My Great Uncle Tom Lyle Williams, Founder of The Maybelline Company in 1915, never stopped believing in himself.

He taught me to never give up on my dreams no matter what obstacles stood in my path and I faced plenty writing The Maybelline Story, finding a publisher and growing my brand.

The Great Depression  presented Tom Lyle with many opportunities to expand the company. Hard times forced him to reconsider his business plan of marketing through mail order, hiring marketing genius Rags Ragland even though he was not part of the Williams family. With Rags innovative thinking, Maybelline soon appeared in drug stores, grocery stores and discount houses. These outlets targeted a new audience of younger women ready to purchase eye cosmetics at an affordable price from conveniently placed displays, rather than ordering and waiting for them to arrive by mail.

Movies during the 1930's drove the Maybelline Co. towards even more success, as people sought escape from their problems while developing a fascination for their favorite stars. Joan Crawford represented the ordinary girl trying to make it in a man's world. Jean Harlow with her platinum hair and pencil thin eyebrows represented glamour -a little rough around the edges. These actresses were the prototype of the modern woman who wanted to be beautiful and glamorous. This phenomenon brought more women into the stores to purchase Maybelline and Tom Lyle's dream continued into the 1940's.

As I was growing up, Tom Lyle's stories instilled in me the will to keep going even though many doors were slammed in my face. Now after 20 years, I can proudly say that The Maybelline Story, The Maybelline Book Blog and my One Woman Show is at last a  reality and no longer just a pipe-dream. 

I'm proud to announce a friend of mine from the UK, Eddie McGarrity, never gave up on his dream to be a published writer and today his two amazing books are available in paperback on Amazon.

 Please check them out as you may remember the fun post I did about his character Elrood the Christmas Elf.  http://www.maybellinebook.com/2012/10/did-somebody-christmas-in-october.html

Eddie McGarrity

http://www.amazon.com/Eddie-McGarrity/e/B009HX6Y06/ref=ntt_athr_dp_pel_1

http://www.amazon.co.uk/s/ref=ntt_athr_dp_sr_pop_1?_encoding=UTF8&field-author=Eddie%20McGarrity&search-alias=books-uk

More photos from Eddie McGarrity

Want to be a guest blogger on the Maybelline Book Blog?  just email me at maybellinebook@gmail.com I'd love to hear from you.

"The Royal family of the cosmetic industry." Guest Blogger Jodi Hanson @chaptersandchats reviews The Maybelline Story and the Spirited Family Dynasty Behind it.

Growing up in the 70s, the time of discos and over the top makeup, teenage girls, myself included, wanted their lashes as dark and full as possible. We all had the pink and green tube of Great Lash mascara in our makeup bags. I’m middle-aged now and still have Maybelline mascara in my makeup bag. The only difference is I am a little more judicious in my application. So naturally when Sharrie Williams, grand-niece of Tom Lyle Williams; founder of Maybelline, asked if I was interested in reviewing “The Maybelline Story: And the Spirited Family Dynasty Behind it” I readily accepted the offer.

Sharrie Williams takes her readers into the world of the royal family of the cosmetic industry. Picture the Carrington’s from the hit 1980s television series “Dynasty”, change it from oil moguls to cosmetic moguls and you’ll understand what it was like being a Williams. The book is an intimate retelling of triumphs and losses, love and betrayal as Tom Lyle Williams, a teenage boy from small town USA, follows his dream to take the world and make it his oyster on his
quest to being a millionaire.

Maybelline was started when Tom Lyle discovered his sister Mabel’s beauty secret and wanted to share the product with American women. Little did he know that this would begin the journey into a lifelong love story with his little company that turned into a dynasty and the most widely known cosmetic company in the world.

Through the depression and two world wars Maybelline persevered always managing to keep women feeling beautiful through even the toughest times. Mingling with starlets from Hollywood and iconic movie producers the Tom Lyle Williams lived the life only to be dreamed of by millions of people.

Sharrie Williams was born to tell the story of her family. She does it with grace and humility showing not only the successes but the failures of her heritage. I was captivated from the first paragraph greedily pouring over the pages. I highly recommend “The Maybelline Story: And the Spirited Family Dynasty Behind it” is a must read for enthusiasts of memoirs and biographies.

Jodi Ann Chapterswww.chaptersandchats.com
www.facebook.com/ChaptersandChats
www.twitter.com/Chaptersandchat

Hollywood Royalty, Rudolph Valentino and Natacha Rambovia's home was purchased by Maybelline founder Tom Lyle Williams and his partner Emery Shaver in the 1930's.

After Rudolph Valentino died in 1926, two of his homes in the Hollywood hills went up for sale. 

One, the famous 4,700 square foot, Falcon Lair, home of Valentino and Natacha Rambova in Benedict Canyon

  

Rudolph Valentino at his home in Whitley Heights.

and the other in the Whitley Heights section of the Hollywood hills. Valentino lived in this house while he and his fiancee were building Falcon Lair.

Tom Lyle Williams and Emery Shaver on the
 Balcony of the Villa Valentino.

Tom Lyle and Emery with TL's 1934 Packard Victoria
 at the Villa Valentino.

After Valentino’s untimely death, Tom Lyle and Emery rented than bought the home in Whitley Heights...named it The Villa Valentino and concentrated on Maybelline's Advertising...

while brother, Vice President Noel James Williams ran the business at hand for the Maybelline Company in Chicago.

Picture of Tom Lyle Williams from the article
 in Drug Topics Magazine, 1929.

In May of 1929 in one of the few article written about Tom Lyle’s life and his success story came out in a cosmetic journal called the drug topics and portrayed a young entrepreneur’s genius in advertising.

This fascinating period of Hollywood history is featured in The Maybelline Story... buy a signed copy today...

Want to read more on The Villa Valentino, chick here 

Royal Lineage in The Maybelline Family.

The Tudors.

The name Williams first popped up with our ancestor Joan Tudor, born in 1453 in Wales. She married William Williams.

                 Joan was the daughter of Jasper Tudor.

                      Jasper's parents were Owen Tudor

                                 and Catherine de Valois.

          Catherine was the widow of Henry V of England

             and daughter of King Charles VI of France!

Joan and Williams' son Morgan married a sister of Oliver Cromwell. 

Thank you to my cousin
Joyce, (Maybelline's namesake,
 Mabel Williams/Hewes, daughter,)
 for this exciting new information.
 It certainly adds more missing pieces to
 The Maybelline Story and the Spirited
 Family Dynasty Behind It. 

Maybelline's secret weapon..Nothing succeeds like success...Tom Lyle Williams built his Advertising Empire on that one idea.

The Paige Detroit Company billed its cars as the most beautiful in America. The company started in 1909 and would one day be bought out by Cadillac. Tom Lyle held his own ideas of how the Paige design could be even flashier and more daring. Driving through the streets of Chicago, Tom Lyle wanted to stand out and thereby reflect the image of his fashionable new cosmetics company. His first car would also be an advertising tool as it would sit outside the Maybelline Company, and must not be mistaken for any lesser car. 

Want to know more about Tom Lyle Williams and his  Paige Detroit? Click below for 5 other posts I've done on the subject  PAIGE DETROIT...

The picture shows Tom Lyle, his father Thomas Jefferson and his sister Mabel Williams standing in front of his new Paige Detroit, parked in front of the Maybelline Company in 1916.

Whether you think it’s shallow or not the truth... people will look at your appearance and make a stack of judgments about you simply based on your image!

When Women gained the power of Financial Freedom they chose the right to be noticed with MAYBELLINE..

In the 1920's the American frontier had been explored, and cities were now the epicenters of discovery. New technology demanded an expanded workforce. Women defied their stay-at-home roles. With the freedom of their own money, they behaved differently. They even started smoking.

Massive advertising campaigns by Lucky Strike Tobacco Company lured women as well as men into smoking with the slogan “It’s toasted!” After all, what could be more pure and aromatic than toasted, golden leaves?

The public fell for it. With product placement in the first self-serve grocery stores—the Piggly Wiggly chain—it was easy to develop a smoking and Maybelline habit over night.

No one could stop their little purchases, which included beauty-products. The era when only performers and prostitutes wore make-up had passed.

The age of cosmetics had begun with Lash-Brow-Ine in 1915, which became Maybelline in 1916.....

You can't be truly independent and free without being financially independent.....

Financial empowerment.....is about knowledge..... which comes with education! 

Read all about it in my book, The Maybelline Story and the Spirited Family Dynasty Behind It..... 

A forgotten member of the Maybelline Family can at last Rest in Peace.

If you've read my book The Maybelline Story, you may remember the story about my father's half brother Tony who was killed in a motorcycle accident on his 21st Birthday.  Well for 63 years his grave has remained unmarked and his memory almost forgotten until now.

Marilyn (Diddy) Williams/Haines and Tony Williams/Shaver

Like a miracle we have found Tony's unmarked grave and I'm happy to say that several members of the Maybelline family, including the Noel James Williams family, the Mabel Williams/Hewes family, the Eva Williams/Haines Family and of course my family, the Preston Williams family, have come together to honor our lost angel by ordering a marker and finally acknowledging him as a beloved member of our family. 

After an hour of searching for Tony Williams-Shaver's grave my sister Donna, my cousin Ann Louise and I found it tucked under a beautiful Pine Tree in the old section of Holy Cross Catholic Cemetery in Culver City.  It was without a doubt the coldest, windiest day I can remember in California and I believe Tony's Spirit was dancing with Joy in the wind, as his long lost relatives not only visited him, but now honor his memory and hold him dear in their hearts. 

If you'd like to see Tony's spot just click on the video.  The marker will be placed hopefully by Christmas Eve and at that point we will visit Tony again and document his beautiful memory plaque. 

If you want to know more about my uncle Tony and why his grave remained unmarked for 63 years, you'll have to read my book!!!

Thank you for following The Maybelline Book Blog....

Tony's marker was placed November 15, shortly after our first visit and yes he was buried under the big Pine tree.

My sister Donna corrects my faux Pas!!!  Sorry about that.

View from Tony's grave at twilight in Culver City California.

                                          

Unfailing Prayer to Saint Anthony

Here is a typical petition, as found on the back of a Saint Anthony holy card:

Unfailing Prayer to Saint Anthony Blessed be God in His Angels and in His Saints.  O Holy St. Anthony, gentlest of Saints, your love for God and Charity for His creatures made you worthy, when on earth, to possess miraculous powers. Miracles waited on your word, which you were ever ready to speak for those in trouble or anxiety.

Encouraged by this thought, I implore of you to obtain for me (request). The answer to my prayer may require a miracle. Even so, you are the saint of Miracles.

O gentle and loving St. Anthony, whose heart was ever full of human sympathy, whisper my petition into the ears of the Sweet Infant Jesus, who loved to be folded in your arms, and the gratitude of my heart will ever be yours.

Amen. (Say 13 Paters, Aves, and Glorias)

Meet Make-Up Artist Donna Mee and see pictures of my Maybelline Story Presentation for the Laguna Playhouse.

DONNA MEE is a successful entrepreneur, and Beauty Expert that has over 30 years of experience to her credit. She currently owns and operates numerous beauty related businesses in Orange County, California. Her career as a professional Makeup Artist led her to work with celebrities, fashion designers, magazines and TV.

www.DonnaMeeInc.com

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b2Z3gndTpiU 

https://www.facebook.com/pages/Donna-Me … 2292293522 

Donna Mee Inc. Makeup Artisry Academy/Agency/Studio/Products

Published: Sept. 25, 2012 Updated: 10:43 a.m

For O.C. cosmetics expert, makeup's history forms foundation

Makeup, including a historical collection dating back hundreds of years, is part of the foundation of Donna Mee's life.

My Maybelline Story Presentation for the Laguna Playhouse Women,   was a stunning event at the Pacific  Club in Newport Beach California. Here I am signing a book for the Playhouse Director City Council member and past Laguna Beach Mayor, Elizabeth Pearson.  I was thrilled to sign over 40 books and met some of Orange County's leading women.  One lovely lady, make-up artist, Donna Mee, came to meet me and learn more about Maybelline's history.  She has an extensive make-up collection dating back 100 years and is an authority on it's history.  Check her website and the article she just did for the Orange County Register linked under her beautiful picture.  I will be meeting up with Donna and making a video of her collection this month, so stay tuned as two make-up enthusiasts go wild with memories of Maybelline!

Lunch at the Pacific Club.

A view of my Maybelline Story Presentation.

I was so excited about the success of my Newport Beach splash, that I ran to Costco and bought myself a new car....  Just kidding....but I did have a great time and want to thank everyone who attended and supported the Maybelline Story and the Spirited Family Dynasty Behind It.  Keep your fingers crossed, as my Publisher, Bettie Youngs is meeting with a Producer today to discuss a possible movie.  See you all soon as I head down the highway!!

JOAN CRAWFORD - MILDRED PIERCE - HEDY LAMARR - PAUL HESSE HOLLYWOOD - 1945 ACADEMY AWARDS

I'm very excited to show you this private letter from Maybelline ad man, Emery Shaver (Tom Lyle Williams partner for over 50 years) - written from the Villa Valentino, to his sister Elizabeth Shaver, and graciously shared with me by his nephew Floyd Shaver-Welles.  I think you'll enjoy its significant value, especially if you love Vintage Hollywood and pure Advertising genius...... 

1923, from the left, Tom Lyle Williams, Elizabeth Shaver and her brother
  Emery Shaver seated.

April 14, 1946.

Life goes on rather calmly here, as usual.  We had a slight flurry of activity here last week in working on an assignment with Hedy Lamarr for a new ad.  She is a rather temperamental woman, although much more beautiful than she appears on the screen, and it was with some difficulty that we were finally able to pin her down to an appointment with Paul Hesse, Hollywood's leading Photographer, for a color portrait, and then get her to write her promised autographed testimonial.  All this took some diplomacy, but it was finally accomplished.  And from the first black and white proofs, it would appear we are going to have perhaps the most beautiful of all  of our growing list of color ads.  Presume you saw the one we have of Joan Crawford, which is now running currently for us in most of the magazines.  It was most fortunate for us that Miss Crawford was awarded the Academy Award for the Best Actress of 1945 for her picture "Mildred Pierce," just as our ad was first appearing.  Our ad created quite a sensation in the Advertising world and has been generally admired, so now many other Motion Picture Celebrities are eager to have the enormous benefit of such beautiful color ads, and we have more offers than we care to take advantage of.  Nothing succeeds, like success, they say, and this instance proves it. Hope the Lamarr ad gets as much attention and I think it will.

Hedy Lamarr.

Joan Crawford.

The actual letter.

Merle Oberon followed in a Maybelline color ad by Paul Hesse Hollywood.

My Guest Blogger @KatesReads reviews The Maybelline Story

A Compelling True Story of Success
and Intrigue

By Kate Farrell of Kates Reads
www.katesreads.com
@KatesReads

“The Maybelline Story and the Spirited Dynasty Behind It”, by Sharrie Williams is a gripping memoir of the cosmetics company and her own family.  It is vintage Hollywood, with all of the glamour, greed, passion and intrigue you would expect.

Tom Lyle, the company’s founder and patriarch of the family, discovers the idea for mascara from an incident with his sister, Mabel.  He turns the idea into a business venture and begins a successful mail-order marketing campaign.  He names the company Maybelline in honor of his sister.  Over the years the business will grow and then reach the brink only to be brought back to success by Lyle’s business and marketing savvy.  He was truly an entrepreneur.

The extended family is filled with interesting and colorful personalities.  Most of them are involved in the company in some shape or form; or at least dependent on their share of the family fortune. How they interact with each other and get tangled up in drama makes for titillating reading.  The author does not seem to have left any skeletons in the closet or stones unturned.

This is a very engaging memoir.  Williams’ writing brings all the players to life and makes the reader anxious to know what happens to them next.  It has all the ingredients for a great piece of fiction but is even better when you realize it all really happened.  A great read!

Check out this great Vintage Hollywood Poster.....