Cara Delevingne's Rimmel mascara advert banned over use of false lashes

Coty previously said that the ad provided an accurate representation of the product and its characteristics

An advert for Rimmel mascara, featuring Cara Delevingne doing her makeup, has been banned for falsely representing the way in which using the product might make eyelashes look.

The advert, which aired in December last year, shows the model applying the ‘Scandaleyes Reloaded’ mascara to a voice over promoting “dangerously bold lashes” and "extreme volume".

The Advertising Standards Authority, however, has condemned the use of false eye lashes in the campaign and said that Coty, the company behind the advert, had used post-production techniques to make the model's lashes look longer and more voluminous “beyond what could be achieved by the mascara on the model's natural lashes”.

“Because the ad conveyed a volumising, lengthening and thickening effect of the product we considered the use of lash inserts and the post-production technique were likely to exaggerate the effect beyond what could be achieved by the product among consumers,” the agency said.

It has banned the advert from appearing again it its current form.

Coty, a North American company which manufactures over 70 cosmetic brands including for Calvin Klein, Adidas, Marc Jacobs and Sally Hansen, had previously said that the ad provided an accurate representation of the product and its characteristics, according to the ASA.

The company said that, in accordance with industry practice, it had only used individual lash inserts to fill in gaps and to create a uniform lash line.