After an Instagram user claimed Jenelle Evans’ makeup kits were moldy, the former Teen Mom 2 star challenged the Food and Drug Administration to test them. The Instagram user posted lab test results that appeared to show hyphae and fungi were both present in a JE Cosmetics kit. Evans began selling the brow kits in September 2019.
On Monday, an Instagram user named Rachel Pellegriti shared the alleged results from a lab test. “Ladies and gentlemen the lab has discovered it’s fungus in the makeup,” Pellegriti wrote. “Absolutely disgusting. How can anyone sell a contaminated product and not care?! JE cosmetics needs to be shut down immediately!!!!!” Evans noticed the post, and quickly defended her company, and accused Pellegriti of contaminating the kit herself.
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“Our makeup is completely clean and the FDA can come stop by if they need to,” Evans wrote. “I have made out 200+ orders, and you mean to tell me you two are the only ones with ‘mold’? I find that hard to believe. Seems like it was purposely contaminated [for] attention.” Evans later added, “You really expect for me to believe a home kit? Right.” Pellegriti responded to Evans by sharing a screenshot of the comments in her Instagram Story, adding, “Unreal LOL.” She also told Evans that she sent samples to a professional lab.
Evans’ JE Cosmetics products have run into several issues since the kits were made available for purchase last fall. Some complained about finding hair-like fibers in the wax. Manufacturer XJ Beauty said the velvet box the kits were packed in might have caused this, reports InTouch Weekly. One week after the brow kits launched, XJ Beauty dropped Evans’ brand and reportedly sent all unsold stock to Evans. The former MTV star also allegedly failed to register JE Cosmetics as a business entity in North Carolina.
In May, Evans relaunched the makeup line, but there were still complaints about the kits being unsanitary. Evans denied this allegation. “Despite all the rumors some have been spreading about our kits, our makeup is clean and sanitized,” she posted on the JE Cosmetics brand Instagram page on July 13. “Before shipping, every product is inspected. All of our previous customers are happy and satisfied with their product!” Notably, comments are not allowed on the post, and there has not been a new post on the page since. Last week, The Sun reported that the JE Cosmetics trademark was listed as abandoned and “dead” on June 19.