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

cosmetics Cosmetics are substances that are intended for application to the body for cleansing, beautifying, promoting attractiveness, or altering appearance. They are mixtures of chemical compounds derived from either Natural product, natural source ...

, skin care,

perfume Perfume (, ) is a mixture of fragrance, fragrant essential oils or aroma compounds (fragrances), Fixative (perfumery), fixatives and solvents, usually in liquid form, used to give the human body, animals, food, objects, and living-spaces an agre ...

, and

personal care Personal care products are consumer products which are applied on various external parts of the body such as skin, hair, nails, lips, external genital and anal areas, as well as teeth and mucous membrane of the oral cavity, in order to make ...

company, based in

New York City New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...

. Founded in

Chicago Chicago is the List of municipalities in Illinois, most populous city in the U.S. state of Illinois and in the Midwestern United States. With a population of 2,746,388, as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, it is the List of Unite ...

in 1914, it has been a subsidiary of French cosmetics company L'Oréal since 1996.

History

The Maybelline Company was founded in Chicago by pharmacist Thomas Lyle Williams 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 British multinational company Unilever. Products include plain petroleum jelly and a selection of skin creams, ...

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, "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 Shelby County, Tennessee, United States, and its county seat. Situated along the Mississippi River, it had a population of 633,104 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, making it the List of municipalities in Tenne ...

. The cosmetic production facility was moved from

to Memphis over one weekend. In 1975, the company moved to

Little Rock Little Rock is the List of capitals in the United States, capital and List of municipalities in Arkansas, most populous city of the U.S. state of Arkansas. The city's population was 202,591 as of the 2020 census. The six-county Central Arkan ...

, Arkansas. 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 becam ...

sold Maybelline to a New York investment firm, Wasserstein Perella & Co. Maybelline's headquarters remained in Memphis until its acquisition by L'Oréal in 1996. Its headquarters was then moved to New York City in 1996 and its factory to

Brooklyn Brooklyn is a Boroughs of New York City, borough of New York City located at the westernmost end of Long Island in the New York (state), State of New York. Formerly an independent city, the borough is coextensive with Kings County, one of twelv ...

in 2000.

Spokesmodels

Maybelline received a boost when the company hired Lynda Carter as the company's beauty fashion coordinator after her

television series A television show, TV program (), or simply a TV show, is the general reference to any content produced for viewing on a television set that is broadcast via over-the-air, satellite, and cable, or distributed digitally on streaming plat ...

ended; she also appeared in several of its television and print advertisements. Josie Maran, Miranda Kerr, Sarah Michelle Gellar, Melina Kanakaredes, Zhang Ziyi, Siti Nurhaliza, Fasha Sandha, Sheetal Mallar, Julia Stegner, Jessica White and Kristin Davis have endorsed Maybelline products. The current faces of Maybelline are Adriana Lima, Christy Turlington, Charlotte Kemp Muhl, Emily DiDonato, Erin Wasson, Beatriz Shantal, Jourdan Dunn, Josephine Skriver, Marloes Horst, Gigi Hadid,

ITZY Itzy (; Japanese language, Japanese: イッチ; stylized in all caps) is a South Korean girl group formed by JYP Entertainment. The group consists of five members: Yeji (singer), Yeji, Lia (South Korean singer), Lia, Ryujin (rapper), Ryujin, Chae ...

, Liza Soberano, Urassaya Sperbund, Winnie Harlow, DJ Peggy Gou, Kiss of Life and

Ten (singer) Chittaphon Leechaiyapornkul (; ; ; born February 27, 1996), known professionally as Ten (, ), is a Thai singer, dancer, and rapper based in South Korea and China. He debuted with South Korean boy band NCT (group), NCT in 2016 as part of its firs ...

of NCT.

Slogans

In 1981, the company adopted "Maybelline, Maybelline Ooh La La" as its advertising

slogan A slogan is a memorable motto or phrase used in a clan or a political, commercial, religious, or 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 ...

, which was used until 1991 when the tagline changed to "Maybe she's born with it, maybe it's Maybelline" (and in some commercials as simply "...Maybe it's Maybelline."). The latter slogan was found to be the most recognizable strapline of the past 150 years by CBS Outdoor.

Criticism

In 2021, People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA) reported that Maybelline tested on animals. According to a 2010 report, however, animal testing of products is required by law in some countries to sell cosmetics.

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-tasking athleisure-inspired collection and consisted of five products. Adriana Lima 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

* {{Authority control Chemical companies established in 1915 Companies based in Manhattan Cosmetics companies of the United States Manufacturing companies based in New York City L'Oréal brands 1915 establishments in Illinois 1996 mergers and acquisitions