Mikayla Nogueira has 14.4 million TikTok followers.Stefanie Keenan/Getty Images.
It's April 2022, and Mikayla Nogueira is one of the biggest emerging names in the TikTok beauty world.
With a reputation for posting make-up reviews with a personal feel and her signature Boston accent, she was dubbed "the realest influencer on TikTok" by Glamour Magazine, who interviewed her at the time, when she had amassed an impressive 11 million followers
Nine months later, Nogueira's time as the internet's favorite beauty guru may be running out.
In a rapid turn of events, involving a controversial sponsored post for a L'Oréal mascara and accusations that she edited photos of her body (which she has since denied), she has spiraled out of favor in the online beauty community. Fans who once held her to a standard of honesty and openness have turned against her and accused her of deceiving followers.
Here's how 24-year-old Nogueira skyrocketed to fame as an influencer, and began to fall from grace.
@mikaylanogueira Definitely don’t go swimming with me on the first date #fyp #foryoupage #makeup #beautyguru #oops #foryou #beforeandafter #coronavirus #quarantine ♬ My Heart Went Oops - Tiagz
In March 2020, not long after she finished college, Nogueira started a TikTok account and began posting beauty transition videos, where she would film a makeup transformation with a trending sound in the background.
"Uploading during the pandemic led me to the realization that I would be extremely unhappy if I didn't attempt a career in makeup, knowing it was my passion," she told Insider in April.
She said she felt making short-form content came naturally to her and that she noticed her videos were becoming increasingly popular on the app.
Within six months of starting her account, she had a following of 1.7 million people, according to analytics-tracker SocialBlade. In October, she made a commitment to doing TikTok full-time, she told Insider.
Nogueira became known for trying and reviewing makeup products on the platform, and her positive reviews would often cause those products to go viral and become immensely popular. The influencer also often shared tutorials and makeup tips, and in August 2022, she coined "the sticky method" — a technique of using primer and concealer to cover acne — which became a hugely viral technique on TikTok as dozens of users tested it on the app.
While many beauty TikTokers make videos using a voice-over, or without speaking at all in their clips, Nogueira became known for her boisterous personality and thick Boston accent, and fans have often commented that her unique voice is one of the reasons why they enjoy watching her.
As of Janaury 2023, Nogueira has more than 14 million followers on TikTok, and she has become one of the first beauty creators to build such a large following primarily on the app, while other prominent influencers — such as Jaclyn Hill and James Charles, who initially rose to fame on YouTube and have since developed followings on TikTok — continue to upload content across multiple platforms.
@mikaylanogueira Sharing what’s on my mind ❤️
♬ original sound - Mikayla Nogueira
Amid a broader backlash against influencers for being unrelatable, Nogueira personally faced intense scrutiny in September 2022 for a resurfaced and contextless clip of the makeup artist complaining about her job.
In the viral TikTok, Nogueira said, "Literally just finished working, it's 5:19 — try being an influencer for a day, try it," before footage cut to a slideshow of Nogueira showing viewers designer bags, shoes, and sunglasses. Critics — including fellow influencers — criticized Nogueira for being out of touch with reality.
In the original clip, Nogueira had outlined her schedule, starting from a 6 a.m. wake up to her 5:19 p.m. video, in response to a comment telling the influencer to try working a nine-to-five job.
A few days later, TikTokers began to circulate what appeared to be screenshots and screen recordings of the comments section of 2018 Instagram posts by YouTuber Jacklyn Hill. The purported screenshots showed comments made by an account under Nogueira's username, saying "must be nice to be rich and all you do is film videos for YouTube" and "yikes." The comments do not appear beneath Hill's posts currently.
A little over a week after the clip went viral, Nogueira announced in a nine-minute TikTok that she would be taking a break from social media to focus on her mental health, and told viewers it was unrelated to the recent controversy.
Nogueira agreed that being an influencer was a "fucking sick ass job" and that it comes "with an extreme amount of fucking privilege, and blessings, and gratitude." She clarified that she didn't believe she worked harder than "everybody else," such as a "neurosurgeon" or a "teacher."
"I don't want to lose myself completely, you know? So, I'm going to go away for a while," she told viewers about her decision to take a break. "I'm going to get treatment. I'm going to get help because my depression is just not good."
She also called the resurfaced comments under Hill's posts "karma," acknowledging she'd left messages like that on Hill's account, or on the posts of "whoever I idolized," because she was "extremely fucking jealous," adding that "jealousy ruined my life for a long time." Nogueira also said she'd apologized to Hill personally "months ago."
"Cancel culture doesn't fly on my page," she said. "We support growth, we support redemption, we support apologetic people. We support each other with kindness."
@sophbabyslay #stitch with @becccamooore @Mikayla Nogueira ♬ original sound - Soph
In late December, a drama and commentary influencer called Rich Lux responded to a TikTok posted by a woman who appeared to suggest she used to date Nogueira's fiancé. In his video, Lux wondered aloud if she would "spill some tea."
It followed a prior run-in in June 2022 when Nogueira told viewers she would donate half the earnings from her Glamlite collection to pro-choice causes following the Supreme Court overturning Roe v Wade. Lux posted a video doubting Nogueira actually made the donation as she hadn't posted a receipt.
After Lux's comments about the woman he thought was Nogueira's fiancé's ex, Nogueira posted an Instagram story that's no longer available to view, but has been reuploaded elsewhere, telling viewers she now preferred to call Rich Lux "Rich Sucks," because he posted sensationalized videos about Nogueira's life that lacked "any sort of media literacy and no research."
"You suck, dude, I fucking hate you," she added.
Nogueira mentioned her fiancé was previously in addiction recovery and asked Lux not to post about him. She also told viewers he had met this ex-girlfriend while they were both seeking treatment, according to what appear to be screen recordings of the story.
Some viewers criticized Mikayla for seemingly "outing" her partner and his ex-girlfriend. Lux said he didn't know their history with addiction or sobriety before posting, and would have honored a request to avoid talking about him had she reached out to him initially.
Later, Lux invited the supposed ex-girlfriend of Nogueira's partner onto a livestream. In a clip that has been reuploaded to Reddit, the woman can be heard saying, "If you're gonna speak on recovery, make sure you have permission to speak on it."
Lux told viewers he had been blocked by Nogueira's account.
On January 1, Nogueira shared a TikTok of her New Year's Eve outfit. That same day, she posted a series of comments under the video, saying people had accused her of editing her body, which she denied.
In a January 3 TikTok, Nogueira filmed herself before and after putting on shapewear to further address the accusations.
"I'm going to teach you how to be beautifully fat, gorgeously fat — but snatched," she told viewers.
"I actually love my body," Nogueira added, "which I never used to be able to say."
Top comments expressed support for Nogueira, including a note calling her a "gorgeous queen and a real one" from Selena Gomez and a "legend," from fellow TikToker and comedian Benito Skinner.
@mikaylanogueira Replying to @geminii683 ♬ original sound - Mikayla Nogueira
On January 25, Nogueira posted a rave review of a L'Oréal mascara as part of a partnership with the brand.
In it, Nogueira swiped on a coat of mascara, showed viewers the lengthening effect, and said she was going to apply a second coat. Then, the footage cut to a different angle, showing visibly longer and fuller lashes.
Nogueira told viewers the mascara creates an effect that "looks like false lashes," but many speculated she had actually used fake eyelashes to get the desired result. Nogueira responded to comments under her video reiterating that the effect was from multiple layers of mascara.
The video has since been viewed 48.1 million times and ignited huge backlash, with many of the 70,000 comments casting doubt on Nogueira's assertion.
Fans accused Nogueira of "lashlighting" — gaslighting them about the real effects of a $14.99 mascara — and many other users have stitched the video and added negative commentary.
Huge names in the beauty influencer community, including Jeffree Star and James Charles, also weighed in on the drama. In the week following, a plethora of amateur sleuthing and experts weighing in videos have flooded social media.
A quieter contingent did come to Nogueira's aid, commenting that "every beauty company uses false lashes in mascara ads. Why single her out???" and suggesting, "maybe she deserves a break."
Representatives for Mikayla Nogueira and L'Oréal did not respond to Insider's request for comment at the time.
@mikaylanogueira You know what time it is….❤️ #valentinesday #love #romance #vday ♬ original sound - Mikayla Nogueira
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