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Arden was born Florence Nightingale Graham in Woodbridge, Ontario, where she lived until she was twenty-four years old. Joining her elder brother in New York City, she briefly worked as a bookkeeper for the E.R. Squibb Pharmaceuticals Company. While working there, she spent hours in their lab, learning about skincare. She then worked for Eleanor Adair, an early beauty culturist, as a "treatment girl." In 1909, Arden formed a partnership with Elizabeth Hubbard, another culturist. When the partnership dissolved, she coined the business name "Elizabeth Arden" from her former partner and from Tennyson's poem "Enoch Arden." In 1912, Arden travelled to France to learn beauty and facial massage techniques used in the Paris beauty salons. She returned with a collection of rouges and tinted powders she had created. In an era when it was only acceptable for stage performers to wear makeup, Arden introduced modern eye makeup to North America. She also introduced the concept of the "makeover" in her salons. Arden collaborated with A. Fabian Swanson, a chemist, to create a "fluffy" face cream. The success of the cream, called Venetian Cream Amoretta, and corresponding lotion, named Arden Skin Tonic, led to a long-lasting business relationship. This revolutionized cosmetics, bringing a scientific approach to formulations. In 1915 she married Thomas J. Lewis, a banker, thus becoming an American citizen. The same year she began international operations. During the 1920s and 1930s, Arden was constantly competing with Helena Rubenstein and Dorothy Gray. Opening salons across the world allowed Arden to compete in other markets besides the U.S.. Arden claimed that "There are only three American names that are known in every corner of the globe: Singer sewing machines, Coca Cola and Elizabeth Arden." During World War II, Arden recognized the changing needs of the American woman entering the work world. She showed women how to apply makeup and dress appropriately for careers outside the home. She created a lipstick called Montezuma Red, for the women in the armed forces that would match the red on their uniforms. Arden's drive for success cost her marriage to Lewis. They divorced in 1934. A second marriage to a Russian prince only lasted 13 months. Although most of her commercial success was in cosmetics, she also pioneered restorative musical exercises based on yoga. She started a fashion business in 1943 with notable designers like Charles James and Oscar de la Renta on staff. She was on the cover of the May 6, 1946 issue of Time magazine. Arden is also notable for creating foundations that matched a person's skin tone; creating the idea of the "Total Look" in which eye, lip, cheek, and fingernail colors matched or coordinated; and she was the first to make a cosmetics commercial shown in movie houses.
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