What are your memories of visiting your great-uncle Lyle as a young teenager? I suppose there was lots of free makeup on the go!

Sharrie and her sister, Donna Williams

SW: Oh, absolutely! One of my favorite memories was when I was 17 and drove all my best girlfriends up to my great-uncle Tom Lyle Williams’ estate in Bel Air, California, in my blue-and-white 1957 Chevy.

Our high school club was holding a raffle, and we were hoping Uncle Tom might donate a few Maybelline samples for us to use as prizes. Well, Uncle Lyle never did anything halfway. Not only did he give us plenty of products for the raffle, he surprised us with a giant box filled with Maybelline cosmetics for all of us to divide among ourselves.

You can imagine the excitement! To a carload of 17-year-old high school girls, it was like striking gold—a year’s supply of our favorite makeup, absolutely free!

We drove away from that beautiful Bel Air estate with my Chevy loaded with Maybelline and a group of very happy teenage girls. At that age, I don’t think anything could have been more glamorous or exciting. And to me, Uncle Lyle wasn’t simply the man behind this famous cosmetics company. He was my great-uncle, and moments like that made growing up in the Maybelline family feel truly magical.