Elizabeth Arden's Red Door Salon & Spa is more than just a beauty destination; it's a landmark with over a century of history. Founded by the legendary Elizabeth Arden, the Red Door has been synonymous with luxury, quality, and innovation in the beauty industry. From its early days on Fifth Avenue to its recent rebranding as Mynd Spa & Salon, the Red Door's evolution reflects the changing landscape of beauty and wellness.
The Genesis of an Icon: Elizabeth Arden's Vision
Florence Nightingale Graham, later known as Elizabeth Arden, was born in Woodbridge, Ontario, Canada, in 1881. In 1908, she moved to New York City and began working at Eleanor Adair's salon, where she learned about skincare and beauty treatments. Recognizing the growing demand for beauty services, Arden partnered with Elizabeth Hubbard in 1909 and opened a salon together in 1910.
After dissolving the partnership with Hubbard, Graham established her own salon and adopted the name Elizabeth Arden. Her vision was to create a space where women could enhance their natural assets through a combination of science and nature. Arden believed that beauty should not be a superficial veneer but an intelligent cooperation between skincare and cosmetic application.
Red Door's Rise to Prominence
When the Elizabeth Arden Salon opened, the beauty industry was booming. Arden's salon rode this wave of popularity and was part of sustaining it; by 1915, Arden was successful enough that she moved her flagship salon into a larger space at 673 Fifth Avenue. Clearly, it was time to expand. In 1916, Arden opened her first branch location in a converted residential building, and soon thereafter she also opened a branch in Boston. By 1918 Arden added product sales to her business, expanding her reach beyond her salons into women’s handbags and vanity drawers. The products were packaged in the same pink color as the Elizabeth Arden salons, advertised in the fanciest magazine, and sold in glamorous department stores and boutiques, but were priced low enough for the middle-class woman to take home an experience she might not be able to afford at the salon.
Arden was far from the only woman establishing a beauty empire in the early twentieth century. Annie Turnbo Malone and Madame C.J. Walker grew hair-care empires by training women in how to use their products - Poro and the Walker System, respectively - and sending them out into African American communities to straighten women’s hair and sell them products. Facing racial barriers that white women like Arden did not, Malone and Walker leveraged their trainees personal relationships to build distribution networks. Arden and her closest competitor, Helena Rubinstein, also struggled to break into retail, but magazines published their advertisements and the stores that did give them valuable shelf space did not discriminate against their customers.
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Located behind a distinctive red door, the Elizabeth Arden Salon quickly gained a reputation for its luxurious treatments and innovative products. Arden was the first to introduce eye makeup to American women and pioneered the "makeover" concept. The company became the first to incorporate its founder's name into a product with the launch of Ardena Skin Tonic.
Throughout her career, Arden launched various marketing strategies, including providing red lipstick to suffragettes marching for women's rights and creating shades of red lipstick to match women's uniforms during World War II.
Expanding the Empire: Services and Locations
The Red Door's success led to the expansion of its services and locations. In 1929, Arden bought a 750-acre property in Mt. Vernon, Maine, naming it Maine Chance Farm. In 1934, Arden opened Maine Chance to patrons of the Red Door Salon in NYC. She promised women of a certain class that they could improve their lives by enhancing their looks through exercise, beauty treatments, and dieting. Arden’s genius was to marry the work this regimen demanded with luxury - diet meals served on fine china - and with Maine’s reputation for healthful beauty. Arden invested $200K in the project.
The Red Door became a destination for women seeking beauty and wellness services, offering a range of treatments from facials and massages to hair styling and nail care. The salons were designed to provide a luxurious and relaxing atmosphere, with soothing color palettes, warm textures, and airy spaces.
A New Chapter: Rebranding as Mynd Spa & Salon
After over a century of success, the Red Door announced a full rebrand as Mynd Spa & Salon. This change reflects a shift towards a greater focus on self-care and overall well-being.
According to Todd Walter, CEO of Mynd Spa & Salon, the rebrand aims to bring the Red Door's philosophy of extraordinary services and caring to new generations of spa, beauty, and wellness lovers. The new brand will continue to offer the tailor-made beauty and wellness services that customers have come to expect, including massage therapy, body treatments, skin care, nail care, hairstyling and color, makeup, and waxing.
Mynd Spa & Salon will also feature offerings that support overall wellness and wellbeing. The decor will have a new look and feel-expect a soothing color palette, warm textures and airy spaces-and the company is also expanding its product lines to include brands like Rodial, Delilah, Babor, Dr. Dennis Gross and more, which will be available in-spa and online.