Did We All Get Outplayed By TikTok Makeup Influencer Mikayla Nogueira?

After last week’s lashlighting drama that managed to exhume perennial YouTube villain Jeffree Star, Mikayla Nogueira is back in full flight.

Nogueira’s sponsored mascara TikTok sent waves through the online beauty community, the likes of which might not have been seen since YouTube’s infamous Dramageddons. 

When Nogueira posted her L’Oréal mascara review, she was swiftly accused of wearing false lashes in the ‘after’ portion of the sponsored video; thanks to the conspicuously false lashes, the video went viral for all the reasons. A bunch of beauty influencers also perked up, with the vast majority criticising the influencer for trying to deceive her viewers, and a few pointing out that the beauty industry had been pulling this crap for decades. 

But what if that was Mikayla’s plan all along? As an influencer doing a branded deal, wouldn’t she want her review to have millions of views? Arguably, the way she executed her lashlighting didn’t reflect badly on the actual product – it made it go viral.

ms. mikayla is about to have y’all gooped and gagged when she tells you her post was on purpose and it was a test. and shit it worked cuz the product is MF sold out everywhere and all y’all are talking about it. ??‍♂️ kinda iconic tbh

— colecarrigan (@colecarrigan_) January 31, 2023

Of course, the internet has a very short-term memory, and what she did in the video was not that big a crime in the grand scheme of things. But it wouldn’t surprise me if the entire thing was conceived in a L’Oréal marketing meeting, right down to Mikayla’s week of radio silence. Or maybe I need to take off my tinfoil hat and log the hell off. Better yet, I’ll go for a walk to the nearest chemist. That new L’Oréal Telescopic mascara looks pretty good.