Skincare Pioneer Adrien Arpel Has Perfect Vision For Selling 2020 Meadow Lane

It does not take 20-20 vision to see that 2020 Meadow Lane is a special property, indeed. It has just been put on the market (represented by Corcoran), and the $38 million price tag might not be as eye-popping as it first seems.

For one thing, the estate owned by Adrien Arpel is on 8 acres south of the highway in Southampton. The two-story, 7,250-square-foot, Mediterranean-style residence has seven bedrooms and 7.5 baths, and special features include both Atlantic Ocean frontage and Shinnecock Bay frontage. No wonder the home has spectacular water views and dune-scape views from most of the principal living spaces. There is a modern floor plan with elevator, suited for entertaining on two levels. The main level includes a grand living room, a high-ceilinged dining room and separate library, and the newly renovated and installed kitchen is for the most discerning chef. The master suite with glamorous new bathroom and access to the elevated swimming pool offers ocean views and English garden views. Rolling lawns with flowering borders of established landscaping and trees create a country setting.

Many people have heard the name Adrien Arpel—but who is she, actually? Described as “a pioneering entrepreneur in the skin-care industry,” she was born in Jersey City on July 15, 1941. Launching a business devoted to women’s skin care in 1959 with $400 she had earned from babysitting, Ms. Arpel is now president and CEO of Adrien Arpel, Inc., an enterprise with approximately 500 salons across the United States and Canada.

Ms. Arpel graduated from high school in 1959 and attended Pace University. She decided to venture into the facial and cosmetics business after receiving conflicting advice from staff selling cosmetics in department stores. None of the salespeople could detail the ingredients in their products or could explain how these products might improve the customer’s skin. Ms. Arpel concluded that these saleswomen were selling cosmetics without being sufficiently knowledgeable about their products. She realized that there was a need in the cosmetics marketplace for a business that would educate the consumer, helping her understand how to care for her skin and what products she needed to use at home. Ms. Arpel felt her busy clients would best be served in a convenient, private salon in a department store. Thus, she began offering her salon facials in major venues such as Macy’s and Bloomingdale’s, where she was also the first to provide a place for her clients to sit in a cosmetics department.

Obviously, things worked out quite well for the ambitious entrepreneur from New Jersey. And if you happen to have $38 million to spare, the Southampton estate she built more than 30 years ago can be yours.