Don't Rub Cinnamon on Your Face Just Because a French YouTube Witch Says You Should
Marie “EnjoyPhoenix” Lopez is a French YouTuber whose beauty vlogs have earned her nearly 2 million subscribers, deals with cosmetics companies, and a slot on Dance Avec Les Stars. She’s wildly successful. But also, maybe not someone you should listen to about what homemade goop to put on your face.
Earlier this month, EnjoyPhoenix posted a DIY facemask recipe using “products we all have in our cupboard, in our fridge,” including chocolate, banana, and, notably, cinnamon. Despite the beauty guru’s claims that she’d been using the recipe for years, some of her fans reported the cinnamon burned their faces.
“Certainly I have soft skin, but my cheeks are burning and dry as straw,” one commenter wrote on EnjoyPhoenix’s Facebook page, according to L’Express.
Another told her she should have taken more time to do her research, because “cinnamon is dermocaustic and causes severe burns, and given the amount you put in, I think everyone will look like brownies after 3 or 4 applications.” (Thanks for that gem, Google Translate.)
Other French news sites started reporting on the backlash this week, and 20 Minutes got a dermatologist to rebut EnjoyPhoenix’s claims that cinnamon is “regenerating and purifying.”
“It is also an allergenic plant,” dermatologist Isabelle Oliveres-Gouthi told 20 Minutes.
“The idea of saying ‘This is natural, so it is safe’ is false,” added her colleague Henri Pawin, “Nettle is a natural plant, but on the skin, it causes welts. Cinnamon is not used much in Western medicine.”
EnjoyPhoenix responded on Facebook, simultaneously admitting it’s her fault that “some girls were burned,” and listing several reasons why her fans shouldn’t blame her if they hurt their dumb faces.
Via Google Translate again:
“It’s obvious you should test a mask on your skin before applying it fully. If you feel it burning, don’t you remove it? Have a little common sense!”
“File a complaint, go ahead. These recipes are as old as the world and in books of grandma recipes.”
“Reminder: I am 20 years old.”
She also blames the French gossip press for being too focused on her every move and mistake. Sorry about your faces, though, adoring teenage girls!
This is the worst burn-related crisis for EnjoyPhoenix since last month, when she accidentally asked her viewers to bake brownies at 300ºC instead of 300ºF.
Life as a superstar youtubeuse is rough, man. Quel dommage.