A story of two independent women and rivals that created beauty brands and were fundamental in changing the way women thought about beauty products at a time when it was unusual for women to work outside the home. This story looks at the lives and rivalry of Helena Rubenstein and Elizabeth Arden and explores how they created international companies and competed against each other. Fascinating look behind the beauty brands that are familiar names..

While this story of two beauty product pioneers was interesting it seemed pretty drawn out and I found myself losing interest in the story and quite frankly becoming bored. The book could have been shorter and not lost any of the story's important parts.

I enjoy this author and while this wasn't my favorite book of hers I would be willing to read more from her.

**Thank you to NetGalley for sending this ARC**

This was my first time reading a book from Gill Paul and I know it won't be the last. I was hooked from the first chapter, it was very entertaining historical fiction. The kind of book that had me googling events to determine whether they were fact, fiction, or embellishment. The Author’s Acknowledgements at the end, references a documentary about Elizabeth Arden and Helena Rubinstein that I hope I can find and watch! This book will be published om September 5th and if you enjoy reading historical fiction then I really recommend this.

Well, Gill Paul has done it again. This is a fascinating and powerful story about Elizabeth Arden and Helena Rubinstein, the founding mothers of modern day beauty, and passionate rivals. The story of these two incredible and successful women is told against the backdrop of the Great Depression, WWII, personal tragedies and the glitz and glamour of New York, London and Paris. Not only is it a story of how they built their business empires, but also of the journey each of them takes throughout their lives - the personal struggles, marital issues, insecurities, obstacles and challenges of the times. It is a beautiful and lushly written novel about staying true to oneself, following your dreams and standing strong in the face of incredible adversity.

I am in awe of both Elizabeth Arden and Helena Rubinstein, and found them interesting, dynamic and entertaining. Though they have so much in common, both women are incredibly different and handle things in very unique ways to one another. The back and forth between the two of them was, at times, almost as comical as it was petty. I enjoyed reading about their lives, struggles and accomplishments in what feels like such a personal way. The author writes their stories in a way that makes you feel as if you could have known them and makes them relatable in a way that makes you care deeply about what happens to them. It is beautiful, emotional, entertaining and important. It is an exploration of dreams, grief, loss, grit and what it meant to be a woman in the 1930s. The struggles of Helena and Elizabeth are still timely and important today in many ways. The banter and dialogue in this book are excellent, the dual POV adds a more personal layer to each of the narratives and the fashion and setting are so atmospheric and captivating. I highly recommend this novel!

Read if you like:
✨ Strong female characters
✨ Women in business
✨ The beauty industry
✨ Historical fiction
✨ Family
✨ Rivalries
✨ Sharp, witty dialogue

Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.

They could have been allies: two self-made millionaires who invented a global industry, in an era when wife and mother were supposed to be the highest goals for their sex. Elizabeth Arden and Helena Rubinstein each founded empires built on grit and determination…and yet they became locked in a feud spanning three continents, two world wars, and the Great Depression. Brought up in poverty, Canadian-born Elizabeth Arden changed popular opinion, persuading women from all walks of life ­to buy skincare products that promised them youth and beauty. Helena Rubinstein left her native Poland, and launched her company with scientific claims about her miracle creams made with anti-ageing herbs. When it came to business, nothing was off-limits: poaching each other’s employees, copying each other’s products, planting spies, hiring ex-husbands, and one-upping each other every chance they had. This was a rivalry from which there was no surrender! And through it all were two women, bold, brazen, and determined to succeed—no matter the personal cost.

In this sweeping novel , two larger-than life fashion icons come alive with all their passion, bitterness, and ambition as they each try to live the American dream. I was not familiar with the author, but the title of her book intrigued me, and I was not disappointed. I like to read books about strong women in history that are often overlooked, and am looking forward to reading other books by this same author. Her writing and research were obvious, and her characters were well written as were the descriptions of the times in which they lived. Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for granting my request to read this well written book.

3.0. enjoyable read. Author fictionalizes the rivalry between Helena Rubinstein and Elizabeth Arden. Set in the time period of late 19th century and early to mid 20th century, the author provides a humanized story about this famous rivalry. I love reading fiction which discusses particular periods in history, and this is my favorite period of american history. So looking at the book from a Gestalt perspective, the 'figure' of the book is the rivalry between these two women and their businesses; the 'ground' of the book are the different societal occurrences during the period - such as the world wars, womens' rights, prohibition, anti-semitism, the holocaust, and of course, human nature. I enjoyed reading it, learned some things about the beginnings of the beauty industry and the changing nature of our society and the role of women as individuals and as entrepreneurs. Recommend the book

History is filled with stories of American innovation. People create a product - sometimes a whole industry - and vie with their competitors.

But I don’t recall ever reading a book where both powerhouses were female. Such is the case with Gill Paul’s “A Beautiful Rival”. Spanning from the early days of the 20th century to its middle, this is the story of Elizabeth Arden and Helena Christensen.

These women created the “beauty industry”. Applying makeup was once thought cheap, tawdy or even vulgar. But these women (and others) transformed not only women themselves, but their entire self-concepts. Even through the trials and tribulations of not one Great War, but two. Chapters alternate between the two women to allow events to occur simultaneously.

I found the book to be entertaining enough, but I didn’t feel connected to either of them. It was interesting to see the lengths (or depths) each went to scoop the other. Which is better - well connected or well made?

The things I found the most interesting didn’t really have anything to do to with either woman. It was more about advertising, and boardrooms, and creation of a miracle product that can’t possibly exist.

It is possible that, since I’m not a woman who has ever really worn makeup and finds the beauty industry rather amusing, I’m not the target audience. I noticed that even though each woman’s background was vastly different, their ideas remained the same.

But the thing that struck me the most is that, although these women were technically rivals, they never interacted. Perception is usually different from reality, a theme that I found radiated throughout the entire novel. Such a shame these two titans never put their heads together instead of keeping them so far apart.

The interesting story of the rise and rivalry of these two beauty products queens. They both fought for the same market and it was fun reading about how they tried to best each other.

The cut-throat world of the "beauty" business was certainly interesting, but I found the Arden and Rubenstein to be miserable human beings. Their success came at extreme personal cost. However, the times and characters were well portrayed and the author certainly had a lot of material to work with.

Author Gill Paul and her books are a huge joy for me. I have only recently found her work and I am getting through her previous ones. I was delighted to receive an email with an early copy of A Beautiful Rival, her latest.
I was unaware of the rivalry between beauty queens Elizabeth Arden and Helena Rubenstein.
Gill writes with huge confidence I feel in her research for her story.
After I finish one of her books I have a huge longing to read as much as I can on the people in her story.
She has the brilliant ability to take a part of some history and create her story around it.
I have used many products myself by Elizabeth Arden so it was wonderful to read her story.
I felt for both women that the joy of creating their empire was somehow hampered along the way by the rivalry between them. I wonder how much better they might have done if they had joined forces in some way. What would they have created.
A beautiful read, quite sad for what both women lost along the way. Their beauty empire being the one thing that kept them standing.
Loved it..

What a fascinating riveting read based on two beauty industry giants, Elizabeth Arden and Helena Rubenstein. There was so much history to cover on these two ladies, their backgrounds, their day to day battles and Gill does a wonderful job of giving us a comprehensive view of both their personal and business lives, which so often flowed from one to the other. She paints a vivid picture of their territorial behaviours: all the war tactics and profound rivalry between them. The poaching of employees, the planted spies, copying products and leaking of information to the press that sometimes was not correct. This story kept me enthralled and I could not put it down. I felt rejuvenated by the magnitude of their business accomplishments but also saddened by their personal stories: the lessons they learned, the lonely paths they walked. There was so much to embrace and draw out of these women’s lives in a time when the World Wars and the Great Depression were very real. But for these two, the events were merely obstacles on their paths to success that challenged them to find new ways to overcome the issues that arose.

Each of them had monumental ambition and a passion to succeed. This drive took them on some high flying adventures. In many ways they were not so different from each other, though they would have fiercely denied it. Yet Gill gives us a moment (her creative license) to allow a brief meeting between the two. I think deep down, in the end, they would have seen their similarities. If nothing else, their love of business was equal between them. Their beauty companies were their true babies. They gave them their all—but at the risk of losing important relationships.

But like a proud parent, they were determined to see their ‘baby’ at number one spot by knocking down their rival. They became so focused on the task, they missed signs of betrayal and spies in their camp, until later on. They were surrounded by changeable people, who were more loyal to the dollar. But did their treatment of others create this lack of devotion? Particularly true for Elizabeth Arden.

These women led a life of illusion. Elizabeth fought hard to remove herself from her poverty past. Her humble beginnings were a thorn in her side. She went to great lengths to erase any trace of her lower class upbringing. For Helena, it was the fact she was born Jewish and had a poor relationship with her father. She disobeyed him by not marrying the man he chose for her. When given the choice to obey or be ex-communicated, she chose the latter.

These two women made many sacrifices but did they reap any rewards (besides wealth and fame) for choosing their independence or did they lose out in other areas? Helena ended up with a wandering husband. And from Gill’s pen, we learn the pain she endured. And Elizabeth had no sound relationships to speak of: her husbands were great disappointments.

Helena had two boys that she saw very little as her business took precedence. Her husband was the true parent in the driver’s seat. The boys were sent to private schools and top universities thanks to Helena’s money, so she felt she had done her part, at least by providing financial security for them. As we all know, money is not enough for raising children. They need personal nurturing to develop emotionally and mentally and it did seem these boys suffered in those areas. Their harsh attitudes, reckless actions and sad outcomes were partly a result of this deficit.

Elizabeth was born and raised in Canada. She single-handedly changed the attitudes of women in her time on the topic of beauty care. She helped them see that no matter their background or status, they deserved to be pampered, to feel beautiful, to treat themselves to skincare products. She did not have any children but her race horses became a strong substitute. They made her money but she loved them more for the beautiful animals they were. When trouble struck, and attacks were made upon her stables, some of her horses suffered the consequences. She was devastated by her loss and the ugliness of such acts. Though she never gave up or yielded to threats, she remained strong and fought back through hard earned success. Tactics she learned from her beauty business.

If these two self-made millionaires had worked side by side, would their lives have turned out differently? It is hard to say as it was their rivalry that forced them to go deeper and higher to achieve success. In many ways, they spurred each other on. But the nastiness that developed between them at times also made them blind.

So many topics are covered: including the political views of the 1930s. Although Elizabeth was not a very political person, she was accused of being sympathetic to Fascism (or at least her relative) and Helena being Jewish was affected deeply by Holocaust ignorance. There is a sensitive scene when Elizabeth makes a very unbalanced comparison to Helena’s sister with her own. Laney, her assistant, pulls her up on it which is a positive nod to Holocaust survivors.

There is so much that could be said about this novel, that it would fill another book! It is well written and researched and moves along at a rapid pace. You feel as though you are watching a movie with the clear descriptions Gill has drawn. I have read a number of her novels and she has a real talent for writing about strong important women in history who have battled the odds and led fascinating lives. She allows us to enter their worlds, see through their eyes and have a taste of the tumultuous experiences they had. And what better shoes to step into but those of Elizabeth Arden and Helena Rubenstein! This novel for me is Gill’s best yet! I highly recommend A Beautiful Rival and give it a much-deserved 5 Stars. ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Thanks to publisher, author and Netgalley for a review copy.

A Beautiful Rival is a fascinating story where we see the interaction between Helen Rubinstein and Elizabeth Arden. A remarkable historical fiction that intertwines fact with fiction.
I have a read a few books on these ladies and this is one of my favorites!
The time period and locations. The story pulled me in.
Thank you NetGalley and Harper Collins for the ARC.

I was hooked from the first chapter! A very entertaining historical fiction. The kind of book that had me googling events to determine whether they were fact, fiction, or embellishment. The Author’s Acknowledgements at the end, references a documentary about Elizabeth Arden and Helena Rubinstein that I hope I can find and watch!

Thank you NetGalley & William Morrow for sending this book for review consideration.

Gill Paul does it again!
A Beautiful Rival by Gill Paul is a stunning story of two fashion icons who come alive with all their intensity, harshness, and aspiration as they each try to live the American dream.
A compelling novel of Helena Rubinstein and Elizabeth Arden.
Gill Paul is a marvelous author and has a real talent to reveal the lives of these two women in history and the role they played. Her description is so well done.
She did a superb job of bringing Elizabeth and Helena to life. Her depiction of the events of their life was done in such a detailed but fascinating manner.
She is a true master of the historical fiction genre.
Paul’s story truly came to life for me. Beautifully written, compassionately rendered and compulsively readable.
A BEAUTIFUL RIVAL is the perfect work of historical fiction.
It will be a great read for historical fiction lovers.

"I received a complimentary copy of this book. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own."

Thank You NetGalley and William Morrow for your generosity and gifting me a copy of this amazing eARC!

Gill Paul tells us a story of two women who have an intense and heated rivalry. The rivalry begins where all the best rivalries do, something shared. In this case, business. Elizabeth Arden and Helen Rubinstein compete to be the top woman in the cosmetics game through the 20s and 30s. The success in the women's personal lives pale in comparison to their success in business, but still provide plenty of entertainment and emotion for the reader. As historic events begin to unfold we start to see the effects they had on the business world.
I enjoyed this historical fiction novel and look forward to reading more from Gill Paul.

Look for this book in September 2023.

I received an ARC of this book from NetGalley in exchange for my honest opinion.

A Beautiful Rival imagines the story of two incredibly driven women, who achieved extraordinary success given their time and paved the way for a new category of beauty. They were rivals, but at the same time they had so much in common.

NYC, 1915. When we meet Helena Rubinstein and Elizabeth Arden, they are already successful, and rivals. Through their stories we get to know the historical background of how they had to convince women that make up was something that they needed, rather than view it as vulgar.

In both cases, they allow us into their personal world, which doesn’t look as strong as what they achieved career and money wise. For Helena, it’s her questionable marriage and suspicion of her husband being unfaithful. For Elizabeth, it’s her giving herself a chance at love and getting married even if it misses that passion she wishes for. Especially, when pre-naps are good option, if marriage fails, he walks away without a penny.

With success come some cravings. For Elizabeth, it’s the invitation of influential women of NYC. Them being her clients is one thing. Them inviting her to their world, that’s another thing. For Helena, it seems to be more personal, having that successful relationship with her husband. She just needs to complete her expansion plans in NYC, as the US market is the biggest in the world, in order to return to Europe.

This fascinating story is vividly presented through showing feelings, and told with crisp prose and sprinkled with humor. The two rivals while revealing their stories, they pull the reader engagingly into the world of success and passion.

The infamous rivalry, which included stealing employees, copying each other’s products, planting spies, and more, is well-pronounced in this story. Their bitterness and ambitions are alive, and with their honest feelings, it makes this story feel very real.

3 1/2 stars, highly enjoyable & interesting historical fiction

I knew nothing about this rivalry & it was very interesting to see how makeup and skin care developed with these 2 pioneers in the field.

A Beautiful Rival by Gill Paul was an absolutely delight. About a year ago, I listened to a podcast about the founding women of the American cosmetics industry. It was absolutely fascinating—so when I read the description of ABR, I couldn't click "request" fast enough. Paul vividly reimagines a bygone era and the personalities that have become billion-dollar brands but were once real women, fighting to carve their places in the world. Highly recommend!!!

I found A BEAUTIFUL RIVAL to be supremely entertaining. The writing is both elegant and evocative. I had no idea about Helena and Elizabeth being such competitive rivals, but their race to success makes for a terrific story.
The author also does a wonderful job at addressing the social issues of the time. She does not skip over the impact of the world wars and society's unfortunate prejudices.

This novel would be great for bookclubs.

Received complimentary copy; all opinions are my own.

A Beautiful Rival
Gill Paul
Pub Date: Sept. 5: 2023
William Morrow
Thanks to the author, publisher and NetGalley for the ARC of this book in exchange for my honest opinion.
Paul has written 12 historical novels. This being the first one of hers I have read. This was a fascinating book about two giants in the cosmetic industry. I recommend this for book clubs,
5 stars