Maybelline founder Tom Lyle Williams

1930s Makeup – The Jean Harlow Look..... by Glamour Daze @glamourdaze



Those very long lashes are black, her mascara of choice being cake Maybelline, which she applies with a fine set of brushes given to her by Max Factor himself.

You can bet that Jean Harlow is using a Maybelline
 Eyebrow Pencil to draw on her pincel thin eyebrows. 

15 cents, in the 1930's... today would be more like 2 dollars. Maybelline still maintains the same quality and is still sensibly priced.



Jean Harlow featured in a Maybelline Ad during the 1930's.



Maybelline was the first Make-up to introduce carded merchandise displayed on a rack, usually at the front of the Dime Store, to encourage impulse buying in the 1930's.


Please visit Glamour Daze Fabulous Vintage Blog if you love Vintage Fashion and Make-Up and check the beautiful article she did on my book, The Maybelline Story.....
http://glamourdaze.com/2013/08/1930s-makeup-the-jean-harlow-look.html

Visit my new Blog, SAFFRONS RULE, taken directly from my 1964 High School Diary at 
http://saffronsrule.com/2013/08/29/making-out-at-the-drive-in-and-my-hair-didnt-even-get-messed-up/

The Maybelline Story takes you on a journey through 20th century America, and into the 21st as the worlds largest Cosmetic Brand



The Maybelline Story starts almost a century ago and takes you though the interesting life of founder Tom Lyle Williams and his fascinating family as he climbs his way to achieving the all American dream. Cross country it will take you from Chicago to Hollywood, mingling with the who's who in each era and location. Read how a fluke turned into a simple product, and how it turned into an international sensation and empire. Follow their lives and families lives for almost 80 years.        



The Maybelline Story is one that has left a lasting impression upon America, yet not many realize just how vital a role the cosmetic brand has played in shaping idealism today.  The obsession with perfection is widely seen throughout Hollywood, as it was nearly 100 years ago.  However, the obsession at that time did not reach the rest of society as it has today.  Early cosmetic developers, such as founder Tom Lyle Williams of the Maybelline Co. brought cosmetics to the everyday woman, pushing the idea that every woman, young and old, regardless of class, can obtain glamour and beauty with a simple swish of the eyes.  That’s where Maybelline got its start.  Developed in a time where women were breaking away from being modest and obedient housewives, and starting to seek their right as legal voters and equals in society.





The Maybelline story captivates all audiences by its incredible survival through economic, social, and personal turmoil.  The Maybelline Story takes you on a journey through 20th century America, and into the 21st century where Maybelline New York, now owned my L'Oreal,  thrives as a billion-dollar Icon and still the world’s largest cosmetic brand.



Maybelline splashed magazines with glitz and glamour, using Jean Harlow, Joan Crawford and Betty Grable in the 1940's.

Betty Grable Maybelline ad

The man who would become a cosmetics giant, Tom Lyle Williams, was a private man.....When TL launched the Maybelline Co. in 1915, mascara was deemed the “province of whores and homosexuals.”

He protected his Company and his family, by staying out of view from the public and an every intrusive press.  In the 1930's, Tom Lyle ran his empire from a distance, cloistered behind the gates of his Hollywood Villa Valentino and contracted Movie Stars to represent him in the  media.

From the earliest days of silent film, he sought Photoplay stars, like Viola Dana, Phyllis Haver, and Clara Bow.  Throughout the 1930’s “Golden Age of Hollywood,” TL splashed magazines with glitz and glamour, using Jean Harlow, Joan Crawford and Merle Oberon.  World War ll brought in the Pin-up girls, including, Bettie Grable, Elyse Knox, Hedy Lamaar, Rita Hayworth, and Lana Turner.

The 1950’s, ushered in the Girl Next Door... represented by Debby Reynolds and Grace Kelly.  When Maybelline appeared on Television in the early 1950’s, Tom Lyle decided to appeal to a more universal image and rather than promote film stars created the cool, exotic, sophisticated image..... Appealing to foreign as well as domestic markets.


     Joan Crawford – had her teeth pulled and replaced to have a more beautiful
     smile and became Maybelline’s spokesperson for years.

Merle Oberon – was in an accident that disfigured the skin on her face, yet in films she looked flawless because of pancake make up.

Betty Grable - took over for the leading song and dance actress Alice Faye and became a big star in musicals as well As one of Maybelline’s top models.

Debby Reynolds - was to be Maybelline’s leading model in the 1950’s until Tom Lyle decided to change his ad campaign from the all American Girl to a more international exotic sophisticate in his TV commercials and print magazines.

Maybelline was the sole sponsor for the Grace Kelly, Prince Rainier lll, wedding in Monaco appeal to a more universal image and rather than promote film stars created the cool, exotic, sophisticated woman who would appeal to foreign as well as domestic markets.  


Be sure to visit my new blog SAFFRONS RULE at http://saffronsrule.com/2013/08/19/today-i-was-in-a-good-mood-and-felt-real-popular/

Vintage Hat Designers Lilly Dache' and Marion Valle' agree - EYE MAKE-UP IS AS NECESSARY TO CHIC AS THE SMARTEST HAT.


1936 Cocktail hats would not have been quite as exciting... without Maybelline Eyes lighting up a woman's face.



According to Marion Valle'..... Modern Eye Make-up is as Necessary to CHARM as the SMARTEST HAT.



In 1936 Maybelline changed their look and product line to be more fashionable and appeal to a younger market. 



A new 10 cent size of Maybelline replaced the 75 cent larger size in the 1930's, so every woman could afford to be fashionable during the Great Depression.




Lilly Dache' Hollywood's Mad Hatter, read all about her on Kay's,  Movie Star Makeover Blog.



Vintage American Girl by Marion Valle' on Ebay for $34.99

Want to know more about Vintage Hollywood Glamour and Fashion in the 1930's and 40's? Get the whole scoop in

The Maybelline Story... Buy my book directly from my site,
or Amazon and Barnes and Noble...on my right column..


Also be sure to visit my new Blog.....SAFFRONS RULE.....Taken directly from my 1964 High School Diary.  http://saffronsrule.wordpress.com/2013/08/15/216/





Take a peek at my new tell all, slightly scandalous, but definitely hilarious blog, taken from my 1964 High School diary.....

3 YEARS BEFORE THE MAYBELLINE COMPANY SOLD, I WAS A WILD CHILD.
                                 SAFFRONS RULE
                                      click to view

The secret life of a 16 year old girl coming of age between Kennedy's Assassination and the Vietnam War. 

In the midst of frustration and struggle to become an adult during the 1960's, Sharrie and her friends, seek to find meaning in their lives - while growing up in the fast lane of LA.  


This song sets the tone for Saffrons Rule, "Be My Baby."
By the Ronettes.

NICHE MAGAZINE SUMMER 2013 FEATURES LEONARDO DECAPRIO'S THE GREAT GATSBY, AS WELL AS SHARRIE WILLIAMS CELEBRITY COLUMN





















Turn to page 64 to see my column.





Look for my column on page 64
  


***FOURTEEN*** The Crash of 1929

While he didn't let on, Tom Lyle was having problems of his own. Despite the crash of 1929, it took two years for the Maybelline Company to feel its true effects. Although sales slowed, and the family fortune dwindled, it wasn't until 1931 that Tom Lyle received the worst possible news. The president of Chicago Guaranty Trust called him personally and told him that his ship had sunk. On paper at least, Tom Lyle was no better off than the guys selling apples on the street corner. He was broke.

The prosperity and opulence of the roaring ’20s were gone, as were the vamps who purchased Maybelline’s seventy-five-cent mascara. Tom Lyle realized that to save his company, he would have to rethink his marketing plan and come up with an idea that would put his product in the public eye at a price women could afford. The flashy, flapper look was being replaced with a more demure look fit for the times. Movie stars and socialites alike favored understated eye makeup. Only one out of five women now used Maybelline mascara, while four out of five women continued to use powders and skin creams.

Tom Lyle tried to market cheaper sizes of his products, but fashion magazines began to characterize makeup products “fit only for tarts from the wrong side of the tracks.” Major film studios, such as Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer, Warner Brothers, and Paramount, jettisoned mascara and eyeliner altogether. It didn't help that the reigning empress of MGM, Norma Shearer, called eye makeup “the province of whores.” While Ponds Cold Cream and Helena Rubenstein’s makeup appealed to the rich and the upper middle class, Maybelline’s darkly colored lashes now only appealed to “the lower class.” While Tom Lyle made a quality product affordable and accessible to women, Emery created a logo to fit the times. “Quality yet sensibly priced” was printed on every advertisement page, and became the spirit of Maybelline’s campaign.

Tom Lyle saw his dream going up in smoke, and the Maybelline Company nearly went bankrupt. It occurred to him that to continue selling through mail-order was futile. He needed to put his products where women could purchase them cheaply and on demand—Maybelline was offered in dime stores, but at a very small as needed supply, and Preston and his drinking problem, failing health and poor relationship with Evelyn made him almost useless as a sales representative. He had to do something fast or sell the company before it failed all together. Rather than focus on an upscale market, he knew he’d still be able to sell his product to the working classes by making his products available cheaply and at retail. But to do that would take backing, and he was nearly broke. He asked his friend Rory Kirkland for a loan. Kirkland lent him enough money to keep Maybelline afloat until they could figure out what to do next. 


The family single-handedly held the company together, and everyone took less pay and worked longer hours. Tom Lyle concentrated on advertising, while Noel handled the administration of the company and the employees. Mabel’s husband, Chet, supervised the production of mascara, and Eva’s husband, Ches, managed shipping and the Maybelline trucks that transported products to dime stores and Preston tried to stay sober.


Also started a Blog on Word Press about my 1964 Diary. I will be posting each day of that year so check it out at http://saffronsrule.wordpress.com/2013/08/05/day-1-of-my-1964-diary/

Maybelline founder Tom Lyle Williams and his partner Emery Shaver, together for 50 years.




Part of the Tom Lyle Williams and Emery Shaver family, having lunch at  Damon's Steak House in Glendale California, before visiting Forest Lawn, and the tomb of
 their great uncles.



Anxious to see uncle Lyle and uncle Emery's, final resting place, our two families hurried to their Mausoleum.




I was mesmerized at the size of Elizabeth Taylor's monument, by far the largest of anyone at Forest Lawn.


Tom Lyle Williams and his lifetime partner, Emery Shaver, are entombed together in a crypt, in this beautiful Sanctuary.



Unable to be open with their relationship while alive,
 Tom Lyle and Emery are together eternally, in death. 




Ann Williams Corbett, Sharrie Williams, Donna Williams and  Floyd Shaver-Welles, honoring their great uncle's by placing two white roses on their crypt.  We believe our great uncle's, were instrumental in bringing our two families together 40 years after their deaths.



Ann Louise Williams-Corbett, placed 5 roses on the
 Shaver crypt, while their family beheld the sacred act.












We were all struck by this touching inscription: "O For One Hour Of Youthful Joy!  Give Back My Seventh Spring!  I'd Rather Laugh A Bright Haired Boy, Than Reign, A Gray - Beard King."


Upper left,  Mary Ann Welles, Floyd and Patty
 Shaver-Welles, Jeff Welles.
Below left, Ann Louise Williams-Corbett, Sharrie
 and Donna Williams.
The Williams and Shaver-Welles Family at Tam O' Shanter Restaurant in Los Angeles, celebrating Floyd Shaver-Welles Birthday... After a day of visiting our families at Forest Lawn Cemetery. We sincerely believe the Joy in our Spirit brought our loved one's Spirit's, back to life that night.
















Some of the original Williams and Shaver's in 1922.  Left to Right...Tom Lyle Williams, Elizabeth Shaver, Bud Shaver, Emery Shaver seated, (unidentified) Ches Haines and Eva Williams (TL's sister.)

In honor of Tom Lyle and Emery, we, as their families, now consider ourselves one family and officially cousins.

Read all about Tom Lyle and Emery and their tremendous contribution to women developing their own identities in the 20th Century.....in The Maybelline Story and the Spirited Family Dynasty Behind It.

http://youtu.be/OzJWGL-YB8I   View of Forest Lawn.

The Williams Shaver-Welles first meeting.....http://www.maybellinebook.com/2013/05/celebrating-cinco-de-mayo-2013-with.html

Thank you Jeff for making this memorable day possible.