Maybelline Model? Not meant to be for me in 1966.

Maybelline switched gears in 1966 and focused on a more natural, softer teenage image.

                             Maybelline ad, 1966.

Nana, my dad Bill, me with dyed black hair and Unk Ile - Christmas at our house, 1965.  As Maybelline ads became softer and more natural, I screamed sexy and exotic.  Not good for an 18 year old as it turned out.

My grandmother  had convinced me to dress up for Christmas in a black cocktail dress, heals and of course my Chicken of the Sea hair-do.  When Unk Ile took one look at me he said, "My god, Sharrie, you look like your 35." 

Was that a good or bad thing?  I wasn't sure, but it wasn't what Maybelline was going for, targeting the teenage market in 1966.  In fact, Tom Lyle wanted just the opposite, soft, natural and sweet.  So my hopes of becoming the next teen Maybelline model were smashed. 

Nana watched me mope around a while, than said, "Sharrie, Darling, why don't you go back to Chicago next summer and stay with your aunts and uncles, meet your cousins and and get to know the Chicago branch of the family.
.

My spirits lifted and I was on my way.  Here I am, Queen of the super rollers, with my sister, Donna with pin straight surfer girl hair - happy to see me go for the summer, so she could drive my 57 Chevy to the beach everyday and surf.  I over packed for every occasion and was excited to take my first plane ride back to where it all began.

Exotic and over dressed for every ocassion in Chicago.

Nana encouraged me to take notes so I could document my trip in a long letter to Unk Ile when I got back.  I did, and those notes helped me write part of a book I'd  publish 45 years later, about my American, Dream Family.  When my house burned down in 1993 most of my pictures of the trip were lost.  However, one, the picture of auntie Eva and uncle Ches at their home on Mercer Lake survived.

uncle Ches and auntie Eva at their home on Mercer Lake.  It was here, as well as with Auntie Mabel and uncle Chet, Aunt Verona and Aunt Bunny, that the Maybelline Story, began to unfold.  A world gone by opened up with pictures, letters, and precious memories handed to me for safe keeping.  I began to piece together a family story like no other and though the result would take a lifetime, I finally made my dream come true in September of 2010, when The Maybelline Story and the Spirited Family Dynasty Behind It was published by Bettie Youngs Books.

Memories of Mabel and Chet on their Wedding Day,  Tom Lyle Williams, aka Unk Ile to us,  Maybelline eye shadow in the 1930's and an original Maybelline ad from 1925.

After two wonderful months of getting to know my aunts, uncles and cousins, I returned to California, (as you can see I don't look very happy about it.)  I wanted to stay in Chicago and start college, but my parents insisted I come home.  So here I am at the airport, with my mother, Pauline, My dad, Bill, Nana and little Preston and Billee.  I did keep a diary and wrote a 25 page letter to Unk Ile.  He was quite impressed with my writing and said, "Sharrie, you certainly have a way with words, I think you'd make a great copy writer, like Emery, someday." 

Read more about my trip to Chicago, and meet the amazing Williams family yourself in my book, The Maybelline Story.  I guarantee you, you won't be able to put it down, because you'll want to know, "OK,  what happened next!"

Original Maybelline Family in 1916, and 1966.

Maybelline's complete line of eye make-up in 1966, everything a girl needed for extraordinary definition, color and style.


1966, Maybelline Ad.

 

The original Williams Family in 1916 the year
Maybelline was introduced to the public.

My grandfather William Preston lll, Eva Kaye, Tom Lyle, Mabel Anna, Noel James and their parents, Susan Anna (Alvey,) and Thomas Jefferson Williams.

The remaining siblings from the original Williams family, at Tom Lyle's estate in Bel Air 1966.

Mabel Williams Hewes, Tom Lyle Williams and

Eva Williams Haines.  with Tom Lyle's dogs,

 Miss Snoop E. Wiliams and Sparky.

I flew to Chicago in 1966 and spent the summer with my Auntie Mabel, Auntie Eva, my Nana's sister's, Aunt Verona and Aunt Bunny.  Check in tomorrow for pictures and be sure to read The Maybelline Story to get the details about this American Dream Family from 1910 to 2010

Maybelline coins the word Ultra for Beauty.

"Ultra Brow Brush-On is the Secret" the ad read in 1965, and a new word for Beautiful was coined by Maybelline.

The Ultra Girl takes the place of the IT Girl, in 1965

Here I am on the left with my sister Donna,
 the Ultra Saffrons.

With my best friend Pearl.  Senior's in High School and me with dreams of becoming a Maybelline Model.

So when I graduated I drove my blue and white hard top 57 Chevy straight up to Unk-Ile's and asked him point blank if I could be a Maybelline Model.  He said I certainely had the the eyes, the personality,
and the talent, but, that if he let me have such a special position it would cause jealousy with the rest of the girls in the family.  "But, Sharrie," he said, "if you go to college and get a degree in Marketing I will open every door for you!"


Did I take my great uncle's advise, knowing he had the power to take me straight to the top of the ad game?  What do you think?  What would you have done? 


If you want the full story please get your copy of
The Maybelline Story today and find out if I made the right decision or not.

ULTRA LASH IS BORN IN 1964.



 

In 1964 Ultra Lash became the most popular mascara in the world.                                                                                                       

17 and coming into my own identity.

1964 was a turning point, as far as kids my age

were concerned, partly because the Beatles brought in such a huge English influence. 

My great uncle, Tom Lyle Williams, was concerned foreign markets targeting youth, might overtake Maybelline's position someday.              

Maybelline had controlled 75% of the eye beauty market for over 50 years, and was the only eye make up allowed behind the Iron Curtain, but without Emery, Unk Ile decided to sell the company.

                                                         

It would take years to find a buyer willing to pay the asking price, but he decided to put the word out.           

So what happened?  Well that would be giving away the Maybelline Story wouldn't it!!  Find out by ordering your copy today.                                                                             

Rudolph Valentino's pool tile, 1940.

Tom Lyle gave this piece of tile to his sister Eva, who used it as a hot plate for years before passing it on to her daughter Marilyn, who eventually gave it to her first born son Richard Gerald, who is still using it as a hot plate today.  Just a little fun trivia from the Maybelline Family.

Eva (Williams) and Chester Haines, 45th Wedding Anniversary, 1969 and the family.

Front row L to R, Marilyn, Jackie, Peter Haines, Cindy Gary, Mathew Haines, Eva & Chester
Next row, Richard Gerald, John Gary, Bob Haines, Chris Haines, Jay Haines, Bob Westhouse, Steve Haines, Dave Westhouse & Kathy Gary, Mitch Haines & Lori Gary on the staircase.

More Maybelline Vintage ads and family lore tomorrow.  If you want to know more about this amazing family and the company they helped launch in 1915, be sure to order a signed copy at http://www.maybellinestory.com/.  Also Tama Bags are available for purchase with a copy of The Maybelline Story now.

A great story about the beautiful mortals

By Holly - This review is from: The Maybelline Story: ...and the Spirited Family Dynasty Behind It (Paperback)


I was only casually acquainted with the glamorous woman at the center of this saga. I was 22 years old in Hot Springs, Arkansas, and she was a brilliant but oddly vulnerable creature on the outer boundaries of my life then. This book answers so many questions I have had about her for many years. I am so glad it exists, and even more glad that it was written in a dynamic and thrilling style. The man who may be partially responsible for her death has been aptly described by the author. This book captures the legend that surrounded the woman and her family, and it is a great page-turner.


More importantly, the shining character of the remarkable Tom Lyle Williams guides this book. Anyone interested in the fashion world and the power of artifice will absolutely relish each and every chapter, to the very tumultuous end of the story.

Thank you for following the Maybelline Blog!!! 

Maybelline in a time of innocence.

"Remember, for purity and complete confidence in your eye make-up, insist on Maybelline."

Maybelline Ad before the product line changed in 1964.

My sweet little sister, Billee Rae Williams, on the right, at her First Communion in 1964.

 Top left, my sister Donna,  me, my cousin Nancy.
Bottom left, Cousin Chuck, (aka BB1,) holding my brother Preston, my sister Billee and cousin Jimmy.


In 1964 it was still a time of purity and innocence in America. Some say the 1950's didn't end until 1965.

After  President John F. Kennedy was killed in November of 1963, changes began to take place at a rapid pace.

Read more about the Maybelline Family and the radical changes that catapulted them into a new life, good, bad or indifferent. 

Here is what my sister Billee is up to today, http://www.maybellinebook.com/2013/12/shape-up-with-dancing-with-stars-karina.html

Here's what Chuck Williams is up to today,  http://www.maybellinebook.com/2014/01/maybelline-heir-chuck-williams-carries.html

Be sure to visit my 1964 Saffrons Rule Blog, taken directly from my personal diary at http://saffronsrule.com/

1964 PBS

1964 was the year the Beatles came to America, Cassius Clay became Muhammad Ali, and three civil rights workers were murdered in Mississippi. It was the year when Berkeley students rose up in protest, African Americans fought back against injustice in Harlem, and Barry Goldwater’s conservative revolution took over the Republican Party. In myriad ways, 1964 was the year when Americans faced choices: between the liberalism of Lyndon Johnson or Barry Goldwater’s grassroots conservatism, between support or opposition to the civil rights movement, between an embrace of the emerging counterculture or a defense of traditional values.

Maybelline family rollin' in suburbs 1960s style..

1962, was all about heavily made up, Breakfast at Tiffany's Eye's and Audrey Hepburn Up-Do's, even in the suburbs.

                                                Maybelline Ad in 1962.

Sharrie Williams in 1962, at 15, with first long stem roses from a boy.  Little home maker in a ruffled apron.  At least the hair and makeup was right on!

A couple of my favorite little guys, my little brother Preston Williams, sitting on Daddy's T-Bird,

and my little cousin Jimmy Williams (Noel Allen's son) relaxing by his pool with Frenchie the poodle.

While Unk Ile was in Bel Air spinning dreams for the family's future, we led normal everyday lives in the burbs during the 1960's.  Now, the 70's would be another story, but you'll have to read The Maybelline Story and the Spirited Family Dynasty Behind It to catch all the action after the Maybelline Company sold in Dec. 1967.

Order a signed copy from maybellinestory.com and thank you for following my Blog!

Audrey Hepburn's Maybelline Eyes in Breakfast at Tiffany's.

Maybelline introduced Fluid Eye Liner in 1961

The tools in every woman's makeup bag now included the most sophisticated products Maybelline had ever created, including, Magic Mascara with it's own self contained Sprial Brush, Self-Sharpener Eyebrow Pencil, Iridescent Eye Shadow (in a tube like lipstick,) and now Fluid Eye Liner.

Check out Audrey Hepburn's Maybelline Eyes, in Breakfast at Tiffany's, 1961.  See how the makeup artist used Eye Liner, Shadow, Pencil and Mascara to create the New Look of the 60's. 

Read more about Maybelline's tremendous success in the 1960's, in The Maybelline Story and the Spirited Family Dynasty Behind It.

 Purchase a signed copy from maybellinestore.com

Maybelline's Teenage Diva in the 1960's.

Maybelline ad's in the 1960's, were seen more in fashion magazines, than movie magazines, and a new target market emerged as teenage Boomer's discovered  glamour and their own style.

Maybelline's new eye shadow stick was a big hit in 1960 and came in 5 iridescent, jewel-tone shades for $1.  When I turned 13 in 1960 my mother and Nana gave me a makeup bag for my Birthday,  filled with all the Maybelline products seen in this ad.  Of course I didn't wear it to school, but I felt very grown up knowing I had my own makeup and a pair of low heal, high heals, ready to go, if the time ever came when I might need them. 

Sharrie Williams at 13, with a  little Maybelline on my lashes.

When I was a teenager, being a Fashion Diva was the key to finding the perfect guy and having a perfect life.  So did it happen?  Yes and no.   But you'll have to read The Maybelline Story to find out. 

Stay tuned for more 60's lore all this week.  Tell your Fashion Diva friends to check out The Maybelline Blog if they love VINTAGE! 

Tom Lyle Williams Villa Valentino and his Estate at 900 Airole Way, Bel Air, California

Tom Lyle's family meant the world to him and visited often at the Villa Valentino in the Hollywood Hills, (until it was taken for the Hollywood freeway,)  than at his new modern glass and steel estate in Bel Air, California.

 My Grandmother,  Evelyn, Great uncle,Tom Lyle and my parents, Bill and Pauline Williams at the Villa Valentino, 1942.

Aspiration overlooking the pool in the 1930's.                                                    

Tom Lyle's sister Eva with her husband Ches Haines, and their kids, June, Marilyn and Bob, 1947.

Tom Lyle in the director's chair at the Villa, with his sisters Mabel Williams Hewes and Eva Williams Haines and their husbands Chet Hewes and Ches Haines, 1938.

Noel James and Frances Williams, at Tom Lyle's new home in Bel Air, 1950.

Tom Lyle's brother Noel James Williams and Sparky at Tom Lyle's new estate, 1950.

Here I am at 4 years old holding on for dear life in 1951..

My parents Bill and Pauline with Noel Allen on the lounge chair, at the Bel Air estate, 1954.

Tom Lyle's niece, Annette Williams Corbett, standing with him at the gate of 900 Airole Way in 1961.  At that time the estate was valued at $250,000.  In 2005 it was sold for $19,500,000.  After his death in 1976, the 8,256 sq foot estate was sold to  Polish-French film director, producer, writer and actor Roman Polanski.

Tom Lyle with Sparky getting the mail at the door of the Bel Air estate, 1960.

Jean, Chuck and Nancy Williams with Annette Williams Corbett, her daughter Ann Louise, Tom Lyle and Annette's husband George Corbett, 1961.

My cousin's Ann Louise, Princie, her dog, with Nancy and Chuck Williams at the Bel Air estate, 1961.

Cousin Chuck, Nancy and Ann Louise in Bel Air, with the statue Aspiration moved from the Villa to Bel Air in 1949.

Ann Louise, Chuck and Nancy in Tom Lyle's Ultra Chinese Modern den.


As I head into the 1960's I wanted to recap the years before the Maybelline Company sold in 1967.  Stay tuned for fascinating vintage 60 ads and more family pictures to come this week. 

Maybelline Story will be performed as a One Woman Show!

Sharrie Williams performs a One Woman Show for The Beverly Hills  Women's Club!

Tickets are open to the public. Men are welcome of course.  If you would like to meet Sharrie and see her tell the Maybelline Story with power point pictures of her family and vintage Maybelline Ads, watch for information to be posted on this blog.  It should be a fun time and a great way to meet interesting people.