A Florida woman took to Facebook to warn others about the dangers of using new cosmetics after she suffered a severe allergic reaction to her latest lip color.
Lily Cleopatra Maurice couldn’t wait to try her brand new lipstick from the CoverGirl Queen Collection.
But Lily had no idea that putting on her new lipstick would soon mean risking her life—that night, she nearly died in her sleep.
According to the now viral Facebook post that Lily shared after last weekend’s horrifying incident, an ingredient inside the CoverGirl lipstick caused her to experience a life-threatening allergic reaction.
"WARNING! ... Purchased lip this week woke up choking with huge swollen lips," Lily began her post.
“I had to be rushed to the ER! Could've died in my sleep. Plz be careful with the harmful products in lipsticks,” she continued.
According to Randy Schueller, the cosmetic chemist Refinery29 consulted on this story, the lipstick Lily purchased doesn’t actually contain any specific ingredient that "stands out as being problematic."
The fragrance used in the lipstick, on the other hand, may cause some people to suffer allergic reactions, though that hasn’t been directly connected to Lily’s particular experience.
Still, "CoverGirl is a major brand and I'm sure they vet all their raw materials appropriately," Schueller told Refinery29.
As for CoverGirl’s response to Lily’s terrible reaction to their product, Laura Brinker of CoverGirl Communications said:
"As soon as we learned of this woman's experience, which would certainly not be expected from lipstick use, we reached out to her to learn more about what happened and see how we could help. We are glad to hear she is okay and are awaiting her response. At CoverGirl, the safety of people who use our brand is our top priority. We conduct extensive testing on all our products to ensure they're safe and effective."
