Most women in their thirties have been playing with makeup for at least half their lives. For them, it would not be a newsflash that “24-hour foundation” does not, in fact, stay on your face unmarred for 24 hours.

An observant Jewish woman apparently didn’t realize this, and thought she had formulated a brilliant plan. Since she’s prohibited from doing “work” like applying makeup on the sabbath, from sundown Friday to sundown Saturday, she could but Lancôme’s “24-Hour Foundation” on Friday afternoon, and still look lovely for her son’s bar mitzvah the following day. Unfortunately, she failed to take into account that she needed to sleep in the interim. Using a pillow.

As anyone who has passed out before taking off their makeup knows, unless you manage to lie perfectly on your back all night, the makeup will rub off. Indeed, in the complaint, the woman says that the makeup had “faded significantly” when she woke up the next morning.

“Lancôme strongly believes that this lawsuit has no merit and stands proudly behind our products. We will strenuously contest these allegations in court,” Lancôme parent company L’Oréal said in a statement to the New York Post. She’s after unspecified damages: presumably more than the $45 that she paid for the makeup, plus the $350 that it costs to file a civil lawsuit in federal court. The suit calls Lancôme’s advertising deceptive, perhaps because it doesn’t say “24 Hour” with a footnote explaining “unless you need to sleep, in which case you will smear the foundation all over your pillow.” Maybe they will have to specify.

Woman in holy war over makeup [NY Post] (via Jezebel – thanks, Kelly!)

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