I never thought in 2023 we would be retreating back to 2018 energy, but here we are. The year got off to a wild start when Mikayla Nogueria, a beauty influencer, posted a TikTok on Jan. 24 of her reviewing the L’Oreal Telescopic Lift Mascara. The video sparked a lot of controversy when she was accused of wearing fake eyelashes to enhance the effect of the mascara, as she is a partner of L’Oreal. TBH, I’m still confused about if they were falsies or not.
Wherever there is a beauty scandal, Jeffree Star is soon to follow. Star dominated the beauty community from 2016 to 2020. His chaotic energy and honest reviews landed him collabs with other well-known beauty YouTubers, such as Manny Mua and James Charles. However, in 2020, his career came to a halt when sexual assault allegations and past racist comments came to light. So, he took a break from YouTube and moved to Wyoming where he now owns a yak ranch.
However, on Jan. 25, Star heard about the Nogueira scandal, and the beauty beast was awoken. He posted a TikTok confirming his return to YouTube to review some of the recently talked about products that may be “fraudulent.” All the comments were giving major side eye to Nogueira. Well, it seemed the fraudulence he wanted to debunk did indeed have to do with the Mascara-gate. On Jan. 25, he posted a TikTok reviewing the L’Oreal mascara and even tagged Nogueira in the caption.
The Nogueira scandal that ignited Star’s return is giving 2018 nostalgia, and the plot has thickened. It seems that Nogueira got an official invite to Star ranch. Will we actually get a Nogueira x Star collab?
Nogueira was on a brand trip to Jackson Hole, Wyoming.
Despite the controversy, Nogueira has remained pretty quiet and has actually poked fun at the drama. After a week of silence, she returned to TikTok on Feb. 1 with a video where fans thought they were going to get an answer to Mascara-gate. At the beginning of the video, she said, “I’m sure we all know why we’ve gathered here today.” Yes, we do. Wrong. She played us and went on to make a Valentine’s Day makeup tutorial.
Nogueira keeps influencing as normal and posted a video on Feb. 2 of a GRWM for a brand trip. She joined other influencers like Alix Earle and Monet McMichael on the Glow Recipe brand trip to Jackson Hole, Wyoming. Now, if you haven’t put two and two together, Star lives in Wyoming. It seems like users caught onto this too. One user wrote, “Doesn’t our bestie Jeffree live there?” Another wrote, “Jeffree, darling. You know what to do.” Well, like always, Star is one step ahead.
Star posted a formal invite to Nogueira.
On Feb. 5, Star posted a TikTok response to all the comments of fans urging for a collab. He says in the video: “Jackson Hole is six hours away from the Star Yak ranch, but I reached out [ to Nogueira].” Star then went on to say, “I said ‘Let’s do something together. Let’s try the L’Oreal mascara on camera. Or will the contract not allow it?’” Would it really be a Star collab proposal without some subtle tea and jabs?
Despite an enticing invite, Star is hesitant that Nogueira will accept. He confirms in the TikTok that she has seen it, but has yet to respond. The comments were doubtful as well. One user wrote, “I feel like she’d love to but her team will keep her away.” I guess Star was in the tea-spilling mood because he responded to this comment with, “They already have in the past.” Whether there is a collab or not, followers are loving this beauty community shake-up.
Nogueira came to her Instagram to thank Glow Recipe for her time on Feb. 6, confirming the brand trip is over. On her TikTok, it appears she is home, but all the videos are from Christmastime. So, is she still in Wyoming cooking up a collab with Star? Or, maybe the collab already happened and will come out in the next couple of weeks. There has been no public response from Nogueira on the invite, so I guess you’ll just have to wait and see. But, in the meantime, Star is keeping a close eye on Mascara-gate and Nogueira while I’m patiently waiting to find out if it was even fake or not.