Keep scrolling for the mysterious nepo baby we can’t stop talking about.
Mikayla Nogueira accused of deceiving followers in her latest sponsored post
TikTok’s queen of beauty is being accused of wearing false eyelashes in a new sponsored video for a L’Oréal mascara.
On January 24th, Mikayla Nogueira posted a TikTok to her 14.4 million followers to promote L’Oréal’s Telescopic Lift Washable Mascara.
In the video, Mikayla applies mascara to one eye and claims she’ll do a second coat off-screen. When she returns, the creator’s lashes appear significantly longer and fuller compared to what they looked like after one coat, leading fans to accuse her of intentionally deceiving her followers by wearing false eyelashes in the final shot.
Mikayla’s comment section is flooded with nearly 40K+ comments from people and creators alike expressing their disappointment in the video.
Beauty YouTubers Jeffree Star and Kathleen Lights, who both rose to fame in the heyday of YouTube’s beauty community, have both shared their thoughts on Mikayla’s review.
Kathleen uploaded an Instagram story, saying the situation “really sucks for the rest of us who are so honest.”
Jeffree tweeted that he would be returning to YouTube (after officially announcing his departure months ago) because TikTok creators “can’t stop lying to their audiences and it' makes me SICK.”
Read the full story via Centennial Beauty.
TikTok confirms its own employees can decide what goes viral
Forbes has uncovered a secret “heating” button at TikTok that can make videos and creators go viral.
According to six former and current employees and internal documents, staff at TikTok and its parent company ByteDance secretly hand-pick specific videos and “supercharge their distribution, using a practice known internally as heating”.
Allegedly the initial purpose of heating as a feature was to promote diverse content, push important information, and support creators, including introducing celebrities that had recently joined the platform.
This was intended to lead content away from lip-synching and dancing teens into videos that would interest more users.
Forbes has also reported that employees have abused heating privileges — three sources told the publication they were aware of instances when an employee heated the accounts of people who they have personal relationships with.
TikTok is also allegedly heating videos to court influencers and brands to entice them into partnerships.
“This suggests that heating has potentially benefitted some influencers and brands - those with whom TikTok has sought business relationships – at the expense of others with whom it has not.”
While this news isn’t necessarily surprising, it confirms that TikTok isn’t actually the great equaliser we thought it was.
people on tiktok love to accuse up and coming artists of being industry plants but this proves that some of these wildly viral songs aren't organic after all!Our latest: Employees at TikTok and ByteDance have access to a secret back-end button that can make any video go viral, immediately pushing it to more viewers. The practice, which TikTok has never disclosed, is known internally as “heating.” https://t.co/20D7kxmleXEmily Baker-White @ebakerwhite
Read the full story via Forbes.
Doja Cat wins Paris Haute Couture Fashion Week
Doja Cat has solidified herself as a high fashion girlie after two jaw-dropping looks at spring-summer 2023 Paris haute couture Fashion Week.
The rapper made her 2023 Couture Week debut at the (controversial) Schiaparelli show covered in 30,000 hand-applied red Swarovski crystals. The look was created by legendary makeup artist Pat McGrath and took five hours to complete.
Despite its stunning artistry, many social media users said the look should have incorporated eyelashes.
The singer took note, and in true Doja style, she arrived at the Viktor & Rolf show two days later in a suit, blue glasses, and several pairs of false eyelashes stuck to her face to mimic facial hair. It’s giving French villain.
Get the full down low on her Couture Week beauty looks at Allure.
TikTok users are allegedly finding mold in their Kosas Revealer Concealers
Confused customers have taken to TikTok to voice their concerns after allegedly discovering black mold in their Kosas concealers.
Kosas mold-gate started on Reddit 7 months ago, but only just made its way into the mainstream in the past 24 hours.
In a Reddit post titled “I found mold in my Kosas concealer,” a user said that after 9 months of owning a Kosas Revealer concealer, it “started smelling like blue cheese.” After a year, it caused an allergic reaction on her face and soon after that, she found “black spots” in the concealer.
The original comment acquired 100 responses from other Kosas customers who allegedly also found mold in their concealers and the news eventually made its way onto TikTok in the past week, where users are now making videos smelling their Revealer Concealers to check for mold.
Though Kosas is far from the only beauty brand pushing 'clean' products, this mold scandal has sparked discussion about the realities of clean beauty and why makeup shouldn't be too clean.
Cosmetic chemists Jane Tsui and Javon Ford have taken to TikTok to share their thoughts on why this might be happening. Both chemists note that Potassium Sorbate and Sodium Benzoate are Kosas’ main preservation agents in the concealer which aren’t always effective in killing bacteria without a chelator— a compound that is not found in the Revealer Concealer.
“This might have passed micro [testing] at the time of batching, but we don’t know if it would have passed micro at like 3 or 6 months,” says Tsui.
Read the full story via Centennial Beauty.
Apple Martin is bringing back the mysterious nepo baby
In more couture week news, the 18-year-old daughter of Gwenyth Paltrow and Chris Martin has been dubbed the new celebrity ‘It Girl’.
Apple Martin made her Fashion Week debut at the Chanel 2023 spring haute couture show in Paris.
She wore a black-and-white tweed skirt and jacket set and opted for a 60s mod glam look.
Her appearance went viral and the internet quickly dubbed Apple the next big nepo baby. Her ‘It Girl’ status was solidified by users discovering that Apple has her Instagram set to private. It does not get cooler than that.
Read about Apple’s Chanel debut via Harper’s Bazaar.
A full deep dive into Tarte Cosmetic’s Dubai influencer trip
This week’s infinite scroll podcast gives a full recap of the Tarte Cosmetics Dubai influencer trip that took over our social feeds. We first recap the entire trip, including who was in attendance and a rough cost breakdown, before diving into why it was so controversial and some of the opinions from both sides of the argument.
Listen to the full episode on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, or YouTube.