Excerpt fom The Maybelline Story

 Although Tom Lyle knew that much of the company's success was due to his own daring eye for advertising combined with Emery and Arnold’s exceptional talents, he also knew that without Rags, Maybelline would simply not have been able to stay constantly at the top of the fast-growing cosmetics market.

      For his efforts, Rags was paid solely on a commission of one and one-quarter percent of gross sales, which had risen from $359,000 at the time of his employment in 1933 to its 1955 level of over $7,000,000 a year. Knowing that this tremendous rise in sales was directly due to Rags relentleess work and devotion to the company, Tom Lyle decided to not only raise Rags' commission to one and one-half percent, but give him three percent of Maybelline’s stock.  To seal the deal, Rags would also be made Executive Vice President in charge of Sales, positioning him as an equal with Tom Lyle and Tom Lyle, Jr. --in other words, as family.

       With Rags securely placed as a jewel in Maybelline’s crown, Tom Lyle could direct his next move on the cosmetics chessboard.  Although he continued to target both the sophisticated, intelligent woman in her 30s and the more mature woman in his world-wide advertisements, as 1955 continued a new brand of female was emerging. This girl differed from both the World War II pin-up girl and Rosie the Riveter. 

       Thanks to movies like East of Eden staringJames Dean, and Blackboard Jungle, featuring the song “Rock Around the Clock” by Bill Haley and the Comets, “The Rebel" had become the latest cultural icon. Maybelline sales soared as heavy make-up appeared in every teenage girl's purse. The era of teen marketing was born in Jacksonville, Florida, that year, when young girls jumped out of their seats to dance at an Elvis Presley concert--the first first musical riot on record.

Maybelline turned sweet mother into a Pin Up Girl

Evelyn remarked to Pauline that she needed a little make-over.  She took her by the hand into the bedroom and closed the door.  Bill screamed at his mother to stop, "I like like the way she looks," he said, "She's only 15 for darn sakes." but his mother proceeded to the lock the door.

 Pauline emerged from Evelyn's silk covered bedroom, which held an enormous dressing table filled with Maybelline products and an enormous round mirror lit up like a Movie Star's dressing room.

Eyelyn had transformed her son's girlfriend from a simple little high school girl into a gorgeous woman with Judy Garland eyes and a Vavoom figure. Bill stood there gawking with his mouth open.  Pauline had morphed into a knock out, a pin up girl, as beautiful as any of his uncle's Maybelline models..... 

Read more about my parents, Bill and Pauline and my grandmother Evelyn in my book, The Maybelline Story, now on audible.

  Listen to a free sample on Amazon now.

Chica Chica Boom Chic! Excerpt from The Maybelline Story featuring Fox Star, Betty Grable

Betty Grable featured in 20th Century Fox Pictures, Down Argentine Way.

“LEARN BETTY’S SECRET FOR BEAUTIFUL EYES,”

the ad said. Arnold had thoroughly retouched the before and after photos—producing illustration more than photography—to convey a smooth and beautiful complexion. The tiny before shot revealed a pretty girl with pale brows and lashes, while the after showed a lushly made-up young beauty. Tiny print mentioned that Betty Grable was featured in the film Down Argentine Way. This way, Tom Lyle reasoned, even if the movie tanked, the ad would still work since it didn't play up the film’s title. In the ad, Betty was quoted as saying, “It’s easy to have lovely alluring eyes…The magic secret is Maybelline eye make-up.” Emery’s copy gave step by step application instructions, ending with: “Then, the joyful climax…when you form your brows in graceful, classic lines with Maybelline smooth-marking Eyebrow Pencil.”

Tom Lyle wasn't the only one taking a risk on the film; so was Daryl Zanuck. Twentieth Century Fox studios had been counting on Alice Faye’s box office power to help solve their financial woes. Would a goofy, light-hearted romp set in Argentina appeal to Americans in a year when dramatic films like The Philadelphia Story and The Grapes of Wrath would take most of the credits? A few westerns had done well, and Ginger and Fred were still dancing. Bing Crosby, Bob Hope and Dorothy Lamour had starred in the popular Road to Singapore—which had nothing to do with Singapore and was oblivious to Japanese imperialism in the Pacific.

 Fox wanted something fresh, and if they couldn’t cavort in Europe or the Pacific, they’d take their fun and games elsewhere. South America seemed like a pretty safe bet. With that lively Brazilian music, movie-goers could transport themselves to a place where war didn’t exist.

The gamble paid off. In October of 1940, FDR relieved everyone by saying, “I have said this before, and I’ll say it again and again: Your boys are not going to be sent into any foreign wars.”  The film opened that same month, and the public adored Betty Grable and Carmen Miranda in her outrageous costumes. Revelers everywhere, like Evelyn’s crowd at the Biltmore, learned to samba to tunes like “Bambu Bambu.” The age of Carmen Miranda movies and music had begun. Chica Chica Boom Chic!

At the same time, teens and young women in their twenties identified with Grable’s saucy blond beauty and lively spirit. In droves and busloads they crowded into dime stores to buy Maybelline. Tom Lyle immediately parlayed his new bombshell into another full-page color ad. Alice Faye had worked out her contract differences with Zanuck and signed along with Betty Grable to do Tin Pan Alley, another light-hearted musical, but Alice didn’t want to do business with friends, including Tom Lyle. Arnold got around this by developing an ambiguous photo-illustration that resembled both Alice and Betty. The caption read, “Adorable with Maybelline,” and audiences weren’t sure if the model was Faye or Grable--which was exactly what Tom Lyle wanted.