Cosmetics giant Maybelline was named after the founder’s sister Mabel, who he spotted applying Vaseline and coal dust to her face as makeup.
Thus the name is a combination of the names “Mabel” and “Vaseline” (some sources incorrectly state the spelling of her name as “Maybel”). According to Cosmetics and Skin:
In 1915, Tom Lyle watched his sister Mabel fix her singed eyebrows using a mixture of Vaseline, ash and coal dust, a trick she apparently got from ‘Photoplay’ magazine. Seeing an opportunity for a product to sell through his mail-order business he used a chemistry set to produce a mixture containing petrolatum (Vaseline), carbon black, cottonseed oil, and safflower oil that he hoped he could sell.
The original company name was Maybell Laboratories, which was changed to Maybelline in 1923. Maybelline was acquired by L’Oréal in 1996, and their current slogan (since 1991) has been “Maybe she’s born with it. Maybe it’s Maybelline.” In 2001 the company was re-branded Maybelline New York.
Sources
- Williams, S. & Youngs, B. (2010). The Maybelline story and the spirited family dynasty behind it. Florida: Bettie Youngs Books Publishing.
- Maybelline (Cosmetics and Skin)
