“When I took the job as Estée Lauder’s creative director, the first thing I did was go into the archives! I love taking our heritage and making it modern.”

People always ask what I would have done if I weren’t doing what I’m doing. And I say I’d [still] be in fashion or in beauty. It’s such a dream come true now because I have the ability to go into home [goods] and accessories as well.

I love Pilates, I really do, and I do it three times a week because it works well for me.

I figure if I take my children’s work seriously, maybe they will too. And it reinforces the idea that art is not something alien and esoteric. Anyone can make art.

And balancing motherhood and career makes you both a better mother and a better businesswoman.

I’ve always loved the beauty world. Ever since I was a child, I looked at magazines and wore fragrances and tried out samples and sets. I worked at Clinique in the creative department for a summer during high school. And when I graduated from university,

I discovered I was passionate about the creative process, the product development, creating a concept around a fragrance or lipstick.

Beauty is my heritage and my core. But my passion is design for the spaces where we live and work.

You always have to stay true to yourself.

I love market research because you really have an idea of what your consumers are looking for.

I think talented people are priceless. And I think people that are knowledgeable and experienced – and I think there’s a balance of new talent and experience, which makes, I think, Estee Lauder really special.

There’s something really interesting about that as a trend, that whole idea of lifestyle and being happy in your surroundings.

My mom has always been kind of my backbone. She keeps me strong. She is a mother, a friend. She is really everything to me.

It can be a walk on the beach, it could be a kiss from your child,or it could be a beautiful picture frame, a special fragrance. I think luxury doesn’t necessarily have to mean expensive.

People love buying into a lifestyle and an overall concept. So when they buy a shell-colored lip gloss, they can also buy shells for their house, as well as sunglasses and [items in] other categories [in that shade] to create one consistent image.

I’ve always been inspired by beautiful interiors.

The effect of scent is really interesting. It can create a mood and change a feeling immediately. I wanted to create a modern wardrobe of fragrances … fragrances that can be very personal to the woman who’s wearing them.