Maybelline

For the Chuck Berry song, see Maybellene.

Maybelline is a popular makeup brand sold world-wide and owned by L'Oréal. It is a top seller and has been one of the top makeup manufacturers for years, their slogan being Maybe She's Born With It. Maybe It's Maybelline.

History

Maybelline was first formed in 1915 in Chicago, Illinois, as a mail order business by T.L. Williams to market a mascara he had created two years earlier for his sister, Mabel. The company took its name from the combination of Williams' sister's name and Vaseline jelly, which were combined to create Maybelline. In 1920 the company began to also sell eyeshadow, and in 1930 it began to sell eyeliner.

In 1932, the company expanded from its original mail order format and began to sell its products in stores. In the 1960s, Maybelline created Ultra Lash, the first mass-market automatic mascara.

In 1967, the company was sold by T.L. Williams to Plough, Inc. (now Schering-Plough) in Memphis, Tennessee. The entire cosmetic production facility was moved from Chicago to Memphis over one week-end. In 1975 the company moved its factory to Little Rock, Arkansas, where it is still located. In 1990, Schering-Plough sold Maybelline to a New York investment firm, Wasserstein Perella. Maybelline Operational Headquarters remained in Memphis until being sold in 1996, when headquarters moved to New York City. Maybelline received a huge boost when the company hired Wonder Woman star Lynda Carter as the company's beauty fashion coordinator and appeared in several of its television and print ads. Today, supermodels Christy Turlington, Josie Maran, Erin Wasson, Adriana Lima, Tomoko Frazier, Sarah Michelle Gellar, Siti Nurhaliza, Fasha Sandha, Zhang Ziyi and Kristin Davis have endorsed Maybelline products.

In 1991, the company adopted its current advertising slogan, "Maybe She's Born With It. Maybe It's Maybelline." tagline. In 1996, the company was acquired by L'Oréal.

External link

• http://www.maybelline.com/