The Mikayla Nogueira mascara eyelash controversy explained

Mikayla Nogueira has come under fire by viewers who have accused the TikTok beauty influencer of wearing fake eyelashes when reviewing a mascara.

The 24-year-old from Massachusetts has amassed a large following on the platform (14.4m followers) from her makeup tutorials and reviews on the latest make-up trends and products.

Her latest video has raised more eyebrows than eyelashes where Nogueira shared her thoughts on L’Oreal Telescopic Life mascara.

Sign up to our free Indy100 weekly newsletter

For a few moments of the 44-second clip posted on January 25, the words: "L'Oreal Paris Partner" appeared on screen which would suggest this is a sponsored post since also on the mobile app it does appear at the bottom it is a "paid partnership."

"This literally just changed my life," she said at the beginning. "This looks like false - how? What?"

She then shows the L’Oreal Telescopic Life mascara and applied it on her left eye (right on flipped inverted screen), applying two coats of the product onto her lashes.

“Look at the length,” she says in the video, as she turned to the side to show the arch of her lashes.

“Do you see that? I am speechless and I’m not sure anyone is ever going to be able to compete with this mascara," Nogueira concluded.

In the caption, the TikTok wrote: "THESE ARE THE LASHES OF MY DREAMS!! @lorealparisusa never lets me down 😭 #TelescopicLift #LorealParisPartner #LorealParis."

However, viewers believe that Nogueira used false eyelashes at the end of the clip and shared this thought in the comment section.

One person wrote: "Maybe it’s L’Oréal, maybe it’s ardell."

"I love you so so much, but I reeeeaaally feel like you’re wearing lashes at the end," another person said.

Someone else added: "look at the outer corner of her left eye… you can see the drop where her real lashes are."

"Look at the outer corner of her left eye… you can see the drop where her real lashes are," a fourth person commented.

Nogueira reportedly did responded to comments from viewers who expressed concern.

“Girl, did you add falsies at the end?” one person commented. “We can see the length in the outer corner.”

"Nooo, just three/four coats and my tight liner," the TikTok replied, as per TIME while she also answered accusations about using falsies - "Nooo omg L’Oreal would never allow that in a partnered post!!! But y’all are proving my point."

The situation has caused a debate on the platform about influencers and transparency.

“Stuff like this is why people do not trust influencers and it’s so upsetting,” popular beauty YouTuber Alissa Ashley posted in a TikTok Wednesday. “When you have such a big platform and you decide to use it to put a fabricated review up, that’s not ok.”

In the caption she added: "No hate its just super disappointing because as ‘influencers’ people are putting their trust in us and this isnt cool."

Some have pointed to a video Nogueira previously made in 2021, where she warns her followers about brands and influencers (without specifically naming any) who use false lashes to while trying to sell mascara.

Other influencers such as Bretman Rock (a L'Oreal Partner), @fatherrlex and @sophdoeslife trying out the L’Oreal Telescopic Life mascara themselves and overall gave positive feedback about the product.

While the mascara drama has caused beauty guru Jeffree Star to weighed in with his thoughts on the product, describing it as "cute" and "affordable," but added: "Is it the greatest thing on the planet? No, but I'm not getting paid to say that."

Viewers also commented on Nogueira's video asking if she was paid for the post, since disclosure would be needed in guidance set by the Federal Trade Commission.

With FTC’s Truth In Advertising policies, if they find Nogueira was dishonest in a paid advert then there's a possibility she could face a fine.

Nogueira has not posted since her mascara video or responded to the criticism.

Indy100 has contacted Mikayla's reps and L'Oreal for comment.

Have your say in our news democracy. Click the upvote icon at the top of the page to help raise this article through the indy100 rankings.