Maybelline New York (formerly The Maybelline Company and Mabelline and Co.), trading as Maybelline ( ), is an American multinational

cosmetics Cosmetics are constituted mixtures of chemical compounds derived from either natural sources, or synthetically created ones. Cosmetics have various purposes. Those designed for personal care and skin care can be used to cleanse or protect ...

skin care Skin care is a range of practices that support skin integrity, enhance its appearance, and relieve skin conditions. They can include nutrition, avoidance of excessive sun exposure, and appropriate use of emollients. Practices that enhance appea ...

fragrance An aroma compound, also known as an odorant, aroma, fragrance or flavoring, is a chemical compound that has a smell or odor. For an individual chemical or class of chemical compounds to impart a smell or fragrance, it must be sufficiently vol ...

, and

personal care Personal care or toiletries are consumer products used in personal hygiene, personal grooming or for beautification. Products Personal care includes products as diverse as cleansing pads, colognes, cotton swabs, cotton pads, deodorant, eye ...

company A company, abbreviated as co., is a legal entity representing an association of people, whether natural, legal or a mixture of both, with a specific objective. Company members share a common purpose and unite to achieve specific, declared go ...

, based in

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the most densely populated major city in the Un ...

. It was founded in Chicago in 1914, and has been a subsidiary of French cosmetics company

L'Oréal L'Oréal S.A. () is a French personal care company headquartered in Clichy, Hauts-de-Seine with a registered office in Paris. It is the world's largest cosmetics company and has developed activities in the field concentrating on hair color, sk ...

since 1996.

History

The Maybelline Company was founded in Chicago by pharmacist

Thomas Lyle Williams Thomas Lyle Williams Sr (January 19, 1896 – September 26, 1976) was an American cosmetician and business executive. He was the founder of cosmetic firm The Maybelline Company. Early life and family Thomas Lyle Williams Sr. was born in Morg ...

in 1915. Williams noticed his older sister Mabel applying a mixture of

Vaseline Vaseline ()Also pronounced with the main stress on the last syllable . is an American brand of petroleum jelly-based products owned by transnational company Unilever. Products include plain petroleum jelly and a selection of skin creams, soap ...

and coal dust to her eyelashes to give them a darker, fuller look. He adapted it with a chemistry set and produced a product sold locally called Lash-Brow-Ine. Williams renamed his eye beautifier Maybelline in her honor. In 1917, the company produced Maybelline Cake

Mascara Mascara is a cosmetic commonly used to enhance the upper and lower eyelashes. It is used to darken, thicken, lengthen, and/or define the eyelashes. Normally in one of three forms—liquid, powder, or cream—the modern mascara product has vari ...

, "the first modern eye cosmetic for everyday use," and Ultra Lash, the first mass-market automatic, in the 1960s. In 1967, the company was sold by Williams to Plough Inc. (now Schering-Plough) in

Memphis, Tennessee Memphis is a city in the U.S. state of Tennessee. It is the County seat, seat of Shelby County, Tennessee, Shelby County in the southwest part of the state; it is situated along the Mississippi River. With a population of 633,104 at the 2020 Uni ...

. The entire cosmetic production facility was moved from Chicago to Memphis over one weekend. In 1975, the company moved to

Little Rock ( The "Little Rock") , government_type = Council-manager , leader_title = Mayor , leader_name = Frank Scott Jr. , leader_party = D , leader_title2 = Council , leader_name2 ...

, Arkansas, where it is still located. In 1990,

Schering-Plough Schering-Plough Corporation was an American pharmaceutical company. It was originally the U.S. subsidiary of the German company Schering AG, which was founded in 1851 by Ernst Christian Friedrich Schering. As a result of nationalization, it b ...

sold Maybelline to a New York investment firm, Wasserstein Perella & Co. Maybelline’s headquarters remained in Memphis until its acquisition by

in 1996. Its headquarters was then moved to New York City in 1996 and its factory to Brooklyn in 2000.

Spokesmodels

Maybelline received a boost when the company hired

Lynda Carter Lynda Jean Cordova Carter (born July 24, 1951) is an American actress, singer, and beauty pageant titleholder who was crowned Miss World USA 1972 and finished in the top 15 at the Miss World 1972 pageant. Carter is best known as the star of t ...

as the company's beauty fashion coordinator after her

television series A television show – or simply TV show – is any content produced for viewing on a television set which can be broadcast via over-the-air, satellite, or cable, excluding breaking news, advertisements, or trailers that are typically placed bet ...

ended; she also appeared in several of its television and print advertisements.

Josie Maran Johanna Selhorst "Josie" Maran (born May 8, 1978) is an American model, actress, and entrepreneur. Early life Josie Maran was born May 8, 1978 in Menlo Park, California. Her father is of Russian Jewish ancestry and worked in green home construct ...

Miranda Kerr Miranda May Kerr (; born 20 April 1983) is an Australian model and businesswoman. Kerr rose to prominence in 2007, as one of the Victoria's Secret Angels. Kerr was the first Australian Victoria's Secret model and also represented the Australia ...

Sarah Michelle Gellar Sarah Michelle Prinze ( ; born April 14, 1977) is an American actress. After being spotted at the age of four in New York City, she made her screen acting debut in the television film ''An Invasion of Privacy'' (1983). A leading role on the te ...

Melina Kanakaredes Melina Eleni Kanakaredes Constantinides ( el, Μελίνα Ελένη Κανακαρίδη Κωνσταντινίδη; born April 23, 1967) is an American actress. She is widely known for her roles in U.S. primetime television dramas as Dr. Sydn ...

Zhang Ziyi Zhang Ziyi (; ; born 9 February 1979) is a Chinese actress and model. She is regarded as one of the Four Dan Actresses of China. Her first major role was in '' The Road Home'' (1999). She later gained international recognition for her role in ...

Siti Nurhaliza Dato' Sri Hajah Siti Nurhaliza Tarudin ( Jawi: سيتي نورهاليزا بنت تارودين ; IPA: ; born 11 January 1979) is a Malaysian singer, songwriter, actress and businesswoman with more than 300 local and international awards. ...

, Fasha Sandha, Sheetal Mallar,

Julia Stegner Julia Stegner (born 2 November 1984 in Munich, Bavaria, West Germany) is a German model. Early life Stegner, the daughter of Günter Stegner, the Director Central and Eastern Europe for LSI Corporation, and Erika Stegner, an accountant, was ...

Jessica White Jessica White (born June 21, 1984) is an American fashion model, actress and television personality. She is best known for being a Victoria's Secret runway model, Maybelline spokesperson and working for CoverGirl, as well as her appearances in th ...

and

Kristin Davis Kristin Landen Davis (also listed as Kristin Lee Davis; born February 23, 1965) is an American actress and producer. She is known for playing Charlotte York Goldenblatt in the HBO romantic comedy series ''Sex and the City'' (1998–2004). She ...

have endorsed Maybelline products. The current faces of Maybelline are

Adriana Lima Adriana Lima (; born 12 June 1981) is a Brazilian model, who was a Victoria's Secret Angel from 1999 to 2018. She was the longest-running model and named "the most valuable Victoria's Secret Angel" in 2017. She is also known as a spokesmodel f ...

Christy Turlington Christy Nicole Turlington Burns (born January 2, 1969) is an American model and humanitarian. She represented Calvin Klein's Eternity campaign in 1989 and again in 2014, and also represents Maybelline. Turlington was named one of '' Glamour''s ...

, Charlotte Kemp Muhl, Emily DiDonato, Beatriz Shantal,

Jourdan Dunn Jourdan Sherise Dunn (born 3 August 1990) is a British model. She was discovered in Hammersmith Primark in 2006 and signed to The Squad Management in London. She began appearing on international runways in early 2007. In February 2008, she was t ...

, Josephine Skriver,

Gigi Hadid Jelena Noura "Gigi" Hadid ( ; born April 23, 1995) is an American model and television personality. In November 2014, she made her debut in the Top 50 Models ranking at Models.com. In 2016, she was named International Model of the Year by the ...

ITZY Itzy (stylized in all caps; ) is a South Korean girl group formed by JYP Entertainment and consisting of members Yeji, Lia, Ryujin, Chaeryeong, and Yuna. They debuted on February 12, 2019, with the release of their single album '' It'z Different' ...

Liza Soberano Hope Elizabeth Soberano( , ; born January 4, 1998), professionally known as Liza Soberano, is a Filipino actress, model and singer. She started in a range of television series and films, including '' Wansapanataym'' (2011), ''Kung Ako'y Iiwan M ...

and

Urassaya Sperbund Urassaya Sperbund ( th, อุรัสยา เสปอร์บันด์; born 18 March 1993), more commonly known as Yaya, is a Thai-Norwegian actress and model. She is the recipient of numerous accolades including; an Suphannahong Natio ...

Slogans

In 1981, the company adopted its advertising

slogan A slogan is a memorable motto or phrase used in a clan, political, commercial, religious, and other context as a repetitive expression of an idea or purpose, with the goal of persuading members of the public or a more defined target group. Th ...

''Maybelline, Maybelline Ooh La La'' which was used until 1991 when the tagline changed to ''Maybe she's born with it, maybe it's Maybelline''. The slogan was named as one of the most recognizable straplines of the past 150 years, according to

CBS CBS Broadcasting Inc., commonly shortened to CBS, the abbreviation of its former legal name Columbia Broadcasting System, is an American commercial broadcast television and radio network serving as the flagship property of the CBS Entertainme ...

Outdoor.

Criticism

In 1989, L'Oréal ceased to use animal testing in finished products prior to launch and committed to developing alternative methods. According to a 2010 report, however, animal testing of products is required by law in some countries for the sale of cosmetics. In 2021,

People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA; , stylized as PeTA) is an American animal rights nonprofit organization based in Norfolk, Virginia, and led by Ingrid Newkirk, its international president. PETA reports that PETA entities have ...

(PETA) reported that Maybelline tested on animals.

Collaborations

In January 2019, Maybelline collaborated with the German fashion brand Puma for its limited edition collection that was marketed as Maybelline X Puma. It was claimed as the multi-taking athleisure-inspired collection and consisted of 5 products.

was chosen as the ambassador for the collaboration. In May 2021, Maybelline collaborated with Marvel to create a limited edition that connects Marvel's most iconic characters with the brand's top-selling hero products.

References

External links

Official Website
{{Authority control Chemical companies established in 1915 Cosmetics companies of the United States Manufacturing companies based in New York City L'Oréal brands 1915 establishments in Illinois 1996 mergers_and_acquisitions