This October, we’re kicking off National Breast Cancer Awareness Month with Estée Lauder.  During Fashion Week, the Estee Lauder Company invited some of us beauty bloggers to their headquarters in New York to tell us about some of the initiatives they have in store for Breast Cancer Awareness Month. Throughout October, a portion of the proceeds from some of Estée Lauder’s beauty products will help fund breast cancer research.  Check back with us, as Beyond Beauty Basics will be featuring some of these products to spread the word, and also give you a little info about each one! Please also see the fundraising widget on the bottom right of our webpage to donate to the cause and get entered into our Think Pink Giveaway. All donations will be given to Estee Lauder’s Breast Cancer Awareness Campaign to benefit breast cancer research.

The products include DKNY Be Delicious Fresh Blossom, the Bobbi Brown Pink Ribbon Collection, Bumble and Bumble Classic Hairspray, La Mer, Sean John I Am King, and many other great products. The Estée Lauder Companies’ Breast Cancer Awareness Campaign The Estée Lauder Companies’ Breast Cancer Awareness Campaign was established in 1992 as an initiative of The Estée Lauder Companies. The Campaign began when Evelyn Lauder and Alexandra Penney, then Editor-in-Chief of SELF magazine, co-created the Pink Ribbon, which today has become the ubiquitous symbol for breast health. The mission of the Breast Cancer Awareness Campaign is to spread awareness about breast health and the message that early detection saves lives, as well as to raise funds to directly benefit breast cancer research.

During the month of October, National Breast Cancer Awareness Month, many of the Company’s brands offer special products to support BCRF. Every year, Mrs. Evelyn Lauder and Elizabeth Hurley, Estée Lauder and The Breast Cancer Awareness Campaign Spokesmodel, travel around the world raising awareness and funds for the Breast Cancer Research Foundation at Personal Appearance events. The Company hosts bake sales, golf tournaments and other special employee-driven fundraising events. The Estée Lauder Companies’ Breast Cancer Awareness Campaign is the largest corporate sponsor of BCRF. An additional element of The Estée Lauder Companies’ Breast Cancer Awareness Campaign is the  highly successful Global Landmarks Illumination Initiative, which celebrates its tenth anniversary this October 2009.  The Global Landmark Illumination Initiative features major landmarks bathed in pink light to serve as symbols of hope and awareness. Since the initiative began in 2000, hundreds of famous buildings, monuments and landmarks around the world have been illuminated in pink light, including New York City’s own Empire State Building. What’s the difference between the Estée Lauder Companies’ Breast Cancer Awareness Campaign (BCA) and The Breast Cancer Research Foundation (BCRF)? The Estée Lauder Companies’ Breast Cancer Awareness (BCA) Campaign and The Breast Cancer Research Foundation (BCRF) are  two separate entities that share a common thread in  Evelyn H. Lauder.  She  is the Senior Corporate Vice President of The Estée Lauder Companies Inc. and the Founder and Chairman of The Breast Cancer Research Foundation. The Breast Cancer Research Foundation is an independent, not-for-profit organization dedicated to funding innovative clinical and translational research. The Estée Lauder Companies’ BCA Campaign is a corporate campaign focused on raising awareness for breast health and funds which exclusively go towards BCRF. The Estée Lauder Companies Inc. is the largest corporate donor and proud sponsor of BCRF. The Breast Cancer Research Foundation The Breast Cancer Research Foundation® was founded in 1993 by Evelyn H. Lauder.  The Foundation supports scientists at top universities and academic medical centers worldwide conducting the most advanced and promising breast cancer research that will lead to prevention and a cure in our lifetime. A minimum of 85 cents of each dollar donated to the Foundation goes directly to breast cancer research and awareness programs. In October 2008, $34.5 million was awarded to 166 scientists across the United States and in Australia, Canada, Latin America, the Middle East, and throughout Europe. For the eighth consecutive year, BCRF received Charity Navigator’s highest rating of four stars,  outperforming over 99% of the evaluated charities.  The American Institute of Philanthropy has awarded BCRF its highest possible rating of A+. BCRF is the only breast cancer organization in the U.S. to receive these accolades. For more information, visit www.bcrfcure.org or call 1.866.FIND.A.CURE or 1-866-346-3228. There are simple things you can do in your life to prevent breast cancer: get educated, get screened and regularly check at home, eat healthy, quit smoking, and exercise.  Keep on fighting, and support your sisters in the fight!