Haus Labs "criticized" for 'triggering' ad resembling self-harm

[Leoooo 2,159]

I mean, fair enough if they did, only once they actually said that is looked like that could I see that context but once I did I can understand it, but wouldnt have otherwise. It's good of them to take it down as soon as they noticed.

It didnt need an article, not like anyones going to read it anyway

[JRCF29 8,152]

Absolute mess at them being pushed into deleting the post, a few people getting offended or triggered is hardly justification. 

It all goes a bit far if you ask me...

[Lady Rah Rah 1,686]

An ex self-harmer here, of course this is just me but in no way would I be triggered by something like that...maybe if it was red eyeliner it could...possibly. But I'd scroll and move on. 

[Gagi 2,750]

Everyone is a Karen nowadays

[Alannah 2,900]

The image was a bit unsettling for me, personally; I think there's better ways to swatch an eyeliner. 

Those taunting peoples' sensitivity towards that image should practice more compassion. If it doesn't bother you, that's great! But don't invalidate others feeling triggered by it. It's a unconventionally dumb way to showcase liner. People aren't overly sensitive these days, they're just comfortable talking about their experiences because mental health is a larger discussion than 5-10+ years ago. 

Placing criticized in quotes is silly. There's no need to invalidate peoples' feelings and experiences further by adding that. HL's social team can still be criticized whether you agree with the feedback or not. 

For those who have struggled with self harm and felt uncomfortable by this post, don't let others gaslight you into thinking you're overreacting. Your experience is valid and there's resources out there for help in the event of a potential relapse:

"Text CONNECT to 741741 for free 24/7 help for self-harm."
https://www.crisistextline.org/help-for-self-harm/

[Cameltoe Chariot 11,824]

2 minutes ago, Alannah said:

The image was a bit unsettling for me, personally; I think there's better ways to swatch an eyeliner. 

Those taunting peoples' sensitivity towards that image should practice more compassion. If it doesn't bother you, that's great! But don't invalidate others feeling triggered by it. It's a unconventionally dumb way to showcase liner. People aren't overly sensitive these days, they're just comfortable talking about their experiences because mental health is a larger discussion than 5-10+ years ago. 

Placing criticized in quotes is silly. There's no need to invalidate peoples' feelings and experiences further by adding that. HL's social team can still be criticized whether you agree with the feedback or not. 

For those who have struggled with self harm and felt uncomfortable by this post, don't let others gaslight you into thinking you're overreacting. Your experience is valid and there's resources out there for help in the event of a potential relapse:

"Text CONNECT to 741741 for free 24/7 help for self-harm."
https://www.crisistextline.org/help-for-self-harm/

Please don't invalidate my response to this by calling my choice of quotation marks "silly", or by positioning a critical viewpoint of this by referring to it as "taunting". As I said earlier in the thread, I have self-harmed for a substantial period of my life and have been through various forms of therapy and intervention to work through it.

No one is mocking self harm, no one is invalidating experiences. What I am being critical of is holding others responsible for a triggered reaction to an incredibly abstract representation of cut lines. There is nothing unconventional or dumb about how this eyeliner swatch was photographed - if you look at any makeup brand you will see that pigment and precision is shown by swatches on the inner forearm of a model. There is NOTHING new or unconventional about this.

Those of us that struggle with self-harm, depression, anxiety... we have a responsibility to manage our mental illness. The world will not pad itself for us, and if black lines of makeup on an inner arm are triggering then that is incredibly troubling and I would encourage those that were triggered to seek counselling in order to learn how to navigate the world better and to prevent further emotional turmoil. If black lines of makeup are that upsetting, what happens when a trailer for a gory horror movie comes on TV? Or an operation scene from Grey's Anatomy comes on while flipping through channels? Do we demand the tv network to stop airing Grey's?

[Alannah 2,900]

20 minutes ago, CameltoeKween said:

Please don't invalidate my response to this by calling my choice of quotation marks "silly", or by positioning a critical viewpoint of this by referring to it as "taunting". As I said earlier in the thread, I have self-harmed for a substantial period of my life and have been through various forms of therapy and intervention to work through it.

No one is mocking self harm, no one is invalidating experiences. What I am being critical of is holding others responsible for a triggered reaction to an incredibly abstract representation of cut lines. There is nothing unconventional or dumb about how this eyeliner swatch was photographed - if you look at any makeup brand you will see that pigment and precision is shown by swatches on the inner forearm of a model. There is NOTHING new or unconventional about this.

Those of us that struggle with self-harm, depression, anxiety... we have a responsibility to manage our mental illness. The world will not pad itself for us, and if black lines of makeup on an inner arm are triggering then that is incredibly troubling and I would encourage those that were triggered to seek counselling in order to learn how to navigate the world better and to prevent further emotional turmoil. If black lines of makeup are that upsetting, what happens when a trailer for a gory horror movie comes on TV? Or an operation scene from Grey's Anatomy comes on while flipping through channels? Do we demand the tv network to stop airing Grey's?

I am proud of you for getting the help you need, thank you for sharing that in a public space. And I don't take your initial post as taunting. However, you cannot say that no one here is invalidating experiences. There are some very rude responses in this thread that are incredibly insensitive. 

Perhaps I don't follow as many brands as I used to, but this definitely does not look like every brand's example of liner. And as other members have agreed in this thread, the HL post was not a great ad. Maybe not everyone sees it as "dumb" or "unconventional", I do and that is completely subjective.  

I am actively seeking counseling for my previous habits, but not everyone has the resources to do so.

Those who are watching a specific TV show or movie typically know what genre they're consuming. Also, medical and horror-based media usually contain content warnings prior to starting. A random post by a makeup brand with a potentially triggering image isn't necessarily expected. Do I think everything needs to be run through a strainer 3x to make sure not a single element of it is potentially harmful? Not necessarily. 

While I personally don't feel directly triggered (though uncomfortable), I completely understand where folks who are, are coming from. I think this is an important conversation to have with different viewpoints, but it's hard to do so when so many are quick to pull the "snowflake" and "too sensitive these days" card. That discourse is not helpful. 

[ToxicHot 6,425]

Ummmm...... It’s literally makeup samples.  If someone decides to interpret this as cutting then that’s THEIR interpretation??? Knowing what Gaga stands for I’m sure this was definitely unintentional. There’s no subliminal message here either. 

[LadyEnigma 952]

i mean idk if i was still recovering this would have definitely triggered me (u should put it in a spoiler)- but i do need to say that this wouldn't be the intention and it is all about interpretation 

[Miel 15,009]

Makeup brands do this all the time, right? The swatching and such.

Although... I kind of see it. Like, I know nobody is at fault in this, but whoopsie daisies I guess? You live and you learn.

[Helxig 39,556]

Jesus Christ it's called swatching 

I always tell people off when they say "the world is becoming too PC" but I'm starting to see it now tbh

[FinallyFree 454]

15 hours ago, FinallyFree said:

What Haus Labs posted was a video tho and not a picture. The woman was “slashing” her arm with the micro tip eyeliner to show how precise it is. EVERYONE in the comment section was complaining about how triggering the video was and how they should take it down (went through the comments when the video was still up)

And just to clarify, I’m a HUGE Haus Labs Fan and I wanna work for them sometime in the future. And while I’ve got my own triggers, I’ve never self-harmed. When someone says they find that triggering, I think it’s not our place to decide if that’s a reach or not. Let’s just accept that others think so. 
we really need to be kind to each other

[Economy 44,046]

On 1/15/2021 at 2:17 AM, dit said:

tbh I can get it. It does look a little suggestive in a way but it is still a huge REACH. But yeah...glad they took those pics down regardless

I can see how u can make that connection but definitely it also sounds like ppl being petty as well and trying to make connections with everything

 

I feel like given ppls nature to reach and wanna make a big deal about everything all the time they blowing this out of proportion as usual

 

Maybe for someone with PTSD (and I mean really really bad PTSD) it might remind them or make them make the connection in their head. But just don't look at the picture seriously.

 

U don't have to go and make noise and protest everytime something in society comes up that's a little uncomfortable for you. We all have struggles, some more than others, but imagine every person with a struggle was like this? Everything would have to be censured everywhere all the time because it offended someone. The way to deal with it is not by being pressed with others at every little thing u don't like that clearly wasn't intentional either

[Doily Skull 260]

As someone who’s struggled with self harm for decades, I can see where the comparison would come from, but this is strictly self-projection. There could be “better ways” to swatch an eyeliner, I guess, but there are also better ways to deal with your emotions sooo 👀 seeing people upset about this is a little outlandish to me

[Economy 44,046]

5 minutes ago, Doily Skull said:

As someone who’s struggled with self harm for decades, I can see where the comparison would come from, but this is strictly self-projection. There could be “better ways” to swatch an eyeliner, I guess, but there are also better ways to deal with your emotions sooo 👀 seeing people upset about this is a little outlandish to me

That's what I'm saying! As I said in my comment above I do get where some might be coming from and how a connection can be made in their minds when they see this

 

But again, a lot of ppl have a lot of different struggles. Most of us have something of one nature or another that makes us uncomfortable. The way to deal with it is not by getting all extra and protesting all the time and expecting everything to be censured or to have to place warnings in every post. Sometimes it's as simple as looking away. 

 

Societies modern culture of getting petty with everything all the time is part of the reason ppl are always fighting, getting triggered and never at peace with eachother. There's times where something is a big enough deal to be called out and criticized, but there's also times where I think it's appropriate to let some things go if they really aren't THAT serious

 

I've always had that mentality when ppl say or do something that didn't necessarily sit the greatest with me. Unless it's truly argument worthy I let it go. And I have very few fights or problems with people thanks to that attitude. Ppl who always wanna make a scene about something are the kind of ppl who end up always being angry with someone and loosing friends. It's not worth it

 

Maybe Gaga could of thought of a better way to do this. But I also think it was blown out of proportion