I am a little sentimental. Or maybe a lot. And after I learnt the story behind the Maybelline brand, I fell in love a little. Or maybe a lot.
Over a century ago, a girl fell in love with a boy. The story is set in Chicago.
Mabel Williams had her sights set on Chet Hewes, but Chet had his heart set on someone else. Mabel made a plan to entice Chet with her dark, mysterious gaze.
And how did Mabel do this, you may ask? Mabel attempted to darken her lashes with soot from an oil lamp. Thomas L. Williams then decided to help his sister win the heart of the man she loves. Thomas, a pharmacist, concocted a mixture of Vaseline and carbon dust that Mabel used to darken her lashes. This is how the first mascara was born. A year later, Mabel and Chet were married.
I have read a couple of versions on line that just slightly differ from the above, but I definitely prefer this story. Don’t you?
‘Two years later, in 1915, T.L. Williams founded his cosmetics company and named it Maybelline. The name was derived from his sister’s name Mabel and Vaseline.’
Beautiful Maybelline ads with images of silent film beauties who became Maybelline models in the 1920’s:
Maybelline didn’t stop at mascara; they also created the first eyebrow pencil and first eye shadow.
I learnt all of the above at the fabulous Maybelline launch I attended last week. Thanks Maybelline! So many fabulous products to look forward to this year… watch this space.
xoxo
* I found all of these amazing images on http://www.maybellinebook.com