L’Oréal Cleared In Helen Mirren Airbrushing Claim

Helen Mirren's stunning good looks in her L'Oréal ads are all her own, according to the U.K.'s Advertising Standards Authority. The ASA stated today that L'Oreal hadn't airbrushed out Mirren's wrinkles, and that ads featuring her weren't in breach of the U.K.'s strict truth-in-advertising standards. When we caught wind that Mirren was the newest U.K. ambassador for L'Oréal, our beauty team let out a collective cheer. We've seen so many spokeswomen promoting anti-aging products without a wrinkle on their faces in sight (you can read up on all of our feelings regarding ageism in the beauty industry here, and, trust us, we have a lot). So we welcomed the sight of Mirren at the helm of the brand. But not everyone believed Mirren's appearance was just the result of the anti-wrinkle cream she's hawking. A formal complaint was filed with the ASA accusing L'Oréal of using "post-production techniques" (a.k.a. retouching) to alter the actress' appearance — specifically, the lines around her mouth. The brand disputed the claims, presenting red-carpet images of Mirren as proof that the ads match her real-life appearance. The ASA's ruling found that the ads were not misleading. "We noted that wrinkles were clearly visible on Ms. Mirren's face in both ads, including across her forehead and around her mouth. The ASA considered that consumers would expect Helen Mirren to have been professionally styled and made up for the photo shoot, and to have been photographed and filmed professionally in flattering conditions," the ASA said in a statement. "We considered that the recent press images of Ms. Mirren would have reflected a similar degree of professional styling and makeup as the images in the ads, without any post-production amendments, and that her appearance in the ads was comparable to those more candid images." So it turns out Mirren really is "worth it" — but that's certainly news to no one. Refinery29 reached out to L'Oréal for comment, and we will update this story when we hear back.