For over a century, "Maybelline" has been synonymous with Beautiful Eyes- But little is known about how a tiny company offering a single product by mail order managed to grow into an international institution.

The Maybelline Story and the Spirited Family Dynasty Behind It,  aims to change that.  It could only be written by someone with insider knowledge. 

Sharrie Williams is the great-niece of Tom Lyle Williams, the charming and creative, yet remarkably secretive man who founded Maybelline along with his tight knit family, including his brothers and sisters - Noel, Preston, Mabel and Eva - catapulting a little mail order business in 1915 into the most successful and famous eye cosmetic company in the world. 

By digging through family documents, her own memories and the memories of the few remaining people intimately familiar with the founders of Maybelline, Sharrie slipped beneath the public facade of the company to reveal the amazing personalities at its heart. This is an exciting and thoughtful book, part memoir, part history, part family saga, that reveals the triumphs and tragedies behind the beautiful public face of Maybelline.

Chet and Mabel (Willliams) Hewes, and Ches and Eva (Williams) Haines, Hollywood, 1938.

Tom Lyle Williams with Mabel, Chet, Ches and Eva at The Villa Valentino - Hollywood, 1938.

Catalina California 1938 - left to right, My father Bill, great uncleTom Lyle, my Grandmother Evelyn and my auntie Eva, auntie Mabel and uncle Chet.

Read more about the founding of The Maybelline Company from 1915 to 1968 and beyond in The Maybelline Story and the Spirited Family Dynasty Behind It.  

Maybelline, "The Little Company That Could"

Maybelline ad, 1936

As the Great Depression continued through the 1930's Maybelline cornered the market in eye cosmetics and money poured in from every direction. No other cosmetic company enjoyed more confidence and higher regard among the trade and had the envy among competitors as did Maybelline. Tom Lyle’s policy for perfection and his reputation for fairness set him apart and above all others in the field. Even his competitors agreed, there would never be another man like Tom Lyle Williams or a company like Maybelline. His sensitivity allowed him to see how women were affected by his advertising strategies. By 1939, Tom Lyle was at the top of his game. He was the most important executive in the cosmetic business. He never became selfish, egotistical, or self serving and his kindness and spirituality never ceased to exist.  Maybelline became known as "The Little Company that Could!"



1933 Maybelline Ad.

Tom Llye Williams, Maybelline's founder believed that a woman’s greatest asset was her ability to capture a man’s imagination through her expressive eyes.

Empowered for the first time since the Victorian era, women discovered a passion for imitating stars who exuded sex appeal on the screen.

Maybelline provided an inexpensive eye beautifier that enhanced a woman's sex-appeal while movies mirrored  celluloid forgeries professing  nonconformity with old world standards.  As Movie stars became models for America's changing values, Tom Lyle threw Maybelline in the dime stores in 1933 and as little cosmetic companies fell by the wayside or were bought out by Maybelline, The Maybelline Company went on to be the undisputed giant in its field during the Great Depression.

A Stunning American Treasure Filled with Nostalgia, History and Marketing Expertise

1933 Maybelline Ad.

Maybelline founder, (1915,) Tom Lyle Williams, believed a woman’s greatest asset was her ability to capture a man’s imagination through her expressive eyes.

By the 1920's women were expressing their creativity through fashion, music, dance, modern art and writing. The film industry was exploding with new found glamour and Super Stars were born. The launch of radio in 1922 as well as newspapers, fashion and movie magazines.  Maybelline, advertised with full page glossy ads, using Hollywood Movie Queens.  the 1930's Maybelline was a household name. Women wanted beauty and Maybelline gave them beautiful eyes and the allure and confidence that went with them.

Empowered for the first time since the Victorian era, women discovered a passion for imitating stars who exuded sex appeal on the screen.

Maybelline provided an inexpensive eye beautifier that enhanced a woman's sex-appeal while movies mirrored  celluloid forgeries professing  nonconformity with old world standards.  As Movie stars became models for America's changing values, Tom Lyle threw Maybelline in the dime stores in 1933 and as little cosmetic companies fell by the wayside or were bought out by Maybelline, The Maybelline Company went on to be the undisputed giant in its field during the Great Depression.