury department store. For the first time, Gloria has power and a voice--both of which she earned herself--and opens the door for Estâee's ambitions to come true. Just when it looks as though nothing can stop them, an outsider threatens to expose secrets that both women have kept, even from each other. With all that they hold dear on the line, Estâee and Gloria will have to reckon with the price that comes with reinventing one's past and discover what is more important to each: friendship or fame"--

More Details

Contributors

Huber, Hillary Narrator
Rosen, Renée Author

ISBN

9780593335666
059333566
9780593675403
9780593335673

Subjects

Ambition -- Fiction
Beauty shop supplies industry -- Fiction
Cosmetics industry -- Fiction
Female friendship -- Fiction
Fiction
Historical Fiction
Lauder, Est�ee -- Fiction
Literature
New York (N.Y.) -- History -- 1898-1951 -- Fiction

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Published Reviews

Library Journal Review

Veteran historical-fiction novelist Rosen (Park Avenue Summer; The Social Graces) gives readers a fascinating peek at Estée Lauder's real-life start in the beauty industry while also spinning a compelling story of a close but tumultuous female friendship. Humiliated and left near penniless in 1938 New York after a family scandal, former rich girl Gloria is initially offended when an extremely blunt stranger at the salon critiques her fashion choices as well as her lackluster performance as shampoo girl. That pushy stranger, an ambitious entrepreneur named Estée Lauder, will soon be one of Gloria's closest friends. Estée is determined to get her homemade beauty products into the city's biggest department stores, and Gloria seems to be in a good position to help when she lands a glamorous job as a shop girl at Saks Fifth Avenue. Despite constant clashes due to their very different personalities and approaches, Gloria and Estée's friendship endures over the years until long-kept secrets finally threaten to end it forever. VERDICT Gloria is a likable protagonist who makes bad decisions due to her unresolved guilt over her family's past. Readers will enjoy rooting for her to find her happy ending in this highly recommended read.--Mara Bandy Fass

Booklist Reviews

Even titans of industry need a shoulder to cry on. The story of how Estée Lauder and Gloria Downing, nee Dowaziac, became lifelong friends and sometime enemies unfolds over decades, from a chance meeting in a rundown Depression-era beauty parlor to Lauder's rise as a defining brand in American cosmetics. Gloria is reeling from the very public shaming of her father, who is imprisoned for a Bernie Madoffesque Ponzi scheme that pierced their rarefied social circle. Estée alludes to her own aristocratic heritage, though she's just as financially compromised as Gloria. She is, however, armed with unflagging ambition to make it in the beauty business, while Gloria can only see her future through the cracked lens of her father's past. How Estée realizes her dream and Gloria overcomes her self-doubt is the surefire stuff of buddy fiction, but through deft characterization, lively pacing, and insider glimpses of the retail industry, Rosen elevates this "two gals against the world" trope in a reassuring and stylish tale about the power of true friendship. Copyright 2023 Booklist Reviews.

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