- A TikToker has come under fire after she was accused of wearing fake eyelashes in a mascara review.
- Mikayla Nogueira's video was viewed over 23.2 million times and received backlash on social media.
Beauty gurus are weighing in on an unfolding TikTok drama dubbed "MascaraGate" after influencer Mikayla Nogueira was accused of wearing fake eyelashes while singing the praises of a lash-enhancing product.
On January 25, Nogueira posted a video to her TikTok account, which has over 14.4 million followers, with the caption, "THESE ARE THE LASHES OF MY DREAMS!!" and added an on-screen caption saying she was partnering with beauty brand L'Oréal. In the 44-second clip, which received over 23 million views, Nogueira could be seen applying a L'Oréal mascara called Telescopic Lift, before revealing noticeably thicker and longer-looking lashes.
"This literally just changed my life," Nogueira said, adding, "I am speechless, and I'm not sure anyone's gonna ever be able to compete with this mascara."
@mikaylanogueira THESE ARE THE LASHES OF MY DREAMS!! @lorealparisusa never lets me down #TelescopicLift #LorealParisPartner #LorealParis @zoehonsinger ♬ original sound - Mikayla Nogueira
The video received over 47,800 comments, many of which doubted the end result of the product and accused Nogueira of wearing synthetic lashes.
Many other users have stitched the video, using effects to screenshot and zoom in on the original to try and verify the claims as the drama snowballs across social media.
The controversy has now spread so far that some of the most famous beauty gurus on the internet have weighed in
On January 26, controversial beauty influencer Jeffree Star tweeted an image of the same telescopic lift mascara alongside the caption, "Let's get this review started… Jeffree Star Approved or Nah?!" which received over 29,000 likes.
The same day, Star shared a video to his TikTok account, where he has 3.6 million followers, in which he spoke to the camera and said, "you've woken up the motherfucking beast" and said he planned to start reviewing makeup again, including "mascara and certain things I hear may be fraudulent." The video received over 10.6 million views and 58,700 comments. "Jeffree coming for Mikayla. I am ALIVE," one comment read, which received over 23,500 likes.
@jeffreestar I hear you LOUD and CLEAR Makeup reviews coming back this week. #makeup #beauty #makeupreview ♬ original sound - Jeffree Star
On January 27, Star uploaded a follow-up TikTok which tagged Nogueira's account in the caption, and said it would provide "the truth" about the "lash scandal."
In the video, which received 8.3 million views, Star said he believed other influencers lied about products after being paid by the brands. He concluded the video by saying the mascara was "cute and very affordable" but it wasn't the greatest thing on the planet and said, "I'm not getting paid to say that."
Star is a notorious figure on the beauty guru scene. He was accused of violent and abusive behavior during the late 2000s, an Insider investigation revealed, and in 2020 he faced huge backlash along with his friend and fellow YouTube star Shane Dawson when beauty guru Tati Westbrook accused them of manipulating her into making a video accusing James Charles of inappropriate sexual behavior.
Charles' reputation never fully recovered, and he has been accused of behaving inappropriately various times since. In March 2021 he addressed allegations that he had sent sexually explicit text messages to minors, saying he was "reckless" and "desperate."
Now, Charles is getting involved in the mascara drama too.
On January 26 he posted a TikTok video with the caption, "An UNsponsored Loreal Telescopic Mascara review." In the video, which received over 3.7 million views, Charles said he would try the mascara that "has been causing quite a little bit of drama on social media." In the video, Charles said he was not paid to talk about the product, "unlike a lot of the other videos going up right now."
@jcharlesmakeup An UNsponsored Loreal Telescopic Mascara review
♬ original sound - James Charles Makeup
Other, less controversial, beauty influencers are also addressing the drama. Beauty guru Alissa Ashley posted a TikTok video accusing Nogueira of, as she phrased it, "allegedly, I'm gonna say alleged, she put on a false lash to promote a mascara."
In the caption of the video, which was viewed 2.7 million times, Ashley wrote, "no hate its just super disappointing because as 'influencers' people are putting their trust in us and this isnt cool."
In a follow-up video posted the same day, Ashley tried the mascara for herself and said she was "confused" as it was a good product without the need for false eyelashes. "Mikayla was lashlighting us," a comment beneath the video read, which received over 6,100 likes.
Beauty YouTuber Raw Beauty Kristi also weighed in with a TikTok saying, "I think it's our responsibility and duty as influencers to keep our authenticity. It's what we have."
Nogueira regularly posts makeup reviews to TikTok, and has over 2.5 million followers on her Instagram account where she shares completed makeup looks. In September 2020, she came under fire for complaining about the hours she works as an influencer, in a clip that was partially taken out of context, Insider reported.
Neither Nogueira nor L'Oréal immediately responded to Insider's request for comment.