Marilyn Miglin Institute

I first went to Marilyn Miglin with my Mother when I turned 16 and was allowed to wear make up; now my daughter wants to go for an update when she comes home from college for Christmas! Mascara without flakes, Ultimate Illusion which is just as the name claims, brow fix and all the model secrets dished up with glamour and free application lessons. Ask for a sample of Pheromone, dab it on and turn heads and more before you even get off Oak Street.

Why am I the first person to write a review about one of Chicago’s most treasured and sophisticated civic and cultural leaders when I’ve never even bought one thing from her store? I think it is because she is one of the reasons Chicago is the entrepreneurial city it is known for. For over 40 years, Marilyn Miglin has been Chicago’s home-​grown and self-​taught equivalent to the likes of cosmetics industry leaders like Estee Lauder, Helena Rubinstein and Charles Revson.
A lot of people think of Marilyn Miglin as a spokeswoman who sells her fragrances and potions on Home Shopping Network, but she is so much more. Back when Chicago was slowly shedding its hog-​town reputation in the 1960s, Marilyn created a cosmetics business that became a favorite among women with different skin types and tapped into her legendary husband’s business acumen to launch one of the most successful fragrance businesses in the country. Few women starting a business today would know just how difficult things were for women in 1960’s Chicago with little capital but a strong vision, a plan, and the desire to help women make themselves look great. As a professional model, Marilyn knew a thing or two about beauty and creating a powerful image.
Her products, especially her fragrances, continue to build on her passion for the exotic. Pheromone – her first and most popular fragrance – is truly a unique scent I remember by name when I smell it.
Her outreach to help others – especially to children and those with facial deformities – is also just as important to her as the everyday business of beauty. She is one of the few cosmeticians who have some products light enough for use during and post chemo treatments, often when women’s skin tone and color changes dramatically.
I visited her store on Oak, and I’ve never felt so out of place (for a guy), but I enjoyed being in the store where it all started from and knowing that everything was created by someone who cares so deeply for others.