Maybelline's marketing strategy in the early 20th Century was the key to their early success

In the 1920's Maybelline marketed  to the trade, who purchased the product

 and sold it to the consumer, in  drugstores. 

At the same time, consumer advertising, brought customers, in the drug stores, where they purchased their (mascara) Maybelline.  Marketing to the trade, Advertising to the consumer, that was the kick started Maybellines Brand into the global market over 100 years ago.   

Lash-Brow-Ine, Maybelline and Liquid Maybelline, were sold in boxes of one

 dozen and placed next to the cash register where impulse buyers were

 willing to give it a try.

Today, Maybelline, is owned by L'Oreal of Paris and called Maybelline New York.  The Maybelline Brand is still, the biggest make-up Brand in the World.

  It's roots, began with a $500. loan from Tom Lyle's brother, Noel James

 Williams, in 1915. Today, is a multi- billion dollar business.  

Read all about it in, The Maybelline Story and the Spirited Family Dynasty

 Behind It and learn all about the man and the family behind the original

 Maybelline Brand.

Maybelline a pioneer in Advertising, the first to use "Before and After" imegery

Armed with market savvy, an eye for beauty and a penchant for perfection, Tom Lyle continued to experiment boldly, introducing what would become one of the most familiar and effective ploys in advertising: “before and after” imagery. This captured the imagination of women everywhere, creating a need that he filled by placing striking cosmetic displays in dime and drug stores across America. Soon the name Maybelline came to represent more than just mascara—it meant beauty, sex appeal and self-confidence, indispensable tools for every woman’s success—however she defined it.

Read more about Tom Lyle Williams and The Maybelline Company in my book, The Maybelline Story.

Maybelline Art Deco ads transform from black and white into eye-popping color during the 1930s

                  Vertical ad in Photoplay magazine 1935

                  Full page black and white ad in 1936

       Same image used on first carded merchandise in 1936

During the 1930s Depression. Maybelline mascara was no longer sold through the classifieds in magazines, it was now sold in dime stores, produced in smaller boxes and dropped from 75 cents to 10 cents.  Profits soared and were put right back into advertising.  This full page, glossy color ad from 1937 is a perfect example of Maybelline's transformation from black and white to color.

Maybelline was the first to develop carded merchandise.


Read the whole story in my book, The Maybelline Story and the Spirited Family Dynasty Behind It.  

Mad Men Returns Which Means Don Draper Is On The Prowl ...

The Emmy and Golden Globe Award-winning drama Mad Men, Season 5, Premiere's this Sun., Mar. 25 at 9pm, ET/PT.   

I love the fact Man Men is vintage 1960's, in the Advertising Industry.  I hate the fact, that the era was so so sexist.... and back then, I had no idea what was going on.

Do you remember, Maybelline's Magic Mascara, with it's totally new Spiral Brush in 1960.

and the bubble hairdo.  That was my life as a teenager. Big rollers, mascara, pale lipstick and looking for the perfect guy to make all my dreams come true!!!

1960 Maybelline ad in Glamour Magazine. 

Be sure to watch Mad Men, season 5, on Sunday, and if you haven't been following it,  catch up on all the seasons with Netflix.  It's one of the best shows on TV,  especially if you love vintage.  (And, especially because there are so few quality shows on TV today.)

Maybelline ad, 1960.

 According to Maybelline marketing man, Rags Ragland, "A woman's greatest asset is a     

          man's imagination."....."

That sum's up, early 1960s advertising and a woman's role in a man's world.

Read all about my life in the 1960s and how I was so influenced by Rags Ragland's phrase... Maybelline... and advertising...  Pick up your copy of The Maybelline Story today.  You won't be able to put it down.

Maybelline Girl transforms her image to fit the times.

In 1916 the original Maybelline Girl was modest and shy, captivating the public with her long luxurious dark eyelashes.  

By 1932 a more confident Maybelline Girl opened her heavily made-up eyes, donned a Marcel wave and looked like she meant business.  

The Perfect Mascara

Women even during the depths of the Great Depression wanted their pale scanty lashes instantly transformed into the appearance of long, dark luxuriant fringe with Maybelline Mascara - and there was no turning back.


                      "We've Come A Long Way Baby,"


and like  the Maybelline Company it was just the beginning of a wild ride.


Another First for Maybelline when Tom Lyle decided to come out with a new and improved image of his original Maybelline Girl, making her a modern symbol of the times. 


Read more about Maybelline's roller coaster ride from 1915 to it's sale in 1967 in The Maybelline Story and the Spirited Family Dynasty Behind It.