Maybelline investigated for being a monopoly.

Actress Betty Grable, before and after ad, 1941.

Maybelline cake mascara, 1916

 1950, before and after ad with Loretta Young.

Excerpt from The Maybelline Story and the Spirited Family Dynasty Behind It. by author Sharrie Williams

Lash-Brow-Ine, 1915, and first liquid mascara and cake mascara 1917

Evelyn looked Tom Lyle straight in the eye. "TL, you're at the top of your game. Thanks to your ads, Maybelline girls have become the universal ideal of beauty and freedom. They've created a worldwide market for women who want to beautify themselves according to the American ideal. But it's only just starting; that's why it's imperative that you move quickly to capitalize on America’s new clout as a world economic power."

He simultaneously smiled and shook his head. "Why is it you're always able to convince me of anything?"
"Because I'm always right."

They pinged glasses in a toast, but then a shadow passed over his face. "There is one problem with all this."

"What's that?"

"Maybelline is already the major producer of women's cosmetics in the world. Everyone is watching us, and everyone wants a piece of us--including our own government. They're rumbling about breaking up monopolies."

To this Evelyn had no quick response. No wonder Tom Lyle was so reluctant to launch into international expansion. Maybelline was a family-owned business. If the government decided it was also a monopoly, they could break it to pieces.  And that would be the end of everything Tom Lyle had worked for.