Fifth Avenue Glamour Girl

Praise for Fifth Avenue Glamour Girl “In this captivating novel, Renée Rosen invites readers to peer behind the lovely facade of the iconic Estée Lauder, at her real origin and hardscrabble rise. This illuminating tale about ambition and friendship . . . explores the dangers inherent in embellishing the truth.” —Marie Benedict, New York Times bestselling coauthor of The Personal Librarian and author of The Mitford Affair “An ode to the singular magic of chasing and catching one’s wildest dreams. . . . Rosen is at the height of her storytelling prowess with this glittering novel that shines as brightly as the heroine at its center. I absolutely could not put it down.” —Kristy Woodson Harvey, New York Times bestselling author of The Summer of Songbirds “A dazzling story of the beauty of female friendship and the dogged persistence of a cosmetics legend who knew that she—and the women around her—was meant for more.” —Stephanie Marie Thornton, USA Today bestselling author of Her Lost Words “Renée Rosen . . . creates a heroine as timeless and remarkable as the products she introduced to women all around the world. A truly inspiring rags-to-riches tale, told by a wonderful storyteller.” —Natasha Lester, New York Times bestselling author of The Three Lives of Alix St. Pierre “A page-turning story of resilience and self-determination. . . . An inspiration for us all.” —Lynn Cullen, national bestselling author of The Woman with the Cure “An intimate and fascinating glimpse into the woman whose determination to fulfill her dream literally changed the face of American women, told with an immediacy that was captivating far beyond the final page. A must-read!” —Shelley Noble, New York Times bestselling author of Summer Island “This beautifully written story will be one you won’t be able to put down as you cheer these women on.” —Madeline Martin, New York Times bestselling author of The Librarian Spy “Renée Rosen’s gift for creating real, fallible, and compelling characters we grow to love and cheer for shines in Fifth Avenue Glamour Girl. . . . A brilliant, absorbing, and emotional novel you won’t want to put down!” —Christine Wells, author of One Woman’s War “Readers will love this fascinating story of two women concealing the blemishes of their past while building a friendship that will carry them through the heartbreak and ambition of claiming their space at the beauty counter.” —Georgie Blalock, author of An Indiscreet Princess ALSO BY RENÉE ROSEN The Social Graces Park Avenue Summer Windy City Blues White Collar Girl What the Lady Wants Dollface Every Crooked Pot BERKLEY An imprint of Penguin Random House LLC penguinrandomhouse.com Copyright © 2023 by Renée Rosen Readers Guide copyright © 2023 by Renée Rosen Penguin Random House supports copyright. Copyright fuels creativity, encourages diverse voices, promotes free speech, and creates a vibrant culture. Thank you for buying an authorized edition of this book and for complying with copyright laws by not reproducing, scanning, or distributing any part of it in any form without permission. You are supporting writers and allowing Penguin Random House to continue to publish books for every reader. BERKLEY and the BERKLEY & B colophon are registered trademarks of Penguin Random House LLC. Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data Names: Rosen, Renée, author. Title: Fifth Avenue glamour girl / Renée Rosen. Description: New York : Berkley, [2023] Identifiers: LCCN 2022032819 (print) | LCCN 2022032820 (ebook) | ISBN 9780593335666 (trade paperback) | ISBN 9780593335673 (ebook) Subjects: LCGFT: Novels. Classification: LCC PS3618.O83156 F54 2023 (print) | LCC PS3618.O83156 (ebook) | DDC 813/.6—dc23/eng/20220708 LC record available at https://lccn.loc.gov/2022032819 LC ebook record available at https://lccn.loc.gov/2022032820 First Edition: April 2023 Cover design by Sarah Oberrender Cover images: (woman) Slim Aarons / Getty Images; (Fifth Avenue) Rae Russel / Getty Images Book design by Alison Cnockaert, adapted for ebook by Kelly Brennan This is a work of fiction. Any references to historical persons, events, or locales are used fictitiously and not intended to depict actual people or events or change the entirely fictional nature of this work. Other names, characters, places, events, and dialogue are the author’s creation, and any resemblance to actual events or persons, living or dead, is coincidental. pid_prh_6.0_143231560_c0_r0 Contents Cover Praise for Fifth Avenue Glamour Girl Also by Renée Rosen Title Page Copyright Dedication Prologue Book One Chapter 1 Chapter 2 Chapter 3 Chapter 4 Chapter 5 Chapter 6 Chapter 7 Chapter 8 Chapter 9 Chapter 10 Chapter 11 Chapter 12 Chapter 13 Chapter 14 Chapter 15 Chapter 16 Book Two Chapter 17 Chapter 18 Chapter 19 Chapter 20 Chapter 21 Chapter 22 Chapter 23 Chapter 24 Chapter 25 Chapter 26 Chapter 27 Chapter 28 Chapter 29 Chapter 30 Chapter 31 Chapter 32 Chapter 33 Chapter 34 Chapter 35 Chapter 36 Chapter 37 Chapter 38 Chapter 39 Book Three Chapter 40 Chapter 41 Chapter 42 Chapter 43 Chapter 44 Chapter 45 Chapter 46 Chapter 47 Chapter 48 Chapter 49 Chapter 50 Chapter 51 Epilogue Author’s Note Acknowledgments Readers Guide Behind the Scenes Questions for Discussion Further Reading About the Author _143231560_ To my family, with love Prologue NEW YORK CITY, 1984 ICANNOT TELL A lie. Although that’s not entirely true. Who among us can honestly say they’ve never embellished a story, omitted an incriminating detail or spared someone’s feelings with a well-intended fib? We are all guilty of deception in one form or another. Having spent the bulk of my career in the cosmetic industry, I know all about creating illusions, whether it’s that birthmark you’re concealing beneath foundation, the eyebrows you pencil in each morning, the gray roots you cover before detection or that face-lift no one knows about. The point is, none of us are completely authentic, exempt from playing with the slippery truth. But just how far we’ll go, and which lines we refuse to cross, is for each of us to determine. This is the very dilemma I’m faced with as I listen to the voice on the other end of the telephone. It sounds like a whiskey-soaked last call