Posted on Jan 12, 2024

Over 18 Million People Have Tuned In To This Raging TikTok Feud Between A Small Business Owner And Beauty Mogul Mikayla Noguiera — Here's What's Going On

"If you tell someone you’re going to do something, you do it. My mental health has been s*** this last month because of this," Illusion Bronze business owner Matthew Stevens said in his TikTok.

by Krista Torres

BuzzFeed Staff

It's 2024, so I am just going to assume you are familiar with beauty influencer Mikayla Nogueira. She rose to fame during the 2020 pandemic for her tutorials on how to cover up acne:

@mikaylanogueira
Recreation of the video that started it all.. thank you for 250k in 2 ½ months. ❤️ #makeup #acne #makeuphack #beauty #viral #fyp
♬ original sound - Mikayla Nogueira

Since then, she has garnered over 15 million followers — and some backlash. Last year she was accused of wearing false eyelashes to promote L'Oréal's Telescopic Lift mascara in an ad and she was also accused of faking her thick Boston accent.

@mikaylanogueira
THESE ARE THE LASHES OF MY DREAMS!! @lorealparisusa never lets me down 😭 #TelescopicLift #LorealParisPartner #LorealParis @zoehonsinger
♬ original sound - Mikayla Nogueira

Fast forward to today and Matthew Stevens — the owner of Illusion Bronze, a custom sunless self-tanner brand — is accusing Mikayla of costing his small business $10,000. His video currently has nearly seven million views:

@mvstevens
i’m sorry mikayla, i tried to handle this privately. but you don’t care. i never would have spent all of this money had you not told me you were posting the next day. if you tell someone you’re going to do something, you do it. my mental health has been s*** this last month because of this. #smallbusiness #selftan #mikaylanogueira #beautyreview
♬ Karma - Taylor Swift

After Matthew posted his video asking her to review his tanner, she reviewed the very brand that Matthew claims knocked off his idea.

@mikaylanogueira
Self tan with me!!! 👌🏻 #selftan #tanner #makeup #beauty #skincare
♬ original sound - Mikayla Nogueira

Matthew's video has gone so viral that Mikayla herself has now responded. She starts by saying how she likes Matthew and apologizes for not posting the review. She then, however, states that he has fabricated a lie that she used spray tan instead of his tanner.

@mikaylanogueira
@Matthew Stevens
♬ original sound - Mikayla Nogueira

comments of followers saying it's not her fault

And, as all internet drama does, it continued with Matthew posting a public follow-up to her reply. Ultimately, he states that he made the video in the first place because she was blocking his followers.

@mvstevens
@Mikayla Nogueira
♬ original sound - Matthew Stevens

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Over 18 Million People Have Tuned In To This Raging TikTok Feud Between A Small Business Owner And Beauty Mogul Mikayla Noguiera — Here's What's Going On

It's 2024, so I am just going to assume you are familiar with beauty influencer Mikayla Nogueira. She rose to fame during the 2020 pandemic for her tutorials on how to cover up acne:

Since then, she has garnered over 15 million followers — and some backlash. Last year she was accused of wearing false eyelashes to promote L'Oréal's Telescopic Lift mascara in an ad and she was also accused of faking her thick Boston accent.

Fast forward to today and Matthew Stevens — the owner of Illusion Bronze, a custom sunless self-tanner brand — is accusing Mikayla of costing his small business $10,000. His video currently has nearly seven million views:

The video is over eight minutes long, so let me break it down for you...

It all started last October when Matthew went viral for sharing how, after working 15 years in LA as a celebrity assistant, he created a customizable self-tanning product that celebrities like Taylor Swift use. His tanner is formulated for each person's specific skin, hair, and eye shade.

After his video promoting his self-tan went viral in 2022, he believed a multimillion-dollar company stole his idea. He then tagged Mikayla asking if she could review his tanner since he was a small business.

After Matthew posted his video asking her to review his tanner, she reviewed the very brand that Matthew claims knocked off his idea.

Users then started tagging Matthew in Mikayla's video to bring the issue to her attention.

It was then, says Matthew, that Mikayla directly reached out to him allegedly stating that it was a coincidence and that she would do a review on his tanner "ASAP."

And because Mikayla had previously mentioned how when she reviews smaller indie brands they tend to run out of stock, Matthew bought $10,000 worth of his product to prepare.

But, after almost two months of waiting to see the review — and talking about how he was considering sending her donuts — he ultimately decided to reach out to her directly (explaining how he was out $10,000):

He asked her about it and she admitted she slept in it when the tanner was only supposed to be left on for a few hours. Still, he seemed thankful and waited for the review.

However, here's where it gets dicey. Matthew has now claimed she didn't use his product at all and that it was a spray tan.

Matthew's video has gone so viral that Mikayla herself has now responded. She starts by saying how she likes Matthew and apologizes for not posting the review. She then, however, states that he has fabricated a lie that she used spray tan instead of his tanner.

She also states that his decision to spend $10,000 on product was his business decision because she was under no obligation to review his tanner. She ends the video, "He cannot rely on me for the success of his brand. He just can't."

And, as all internet drama does, it continued with Matthew posting a public follow-up to her reply. Ultimately, he states that he made the video in the first place because she was blocking his followers.

So, phew! There is a lot of information, and now we want to hear your thoughts in the comments. We will let you know if Mikayla decides to address the issue again!

Over 18 Million People Have Tuned In To This Raging TikTok Feud Between A Small Business Owner And Beauty Mogul Mikayla Noguiera — Here's What's Going On

It's 2024, so I am just going to assume you are familiar with beauty influencer Mikayla Nogueira. She rose to fame during the 2020 pandemic for her tutorials on how to cover up acne:

Since then, she has garnered over 15 million followers — and some backlash. Last year she was accused of wearing false eyelashes to promote L'Oréal's Telescopic Lift mascara in an ad and she was also accused of faking her thick Boston accent.

Fast forward to today and Matthew Stevens — the owner of Illusion Bronze, a custom sunless self-tanner brand — is accusing Mikayla of costing his small business $10,000. His video currently has nearly seven million views:

The video is over eight minutes long, so let me break it down for you...

It all started last October when Matthew went viral for sharing how, after working 15 years in LA as a celebrity assistant, he created a customizable self-tanning product that celebrities like Taylor Swift use. His tanner is formulated for each person's specific skin, hair, and eye shade.

After his video promoting his self-tan went viral in 2022, he believed a multimillion-dollar company stole his idea. He then tagged Mikayla asking if she could review his tanner since he was a small business.

After Matthew posted his video asking her to review his tanner, she reviewed the very brand that Matthew claims knocked off his idea.

Users then started tagging Matthew in Mikayla's video to bring the issue to her attention.

It was then, says Matthew, that Mikayla directly reached out to him allegedly stating that it was a coincidence and that she would do a review on his tanner "ASAP."

And because Mikayla had previously mentioned how when she reviews smaller indie brands they tend to run out of stock, Matthew bought $10,000 worth of his product to prepare.

But, after almost two months of waiting to see the review — and talking about how he was considering sending her donuts — he ultimately decided to reach out to her directly (explaining how he was out $10,000):

He asked her about it and she admitted she slept in it when the tanner was only supposed to be left on for a few hours. Still, he seemed thankful and waited for the review.

However, here's where it gets dicey. Matthew has now claimed she didn't use his product at all and that it was a spray tan.

Matthew's video has gone so viral that Mikayla herself has now responded. She starts by saying how she likes Matthew and apologizes for not posting the review. She then, however, states that he has fabricated a lie that she used spray tan instead of his tanner.

She also states that his decision to spend $10,000 on product was his business decision because she was under no obligation to review his tanner. She ends the video, "He cannot rely on me for the success of his brand. He just can't."

And, as all internet drama does, it continued with Matthew posting a public follow-up to her reply. Ultimately, he states that he made the video in the first place because she was blocking his followers.

So, phew! There is a lot of information, and now we want to hear your thoughts in the comments. We will let you know if Mikayla decides to address the issue again!

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