Elizabeth Arden is now one of the biggest names in the cosmetics industry. It owns, manufactures, and licenses about a hundred perfumes, while distributing twice that amount of fragrances to retailers. These scents are marketed under different brand names such as Elizabeth Arden, 5th Avenue, Red Door, and Elizabeth Taylor’s White Diamonds. In addition, the company produces and sells colognes and skin care products and other cosmetics.

The founder, Elizabeth Arden, was actually born Florence Nightingale Arden in Ontario, Canada. She took and worked at a lot of odd jobs before settling into the one that she would stay in for most of her life. Moving to New York City when she was twenty four, she worked shortly for a pharmaceuticals company, and then for Eleanor Adair, a “beauty culturist”. With her flair for business, experimentation, and innovation - as well as a real drive for success - the foundation of the company Elizabeth Arden was not far behind.

In 1912, Arden traveled to France to learn the beauty techniques employed in Paris beauty salons. When she came back to America, she brought back more than new knowledge. She also brought back a collection of tinted powders and rouges that she had created. At the time, makeup was usually reserved for stage performers, and this represented one of the first major innovations that the company would introduce to the cosmetics market.

The next major development came when Arden collaborated with A. Fabian Swanson, a chemist, to create a “fluffy” face cream. The product they came up with was named Venetian Cream Amoretta, as well as the accompanying skin lotion, which became a success. This led to a long and fruitful partnership. This was the beginning of a scientific approach to the cosmetics industry, and this company philosophy eventually affected the rest of the industry.

The company continued to grow and prosper under the alert and careful direction of its founder. She died, after a long and full life, in 1966. The company eventually was acquired from Unilever by FFI, which is a New York company. And up to today, the name Elizabeth Arden is synonymous with quality and style.

Some of the mens colognes include; Daytona 500 cologne, PS Cologne for Men, GANT cologne, HUMMER cologne for men and Geoffrey Beene's Grey Flannel. Some of the womens perfumes include; Red Door perfumes, White Diamonds, Passion, Giorgio Beverly Hills, 5th Avenue, green tea, fantasy Britney Spears, White Shoulders, Mediterranean perfume, curious Britney Spears and Wings. Their skin care lines include PREVAGE anti-aging treatment, Intervene and Ceramide.

In June of 2006 Elizabeth Arden acquired the fragrance maker Riviera Concepts, and as a result Elizabeth Arden has started selling more new products to its retail customers. Along with this new addition to the company, skin care and color treatment product sales increased in the Asian markets like China and Taiwan. Elizabeth Arden also bought the fragrance distributor Sovereign Sales in August and is expecting net sales to rise even further in the year 2007. Elizabeth Arden truly is a solid brand that has continuly demonstrated its ability to inovate and grow.  James Philips