Model Caroline Forsling Sues Estée Lauder Over Origins Anti-Aging Ad
Caroline Forsling is suing Estée Lauder over this Origins ad.
So much for turning back time …
Model Caroline Forsling has filed a lawsuit alleging that Origins and its parent company Estée Lauder used her image without permission for an ad promoting an anti-aging skincare line aimed at women aged 45 to 60, the New York Post reports.
Forsling’s beef? She’s only 35, and claims she never approved the ad nor used the Plantscription serum it promotes, despite the fact that her “retouched” image shows “before” and “after” versions.
The former Sports Illustrated swimsuit model is seeking $2 million in damages on the basis that the company’s “false advertising and deceptive acts” harmed her career. She is also hoping to prevent “defendants from any unauthorized use of Forsling’s image or likeness.”
So just how did her photo wind up in the ad? The Swedish beauty charges that it was taken when she visited a Lauder hair care company last July.
“Before stylists did Forsling’s hair and makeup for the photo shoot, the photographer took a photograph of Forsling’s face as a test shot,” her lawsuit says. “[Her] hair was pulled away from her face and she was wearing little or no makeup.”
Forsling says she did not give her consent to use the test shot, and was taken aback when she saw that it had later been used in a dramatization showing the serum’s results.
Citing a clinical study on women aged 45 to 60, the ad (above) shows one half of Forsling’s face to be dark and with visible wrinkles, while the “after” half appears smoother and younger-looking, the suit charges.
Estée Lauder, meanwhile, tells FashionEtc that they do not comment on pending litigation.
In other beauty news, CoverGirl is defending its use of lash inserts in a mascara campaign.
