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Mum claims her teenage daughter has been left half-blind after a $3 Kmart eye mask allegedly caused a severe allergic reaction.

Brisbane mother, Clare Boulton, 45, claims her 14-year-old daughter, Angel, was left in agony with severe facial swelling after buying the “firming” product from the discount department store on Saturday.

Ms Boulton said her daughter has been unable to attend school, open her left eye or sleep through the burning pain since using the mask for just five minutes on Saturday, reports Courier Mail.

Ms Boulton is now calling for the beauty product to be pulled off the shelves and claims the matter was “brushed aside” when she raised it with Kmart — and said she was only offered a $6 refund.

Kmart has confirmed it is investigating and said customer safety was their “utmost priority”.

Ms Boulton said: “I figured it would go down, but it’s just gotten worse. Angel has been using eye packs all night, antihistamines and Panadol but she’s just been crying in pain.

“We went in to the store on Monday and I said, ‘Look what you’ve done to my daughter’s eye.’ They said they were busy and just offered me a $6 refund.

“I said to them, ‘Don’t you think you should take it off the shelves until you get this all cleared?’ Shouldn’t they be doing more testing before stocking this stuff?’

“They are just brushing it aside. They thought I would be happy with a $6 refund. I’m definitely planning to be taking this further.”

The packaging of the Raspberry Leaf Botanical Eye Mask advises users to leave the product under their eyes for 15 to 20 minutes.

eye mask
Image via Kmart

 

The 14-year-old claims she only left the product on for five minutes as an experiment but woke up the following morning with both eyes severely swollen.

A Kmart spokeswoman said the company had not received any “direct notifications” from customers around the product, but confirmed they had launched an investigation.

The spokeswoman said: “The safety of our customers is our utmost priority. We would like to request the customer contact our customer service team so we can assist them with this investigation.”

Product details via Kmart

Moisturise and soothe your under eye area with these gel based eye masks.
2 pack
Enriched with raspberry leaf
Gel mask
Paraben and MIT free
Firming for all skin types
Directions for use:
Cleanse your face and pat dry
Remove the gel mask
Place under your eye areas
Relax for 15 to 20 minutes
Remove mask and pat dry any excess essence

Ingredients: Aqua, Glycerin, Rubus Idaeus (Raspberry) Leaf Extract, Isopropyl Myristate, Chondrus Crispus (Irish Moss) Powder, Glyceryl Stearate, Cetearyl Alcohol, Chlorphenesin, Amorphophallus Konjac Root Extract, Sodium Carrageenan, Potassium Chloride, Laureth-9, Sodium Hyaluronate, Hydrolyzed Collagen, Fragrance

“Warning: For external use only. Do not apply to irritated or broken skin. In the unlikely event of irritation, please discontinue use. If necessary, consult your healthcare practitioner.

Disclaimer: All efforts have been made to ensure that the ingredient list for this product is correct, complete and up-to-date”

Oh gosh! We hope Angel makes a speedy recovery. That is not nice at all.

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  • We are all different. Most products have warnings on them for first time use. Sometimes its not a nasty chemical thats included as most people react and are allergic to things from nature. Cats, dogs, peanuts, hay, pollen, etc

    I would be telling a 14yr old that she is way too young to have to even think about using eye masks. Plus she should not over load her young skin with products. A very basic skin care routine is best.

    Reply

  • Thing is we all have different skin types, what the one can put on the face (masks, day cream, cleansers, toners, etc) the other one can’t. For many years I was able to use anything and everything till my skin had enough and started to respond with allergies (much as prescribed in this article). Now the only thing I put on my face is a cream I make myself of raw organic Shea butter and organic unrefined Coconut oil. I have the same with deodorant on which I respond allergic since I was a teenager.
    Personally I think it’s everyone’s own responsibility to test a product on a small piece of skin.
    Someone who’s allergic for diary can’t blame the supermarket for selling milk because of their allergic reaction.

    Reply

  • My thoughts too. It is not wise to put chemicals near your eyes no matter why it is advertised. You should always test a new product by putting a minute spot of it on the “inside” of your arm to see if your skin reacts to it. Maybe the girl got some on her eye lashes too.

    Reply

  • There are tons of questionable ingredients in beauty products. If in doubt, don’t use it especially on the face where your skin can be very sensitive. Just another reason t buy organic and known beauty products that may cause less irritation. I hope this girl recovers quickly.

    Reply

  • It sounds like the girl is allergic to something in the product. Also, why is a 14yo using an under eye firming product??

    Reply

  • This might not necessarily be the store’s fault or a fault with the product. The girl had an allergic reaction so she is obviously allergic to something in the product and could have had the same reaction using any product with the same ingredient in it. Testing should definitely be done as it is horrible, but as another lady has said below, you need to do a skin test first especially if you may have sensitive skin or using it around sensitive areas like the eyes.

    Reply

  • This is indeed worrying for users of this eye mask. I, personally, would only use such products as directed by my Beauty Therapist and would certainly not recommend them for anyone under adult age. I wouldn’t think it would be necessary at all for such young skin. And for something new and untried, you should always do the skin test. It’s generally recommended on most of these types of products. I’ve no doubt this will we handled and sorted out correctly once the process of reporting is met.

    Reply

  • Firstly why is a 14 year old needing this product? she may be allergic to fragrance or any other harsh chemical, always test before use on arm.

    Reply

  • Allergic reactions happen to me quite a lot, so I don’t buy most preparations these days.
    But can’t understand why a 14 year old would want to use any firming sort of agent, her skin would be so supple and soft. And also can’t understand why her mother would let her use it.

    Reply

  • Sound like its almost a chemical burn. What exactly does a 14 year old need to firm though?

    Reply

  • I throw allergies to random stuff all the time, I do not go back and demand it be taken from the shelves

    Reply

  • Indeed. An allergic reaction can happen. But better using just natural products.

    Reply

  • In fairness, it’s possible o have an allergic reaction to a product that’s safe for mst.

    Reply

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