For example, here is a photo of Kate Moss with no mascara on:

Kate Moss without makeup

Kate Moss is the face of Rimmel London. Here she is in an ad for New Extreme Black Magnif Eyes Mascara, which boasts 70% more vertical lashes:

Kate Moss Rimmel mascara ad

How is it possible that the teeny weeny lashes in the first photo somehow morphed into those pictured above with a few coats of mascara? It’s not physically possible.

The advertisement for the same mascara was banned after viewers complained that her lashes were fake.

Okay, so there’s one example. But what about every single other brand of mascara?! For example, I use The Colossal Volum’ Express® Mascara by Maybelline New York, which claims it gives you 9x the volume, instantly. The claim is ridiculous and the advertisement is unbelievable.

The Colossal Volum

This woman is wearing dead caterpillars on here eyes! Here are my real eyelashes after two coats of the same mascara:

My eyes with Maybelline mascara

You’ll notice that my eyelashes don’t reach my eyebrows, look relatively natural and are therefore completely unsuitable for a mascara ad.

In order to fully understand Maybelline’s 9x volume instantly claim, I thought it would be best to examine a single eyelash. Since we know that no mascara can actually add eyelashes, they have to base the thickness and volume claims on appearance of your existing eyelashes. This means that each eyelash would have to appear 9x thicker, right?

Projected eyelash appearance

I’m sorry, but I just don’t see how a claim so ridiculous could make it past the Advertising Standards Authority and the other various companies that regulate advertising claims. Perhaps the fact that ‘everybody’s doing it’ makes it okay? Don’t get me started on wrinkle creams…