Harvey Alstodt, who helped sell thousands and thousands of bottles of nail color and other beauty products during greater than 20 years at Del Laboratories, passed away on June 3 after a protracted illness. He was 83 years old.

Alstodt joined Del Laboratories in 1985 from Foster Grant. At the moment, Del was a fledgling company best known in beauty for its Sally Hansen nail polish.

As executive vp of sales for cosmetics, Alstodt helped Sally Hansen claw its way right into a market dominated by Revlon.

“He helped the little company Del Labs construct market share up there with the large guys,” recalled Steve Lubin, a former vp and wonder executive with Walgreens. Under his watch, Sally Hansen grew to the leading nail brand with greater than an 80 percent market share.

Del Laboratories was acquired by Coty in 2007.

After sitting out the industry and overcoming health issues for a number of years, Alstodt began MBA Beauty for “master in beauty,” he told WWD. Certainly one of the primary collections was called Confetti nail color which launched at CVS. He also founded Diversified Beauty Products, which marketed the Dr. Marvey nail treatment.

Alstodt is remembered as having a “street fighter” mentality, but mostly he’s recalled for his mentorship and relationship constructing.

A knack for nurturing relationships is remembered by many contacted by WWD. “He had a loyal cadre who benefited from his tutelage, said Christine Keihm, who held several marketing roles at Del Labs. “Relationships with retailers, consumers, colleagues and never the least of all, his beloved family, were vital to him.”

He had a competitive edge that helped Del gain shelf space against established brands. “Under Harvey, Del was a sales driven company that built distribution,” said Karen Combest, president of the Louisville Ladies, a sales and consulting company, and former vp of sales at Del Laboratories. “At the top of the day, he challenged everyone to make them higher and stronger. Today every little thing I do know was either from direct business lessons or key learnings expanded from what he taught me.”

Judy Wray, who held top beauty roles at Eckerd and Rite Aid agreed, “He could possibly be tough in business but above all, he was all the time kind.”

Alstodt is survived by his wife Melody, two sons and their families.