Making a claim that rival foundations contained a "toxic chemical cocktail" has caused Thin Lizzy to lose face at the Advertising Standards Authority (ASA).
A television advertisement for Thin Lizzy urged listeners to look at their foundations and "chances are you'll find a toxic chemical cocktail that may be damaging your skin".
That drew a complaint from A McKay, who felt the ad referred unfairly to competitors' products.
The ASA complaints board took the view that "toxic chemical cocktail" was very strong and emotive and gave the impression rival products were of a poor quality.
Consumers could understand "toxic" to mean poisonous, and not suitable for use, and was misleading by exaggeration.
It also considered stating "chances are" gave the impression to viewers that the majority of make-up wearers would be affected.
Most of the board felt the advertisement played on the fear of consumers through the use of strong and emotive language.
A minority disagreed, saying the "toxic" phrase was tempered by the rest of the advertisement.
Thin Lizzy said its product contained nine ingredients, with only one of those putting the user at risk of an allergic reaction.
It argued that in other products, "up to four or five ingredients have the potential for a negative reaction".
