Mikayla Nogueira has sparked outrage for her latest sponsored TikTok video.
On January 24th, the beauty creator posted a video in partnership with L’Oréal to promote the brand’s new Telescopic Lift Washable Mascara.
Mikayla appears on screen with one eye made up, showing the application of a single coat of mascara to her other eye. She then says she’s going to apply a second coat of mascara off-screen.
In her reveal, Mikayla’s lashes appear significantly longer and fuller compared to what they looked like after one coat, leading fans to accuse TikTok’s beauty queen of intentionally deceiving her followers by wearing false eyelashes in the final shot.
“I am speechless and I’m not sure anyone’s ever going to be able to compete with this mascara,” she says.
Mikayla’s comment section is flooded with over 8000+ comments (at the time of writing) from fans expressing their disappointment in the video, with many claiming that the creator has a history of shady reviews.
“She’s always been like this and people are barely realizing,” writes one user.
Others say that Mikayla has lost their trust after this review and tarnished her reputation.
“Whatever they paid you wasn’t worth your reputation that you worked so hard for,” says one commenter.
“Girl… you have so many people that look up to you and trust you… why are you doing this to us,” writes another.
According to TikTok creator NawalNoel, Mikayla is responding to comments claiming that she is not wearing falsies in the video. Centennial Beauty was unable to fact-check this.
While the accusation may seem relatively harmless in the realm of influencer scandals, recommendations from creators like Mikayla can encourage millions of people to spend their money on a product.
False advertising can have serious consequences for both Mikayla and the brand she represents, and can lead to increased skepticism of influencer marketing from consumers in general.
Given the size of Mikayla’s platform and the intense backlash, it’s probably only a matter of time before she addresses the situation with her audience.