Chernae Noonan v Benefit Cosmetics LLC

In the Federal Court of Australia, Chernae Noonan (the applicant) brought proceedings against Benefit Cosmetics LLC (the respondent) alleging contraventions of the *Australian Consumer Law* (ACL) and the *Competition and Consumer Act 2010* (Cth). The dispute concerned representations made by the respondent regarding the efficacy of its "They're Real!" mascara product.

The primary legal issue before the Court was whether the respondent engaged in misleading or deceptive conduct in contravention of section 18 of the ACL. This involved determining whether the representations made about the mascara's performance, specifically its ability to lengthen lashes by up to 94%, were substantiated and not likely to mislead consumers.

Justice Nicole Worth found that the respondent had contravened section 18 of the ACL. Her Honour reasoned that the claim of 94% lash lengthening was not adequately substantiated at the time it was made. The Court considered the evidence presented regarding the testing methodology and concluded that it did not support the unqualified representation of such a significant increase in lash length, rendering the advertisement misleading to the average consumer.

The Court ordered that the respondent pay pecuniary penalties for the contraventions.