First published in 2019 by John Wiley & Sons Australia, Ltd
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© John Wiley & Sons Australia, Ltd 2019
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Cover Design: Jennifer El-Chah, Loved.Locked.Loaded.
Disclaimer
The material in this publication is of the nature of general comment only, and does not represent professional advice. It is not intended to provide specific guidance for particular circumstances and it should not be relied on as the basis for any decision to take action or not take action on any matter which it covers. Readers should obtain professional advice where appropriate, before making any such decision. To the maximum extent permitted by law, the author and publisher disclaim all responsibility and liability to any person, arising directly or indirectly from any person taking or not taking action based on the information in this publication.
Dedicated to Ella Baché and Edith Hallas — two women who, with their individual approach, pioneering spirit and depth of understanding revolutionised the approach to skin. They taught us how to think, to care and above all to continue to learn.
Ella’s life was full with loving, eating and creating!
Edith Hallas
T his is a book for you if, like me, you want to celebrate living a bold life filled with ordinary and extra-ordinary moments. It all starts with those first steps. Bold, for me, means a rich and abundant life, although not in a monetary sense. It means a life full of adventure, full of new experiences, and full of lots of life lessons and risk-taking. It means a life unique to me. Bold is when you feel the fear and don’t always know how it’s going to turn out. Living out of your comfort zone and doing it anyway. Seeing self-doubts as the norm and breaking through that voice in your head that tries to stop you.
As CEO of Ella Baché, and Ella’s great-niece, plus a mum of two young boys, I’d like to help you discover how to own the skin you’re in … how to own your story … and what it takes to show up again and again to fight for something you believe in. Our skin is so much more than how the world sees us: it’s a reflection of our story. And it’s my pleasure to tell the Ella Baché story — the person, the product and the brand — for the first time.
To uncover what it really takes to show up and own your story, to push through in moments of self-doubt and to live a life playing at the highest level, I interviewed some audacious Australian women: women who know that being bold takes passion, courage and focus and means pushing yourself outside your comfort zone, challenging the status quo and breaking down barriers and perceptions.
It doesn’t mean you need to see yourself as a bold person, just an ordinary person who wants to follow their passion and make the most out of their life. You‘ll find these interviews between the chapters of this book, each one its own inspiring story of a bold woman.
I’m not bolder than anyone else. I have learned that making bold moves takes a lot of courage, a lot of focus and a lot of discipline. I don’t see myself as a really disciplined person by any means. And I actually don’t see myself as a bold person. I see myself as being like anyone else, but I’m also a person on a mission. I tend to be very stubborn and obsessive when I want to achieve something. In fact ‘stubborn’ is how my mum described me when I was growing up and I believe stubbornness has really helped me stick to the path that I’m on. The more often people have said ‘no’, the more motivated I’ve become. I’m passionate about what I do and have always been very single-minded about it.
Have I bitten off more than I can chew? That’s a question that pops up in my mind every day, as I’m sure it does for anyone having to make daily bold decisions. But going for it anyway and backing yourself is where the magic happens. It’s where the learnings occur, and sharing my doubts, mistakes and challenges with others has helped me along the way.
So this is not a book about how brave or bold I am — or how bold or brave anyone around me is for that matter. Rather, it’s about what I’ve experienced on my journey in life so far and discovering what defined my great-aunt Ella and several equally bold Australian women. It’s about what it takes to keep showing up when things gets tough. It’s about the choices we have, how we make decisions based on those choices and the things we focus on. It’s also about the people we choose to have in our lives; why the bold moves are frightening, scary and full of risk; and how they present us with such a fear of failing that it can lead to a shift in our mindset and goals.
You see, being paralysed by the fear of failure often prevents you from living your best life and, after all, we only get one crack at it. As women, we have a tendency to feel the need to wait for that perfect moment and to undo a lot of the deep-seated stereotypes we’ve carried with us from when we were young, such as ‘being seen but not heard’. This is why I want to share the story of Ella Baché — what she has taught me and the lessons I learned by making bold decisions — in the hope that it will make it easier for others to do the same. Living a bold life means owning your actions — that’s the good news. The bad news is that there’s no silver bullet.
This is not a business book or even a leadership book; you can be an artist, a writer, an entrepreneur, a business leader, a teacher or a mum to benefit from reading it. Each chapter offers reflections and tips to inspire you to be bold in both your personal and professional life. Bold is a very personal thing: it means living outside your comfort zone, experiencing the lessons, the luck that comes from taking risks, the learnings and the growth. I’ve always tried to push myself out of my comfort zone and stretch myself because I’m passionate about learning and curious about new things. I often question why I put this pressure on myself — why I don’t just take the easy road and play it safe. The answer is ‘Why not?’ You only get one shot at it, so why not make it the best life you possibly can?
While we’re still a long way off a world of gender equality, women have also come a long way and I believe it’s our time to take the bull by the horns, get out there and make changes. Even if it means working twice as hard as men for the same reward or being the only female voice in the room, we are at a tipping point in many countries around the world. Only the other day I came across the term ‘glass cliff’. It’s an expression used to describe situations where women are given leadership positions that no man would take on because they are destined to fail. Yet there are so many amazing examples where women didn’t fall off the cliff; they did the opposite and made it work. And they made it work because they worked harder, sacrificed more, had great networks around them that they had spent years building, and had a belief.
Our skin tells a story. From sun-kissed trips to the beach, to life-defining moments. The story of Ella Baché — a beautiful heritage brand, a product and a woman who recognised that each person’s skin is individual — stretches back to 1936, across the oceans, to the streets of Paris, where Madame Baché had a revolutionary idea to appreciate every woman ( and her skin) as an individual. Nearly 100 years later, with the same passion and desire for teaching women to learn to love the skin they’re in that Ella Baché had all those years ago, I’ll share with you on these pages Ella’s story, my story and those of several remarkably bold Australian women.
Because in the end, it’s about choice. Although we may not always control what happens in life — and yes, we all go through unexpected bad times and wonder how we’ll ever make it through — we can control how we respond. What decisions are you making today? Are you making them boldly? How are you responding to situations?
We all have times in our lives where we need to make decisions: some simple, and some complex. To leave your country, to leave your relationship, to jump or not, to stay or go … and to show up again and again.
When you’ve had a taste of the excitement, passion and confidence that can come from new experiences and learnings, you find there’s only one option and that’s the life you choose to lead when you get that fire in your belly. There is no other choice. Not making bold moves means we often play it safe and we miss out on opportunities that come from feeling uncomfortable. Yet it’s these experiences that teach us the most — and that’s where the magic happens!
I’m thrilled to be sharing with you my family’s story and the Ella Baché story, as well as the journeys of other bold women, and the decisions they made along the way that became an integral part of their stories, to help you step out and live a bold life.
Pippa Hallas
We all have women who came before us. Those who we learned from, whose stories we listened to, and who shaped us in ways we never know. This is mine.
Ella Baché: a person, a product, a pioneer of the skincare industry and a household name synonymous with skincare results. Ella had a love for life as a pharmaceutical chemist and she had a great love for creating products. She was highly intelligent and no-nonsense. She grew up at a time when women were generally not educated and most did not work. Despite this, she obtained a university degree and had the foresight to leave Eastern Europe and travel to Paris in the 1920s, where she observed that French women were starting to take care of their skin. It was this observation that propelled her to create formulas that worked — rather than selling a ‘miracle’ product — building a reputation and a new life for herself.
Ella Baché Brummer, whose maiden name was Laszlo, was my great-aunt. She was born in Czechoslovakia in 1900 and enjoyed a happy childhood, but her life changed completely when she was in her twenties. After finishing school, she applied to study medicine, like her brother had, only to be denied a university place because she was a woman. Never one to be easily deterred, at the age of 26 Ella became the first woman to graduate as a pharmacist in Prague.
Ella was fortunate in that her family believed strongly in education, which gave her a broad perspective on life and world events. It was the 1920s, a time of uncertainty for Eastern Europe. World War I had ended, but there was tension in the air for many years — an uncertainty that was to culminate in World War II. Ella decided to leave her home country to seek a better life, and was never to return. She arrived in Paris with a degree in cosmetic chemistry only to realise it wasn’t valid and she couldn’t set up a business and work for herself as she had hoped. But that didn’t stop Ella.
Not only did she leave her family behind when she moved to Paris, Ella also left behind a marriage. You see, Ella had entered into an arranged marriage with Mr Baché, a Viennese solicitor, whom she despised for his drinking and gambling.
On arriving in Paris with a bit of money she had been given as a wedding present, Ella started divorce proceedings immediately. I don’t know anyone else who has used a wedding present to fund their divorce! (Then again, nor do I know anyone who has been trapped in an arranged marriage.)
Ella was determined to be in control of her own destiny and not be an employee, especially after her first marital experience — a bold move, I think, for a woman in the 1920s. So, there she was … in a new city … with no family and no networks … newly divorced … and with little money … during one of the most disruptive periods in history.
Forging her own path as a cosmetic chemist in an era when women were competing with male domination, Ella had to rely on her own principles and tenacity. She was humble, proud and intellectual, and without an ego. She wasn’t driven by money or fame but by her love of science. As there were no positions available for women in her field, she had to make her own.
This was a time when women were becoming increasingly aware of their skin. It was a time when many iconic pioneers of the industry were starting out in Paris. Realising there was an opportunity to develop her own scientific skincare products, Ella embarked on a career in pharmacy. She created her own skincare formulas from a tiny apartment in Rue de la Paix and then carried them, on foot, to local pharmacies.
It was also in the 1920s that Ella spent time with Edith, my grandmother, who was fondly known as ‘Dixie’. The uneasy times had also led her to leave Eastern Europe. This move was to change the course of their lives forever on many levels.
So, Ella — the pharmacist — and Dixie — who was a beauty therapist — committed themselves to understanding all they could about our largest organ: the skin. They were both incredibly contemporary women. They were free spirits who developed an absolute respect for each other’s knowledge and intellect and formed a very close relationship. The connection that these two women shared enabled them to reach a successful professional relationship very quickly. Dixie’s passion and life obsession was nature, creation and the living cell. She would talk for hours about the skin’s cells. Ella’s approach was pharmaceutical, whereas Dixie’s was all about the skin’s needs. They had both always believed in making things happen, turning their goals into reality. Dixie often said, ‘In the present, the future is not ours. And the moment the future becomes ours, it turns into the present’. They created a lifelong partnership and the rest, as they say, is history.
Their products would revitalise skin cells, improve elasticity and provide antibacterial protection. Ella endeavoured to personalise products — it wasn’t about one size fits all, it was about tailoring products and treatments for individual skins.
In 1936 Ella opening her own store. Today, this store, located under her apartment, still stands. Ella was outgoing, generous and warm-hearted, but she was also tough when it came to running her business. If she hadn’t been, it would never have survived. Her employees respected her and she didn’t tolerate fools.
Ella’s story was destined to change again when, in 1940, the Nazis invaded France, forcing her to leave everything she had worked for. She fled to Portugal and from there journeyed by ship to New York City, where her brother and his wife lived, handing over her company in Paris to Lucy Anndero, one of her staff members.
On Ella’s first night in New York she was invited to a dinner where she was introduced to a well-known art collector, Ernest Brummer, who would become her second husband. At the beginning of their relationship they lived together unmarried, later moving to Madison Avenue, where they lived on one floor while Ernest occupied the second floor with his gallery. Ella focused on her work and set up a laboratory on 55th Street, which she walked to each day.
Ella and Ernest always held separate bank accounts. This is just one bold move that shows how Ella — as a female businesswoman in New York — used her tenacity and stubbornness to shift people’s perception of women in business. As always, her great focus and intellect put her in good stead to run a business.
Opening a laboratory in New York enabled Ella to continue with her research and product development while formulating new products and sending them back to Paris for manufacturing. Ella’s Parisian laboratory, ‘Suzy’, was in Rue Godot de Mauroy. She never disclosed why she named the laboratory ‘Suzy’, but it still remains as the trademark today. Ella maintained the highest standards — she could tell through touch alone how effective a product was.
After the war, Ella would travel back and forth between New York and her apartment in Paris. She spent many evenings with her best friend, Yvonne, who was one of the first female lawyers in France. Yvonne worked to defend female rights and focused her career on human rights, women’s rights and justice — a topic that is still as relevant today as it was in the 1960s.
In a world where women were not allowed in boardrooms, Ella spoke French, German, Czech and Hungarian and would often be heard debating and discussing world issues and the rights of women to the people around her.
When Ella Laszlo Baché Brummer died in 1999, The New York Times did not print an obituary. Women and people of colour were systematically denied such rights. This was despite the fact that Ella had founded a company with stores in 22 countries, and invented countless breakthroughs in the skincare/beauty business.
In 2018, The New York Times recognised that obituaries were predominantly dominated by white men, and the paper has now decided to include women of Ella’s era. It’s just the beginning of what I remain hopeful is a movement recognising the power of women!
Ella’s legacy was her deep understanding of our skin and the treatments needed to overcome skin problems. However, what many people don’t know is that after her husband, Ernest Brummer, died Ella gave five years of her life to documenting and bequesting Ernest’s world-famous and very valuable art collection. Much of it is now found at the ‘Met’ museum of art in New York, where as recently as 2017 there was an exhibition of Ernest’s work that Ella had previously put together.
Ella was simple, uncomplicated, no-nonsense and decisive. People expect a family of high fashion and makeup. My memories of Ella were of her long, straight, dark-brown hair pulled back in a bun or plaits. There was no time for makeup or hours of grooming; life was there to be lived.
Ella lived an extraordinary life defined by world events out of her control. She responded with bold moves, allowing her to determine her own destiny and not allowing anyone else to write her story. She had to be bold and if she could be bold despite all the obstacles that stood in her way, then we can too.
Ella certainly didn’t build her success on fads or trends, vanity or makeup, or her Instagram life. She was comfortable with who she was — in her own skin and in control of her destiny — and with her uncomplicated, decisive, no-nonsense manner she mastered the needs of the skin in a loving, passionate and unforgiving way.
Today, Ella Baché is a global skincare brand and if Madame Baché were still alive, she would be extremely humbled by it and not at all interested in any fanfare.