Green’s Dictionary of Slang

Maybelline waste n.

[Maybelline, a brandname of cosmetics; i.e. it was not worth getting made-up]

(US campus) a disappointing social event.

Show quotations
[US]Eble Sl. and Sociability 63: A ‘disappointing social event’ was a Maybelline waste, not worth the effort of putting on makeup (Maybelline is an inexpensive brand of cosmetics).