Just B Unfluenced: Mascara Gate

Or Shanta Kai product, I cringed a little bit inside, as if like these brands were humans, and that like I said something bad about Meg Ryan and she was going to come to my house, you know, And I know tom Ford is a human. And so that's one of the challenges, by the way I think about this, if you ever start a brand, one of the challenges of having a brand with your own name is that anything negative about that brand is your own name. So anything positive is your own name, but you have no

distance from yourself and the brand. And that's why skinny Girl was Skinny Girl and not called Bethany or something. And I kind of have a little bit of a Bethany brand, but not really because it's scary to be so attached. So in the beginning, when I was saying negative things about certain products drug store and expensive alike, I would kind of cringe, lie as if, like as if like tom Ford knows who I am or has

ever like done or given me anything. Like I've woren tom for ad dresses and they've showed up in the media. I wore tom Ford all over house so I was but like tom Ford couldn't give a shit about me. I'm not at the level to be, you know, dressed by him or sent a lip gloss or anything. So you get scared to say something about dir liked yours that said me Lady Dior bags or you know giving me campaigns, So like why am I afraid? That's another whole conversation why people? And I see it all the time.

I see housewives do this all the time. They're kissing me asses of these brands. It couldn't give two fucks about them, like tagging Balmain, tagging all this shit. Like, to be perfectly honest, I sold out air Mes lip oil and that brand does like me. They're not sending me free air Mes Birkins. But you know I can get myself an airmes bag if I want, and that is like allowing someone to buy a stock, because they do in many cases go up in value. But still

none of these brands are like giving me anything. I don't you know, they're not paying my rent. As I like to say, so, I it's funny that you would be scared to say something negative about these brands because you're just like a little nervous, just like the way that housewives kiss brands asses, tagging them and wearing the letters everywhere as if it's going to endear them to them,

and in fact, it probably turns them off. So when I would cringe when I was saying this stuff, because I was watching all these influencers on social media, primarily on TikTok kiss the asses of these brands, and you know they're being paid, and they're being paid in many different types of ways. It's not just straightforward high here's money to do this commercial to talk about it. It's high you talked about it, we want to pay you to talk about it more. It's this is a sponsored post.

It's can we pay you to review products? So like we're paying you to on a video review products so now you kind of are gonna just of course say they're all amazing because you're being paid to review them. No one's going to be paid to review a product and say shitty things. So I found that there was a lot of shadiness. Now I was just saying things I like drugstore things that are amazing, and at the level became a whole thing. It's so funny, like all

my isms became a thing. I like a Picasso, which came from a TikTok sound okay, I like it. Okay, I like a Picasso, or girl, don't do it, it's not worth it, or you know, at the level, but a lot of what people were attracted to was me having the balls to say this is shit. So it became something that was like a thing. Now I'm not the first person to ever say products were ship. There's a guy named Jeffrey Starr, Like, I don't know anything. I've just seen him on social media and I tried

one of his lip classes, which was good. But he's very irreverent and he'll say like, Kylie's shit and I haven't thrown off this, thrown off this gifting list, and like he'll fully talk about it but it's courageous, and when you see him do it, it's courageous. So when

you see me do it, it's courageous. And of course there have been people that said they didn't like things, but you kind of see these influencers say they don't like something the way that someone throws condoms in with like bubble gum and shampoo and a bunch of other shit, like they're just mixing it in. So you'll see these influencers like ooh and ah and then say something sort of shady about a product, but you could tell that they're in bed with that brand and they want to

kind of mix it in. So I'm fully savvy to all of this. And here's the thing. Most of these influencers are in their tw and thirties, and there are some that you know, cater to mature skin. And I hate that sort of label because, yes, limb of mature skin is different, but covering my under eyes is really not that much different than a thirty five year old. To be honest, when I was thirty five, I had black circles too. So I'm just talking about the major

popular influencers. They're in their twenties and thirties and they're not that savvy. So some of them are savvy, but like they're young kids and they're not. They maybe makeup savvy and like grab the bag savvy, but they're not overall business savvy. So I'm watching, you know, a lot of the way they're doing it, and it's not that easy to do. It's funny because there was an influencer called Michaela who has like fourteen fifteen million followers. She

was the first influencer I really knew about it. I couldn't believe she had so many followers. And these people are famous gods in this beauty community. Like my own friends. And I call five of my own friends, they're not going to know who MICHAELA or Meredith Ducksberry is, but the people in that vortex that I walked into do know. So MICHAELA is famous in the beauty community. Now. She used to have seemingly in videos no Massachusetts accent, and now she has a very strong like so people go

on and troll her about her accent. Paul's from Boston, and he said it doesn't sound like a common Boston accent, but maybe there are parts of it, And there are parts of Massachusetts, where people have very strong accents, and he said something interesting. He said, you could change an accent once, meaning you can have one and then go to not have one, but you can't then go back. You can't flip it back. So it sounds like maybe she grew up with one, she changed it during college,

and as she went back to it. So whatever that means to you, I'm not I don't know enough, and I don't know that much about her. I had her on the podcast. She seemed a little guarded, like she was definitely guarded, and then I later realized that she gets trolled a lot, like for using felters and people. You know, success breeds contempt, so a lot of people come after her. And I had her on and you could tell she was a little guarded because I said,

do you feel that you share too much? Like she's weeping and crying and talking about her body and her weight, and people are like, we love you. And I thought to myself that worm could turn, you know, like, these aren't your people. Aren't your family just because you connect with an audience that makes sense, but they're not your actual family. Like people on social media, if you filter your face and you're talking about makeup and they find out it's a lie, they will fucking hate you. They'll

get you know. They go TikTok more than any place I've ever seen. It's a real roller coaster of emotions, Like it's like we love you, we hate you, we love you. So Michaela did an ad for Lorielle was a partner for this telescopic miscarra and I very early on after she did the video, just heard one person say something, so I reviewed the Mscara had no idea this was going to become a fucking scandal, and from those who don't know, none of my friends would know.

You fucking crazy person. Why are you talking about a scaregate if you're on TikTok, which is not the same as being on Instagram, Like TikTok is its own planet. It's a world, and then you go into different like neighborhoods in that planet, societies, and beauty is a society. So a year ago I walked into this society, this fucking world that like, yes, people have seen me on Instagram.

Reshare some of these videos to people know I'm over there, and they think the video content is great and they're enjoying it. And I'm talking about makeup. That's that's Instagram, which is like it's like a planet you understand, Like you may not like it whatever, but it's a planet you understand. TikTok is like being inside of a cult, Like it's like a different world. It's just like it's insane. People could like organize buttons and have ten million followers

for their button collection, like it's fucking whack. So anyway, I walked into this beauty space and Griffin Johnson, an influencer who I know, who's young and like a good looking kid who has over ten million followers on TikTok. I happened to meet him through another business, like over a year ago, and when I told him about what I was doing, and I was just fucking around. I was like, wait, why are there seven million views on a video of mine? Why did this get fourteen million views?

He was like, you walked into a very interesting and respected space and beauty is crazy, Like the people are very loyal and I have found that beauty like the businesses are very have integrity and are loyal and they're very reliable and they're not shady and like apparel I've walked into sometimes and like it's not the same, foods not the same, Like it's a world foods, a world on TikTok, clothing and apparel is a world. Fashions a world, rich people on boxing, aramez bags, that's a world that

they're a world. Beauty's a world. And I walked into that world and I became a part of that world. So in that world, I saw him a scare video. I did a video on it, and I saw it started picking up. My video went viral. But like people were talking about Mscara and that that McKay la did a post for Loreale and all of a sudden you saw that her eyelashes looked great after she put them

a scare on. So these fucking people, these surgeons that are crazy, like these like they call it citizen journalists, right, they went in and they'll go in so quick and say like that she added whispies. So people are always on her for like filtering, which seems to be fine. She filters and a lot of people hate it, but a lot of people accept it. And she filters for these ads too, But I don't know why they're not

mad at that. Then she puts on a guess ardel whispies like the end, the little eyelashes, Like, I don't even know what the fuck whispies are. I wouldn't know she was wearing them. I'm like, no, I didn't know anyone. I didn't know everybody had filters on in the beauty space, no fucking idea. So she evidently was in an ad, a sponsored post, and apparently there was a shady way the way she said it was paid, like it's in the corner and there are different ways because this is

not that regulated. This is not like open up Vogue magazine, and what does the actual ad say or on the television, you know what's been approved. FCC like approves commercials, and you can't just go on there and say anything. This is the wild, wild West. So MICHAELA has the word somewhere weird and evidently someone noticed that she had whispies on. So she's advertising MISCAA to this very real world audience that doesn't really know it's totally an advertisement, and she's

got fake eyelashes on. People went fucking bananas. I know the pr for the brand. I just was like, this is crazy, this is crazy, and I was thinking, holy shit, and like Lorelle, we couldn't you couldn't decide if they were gonna be happy or mad or you know, as bad as good. The view the video got like over fifty something million posts, and everyone's running out to buy them as scara. I happen to have them ascara because I don't know why. I just happened to have it.

You know, I wouldn't. I'm not running out. Maybe I would have run out, but I happen to have it, so I was just using them a scam. It gets a good mascara, Like everybody's at like this. Some miscara is gonna change your life, Like you don't need a therapist, go to mascara, like get your fucking life's together. People like it's a miscara. There's only like a range of like shit and good, like not gonna be like, oh my fucking god, I feel like my lashes put on,

like getting your fucking life together. But anyway, it was amazing to watch this. People were running out, so they were mad at her, but they were putting money and mad at Loriale, but they were putting money in Loreale's pockets. TikTok is the land of talking about hating someone and making them more famous, Like it's unbelievable, Like I can't believe this pink, fucking pink sauce whatever it was, it was some pink sauce. Everyone was buying it, so it's like,

what are you guys doing. So they're running to the drug store to put on this miscara and some people thought it was clumpy, and some people thought it was whatever. I thought it was a good mascaret's fucking miscaa. So people were going nuts, and for like four days, it was the only thing you could see on your page. And I'm gonna get to this another time. We're gonna talk about Tart and their Dubai trip because that was

another time. For four days, if you were in this vortex, this planet, beauty of talk, you were only seeing this Tart influencer trip to Dubai. Like you think your mind's playing tricks on you if you're not someone who's always watching TV and you're fucking around on your phone. We were seeing mscaragate videos for days, and those of you who know no and the girls that get it get it, and otherwise you could google it. It was fucking crazy, and you know, Loreal had to be happy because it

was selling muscara hand over foot and forever. The Loreale telescopic black Muscara, which happens to be great, was fucking Muscara gate. Okay, so now it's a phenomenon. Trust me, go to the drug store. Now. Things used to not be sold out. You go to the drug store. Anything discussed, anything I discussed sold out. I walk into Alta, I walk into see I am the Justin Bieber of CVS. I walk into CVS. Mom's stopping me, Oh my god, I'm here because of you. They have my list, you know.

I walk at the Sephora. The people that worked there know me, like, but I'm I'm not that famous at Sapphora because that's more elite. I am the Justin Bieber of CDs. So so things are fucking sold out because of things like this. TikTok is crazy and it changed the beauty industry. It is a beauty industry revolution. I now know brands I never even heard of that. I'm intimately connected to Essence Milani revolution. I didn't know any

of these were I didn't know anything. I had fucking Lob Prairie Foundation from five years ago still in my drawer like perfume from set. Like I didn't understand the shit expired. I still have this like two face that looks like little puffy like cute little stuffed animal creatures on the cover of the box because I coveted it. Why it's okay, Bethany, you could spend four year I was on a new eyeshadow. I just didn't know. Now I have acres. I could fill one of those like dumpsters,

and I'm constantly getting rid of it. Okay, So Msscarrogate led to the deinfluencing movement. So what that meant was people now, because here's the thing, everyone's a fucking sheep. So yes, some people were saying on YouTube, and Jeffrey Starr has said he doesn't like things. But I've been on Beauty Talk and I know no one was fucking saying they didn't like anything. Jeffrey Star was. Apparently there were some people on YouTube and I was, so yes,

I'm bragging about being one of the first. Well Street Journal did an article about me being one of the first. I was definitely one of the first. Okay, Like that's a fact, So we can argue about that another day. It doesn't matter but I didn't know it had a name, but people created a name. So not every young girl with a lot of followers because of mscaragate to seem authentic to their audience. That's why that's the key here. MICHAELA has fake eyelashes on in a post, So everybody

was not trusting anybody who was an influencer. So everybody was coming for influencers not believing anything they were saying, is this a sponsor posted? You being paid? Mascaragate changed the way that brands will engage influencers to not only sell their products, but what is disclosed? Can you wear eyelashes? You can in magazines, but you have to disclose it. It's like written on the bottom. You know, lashes may have been enhanced, like because TikTok is the wild Wild West.

Nothing had been really disclosed. And I guarantee you will have somebody on from a brand here. We'll have those kind of people on here. And I guarantee you that brands have changed the way they do business. The entertainment industry changed something called the Bethany clause where people that go on reality television have to give the network a percentage and they sign the Bethany clause, So I guarantee you that there's like a mascara gate change, meaning things

have to be disclosed. How do you write sponsored, how do you write partnered? What's the right language? So while Laurial did great and people bought the fucking mascara and Michaela did great because people engage, and she got paid. And if she had what I heard was a virality clause somebody once mentioned like where that went viral? Bet kicked in, then she probably made it a lot more money. And you know, she's laughing her way to the bank, but having to fend off haters, which there are a lot,

but it's okay. She's very viral, and I think by now she could take it. And I texted her to say, if you want me to help, you, want me to manage you. Because she's a young girl. I think she's gotten business savvy and she's beauty savvy. But you know, you have to have had years and years of institutional knowledge of how to deal with these kind of things. But people weren't trusting their influencers. So everybody was coming

after everybody's saying can I trust you? And as it sponsored and as it paid, and how do I know? You know they didn't trust. So that's why everybody started doing de influencing. Three things I don't like full face to makeup, I hate, like michaela full face to makeup, I hate. These are brands I fucking hate. This is stuff that was not happening for the last year that

I've been in this vortex. Now it's how happening because everybody goes with the bandwagon on TikTok from from a sound to a dance to a trend, to a mascara to a hating everybody flips into the pendulum swings and everybody goes to a trend. So de influencing is now a trend. I hate gimmicks and like words. So I decided who better than me, who was fucking saying I couldn't stand certain tom Ford, Charlotte Tilbury and d or products a year ago when it wasn't cool, when the

cool kids weren't doing it. Why shouldn't I have a podcast called Just Be Unfluenced so I can talk to you honestly about how crazy shit gets and what really sucks and what is good and kind of trends in this space. So that's why just be unfluenced is here and it's gonna fucking blow the doors off. And we'll have creators on, and we'll have influencers on, and we'll have makeup artist on, and we'll have beauty industry people on.

And this will be very, very niche like talk, but it will speak to many of you in the mainstream because we're gonna be talking about makeup and it's just a very it's a cool place, and it's a cool conversation and it's a multi billion dollar industry. They make so much fucking money off of you guys. And like the tiniest little bit of eyeshadow, we will be in this gorgeous packaging and be fifty dollars and you run to buy it at Sephora and I've been there and

it's the fucking hunger Games at Sephora. And we will talk about the Dollars store and CBS and Walgreens and Alta and makeup on sale and TJ Max and department stores and Old Lady brands and TikTok famous brands, and we will go through all of it. This is just be influenced