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Chloe Fineman Rocks Out Like It's 2000 for Maybelline New York

That song sounds like a hit, too

This ugly cry is a thing of beauty.

SNL’s Chloe Fineman channels Clinton/Bush II-era pop tropes in a Maybelline New York spot that plays like one of her show’s vaunted faux commercials.

But rest assured, the :30 from agency Gotham is real. Every bit of it. OK, that’s not real rain. They just drenched her in the studio. But still.

The ad touts Tattoo Liner at max volume. Chloe’s pop-star poses, funny faces, melodramatic moves and epically silly singing are to “die-eeee-eye” for!

“In recent years, memes of celebrities giving a face-crumpling ‘ugly cry’ have gone viral,” Maybelline says. “The campaign gives a nod to those internet-breaking moments while tying in Gen Z’s obsession with the fashion, music and overall aesthetic of the 2000s.” (Klarna explored similar retro-mod territory a few months back, casting an actual aughts icon, Paris Hilton, in a pair of vids.)

In Maybelline’s excursion, we watch Fineman scrunch up her features and sob with comical intensity. Naturally, her makeup won’t budge because it’s waterproof and smudge proof. Even her overwrought, high-eeee-eye energy performance can’t shake it loose.

“This liner has real staying power and will stick with them through all the up and down drama of their lives,” Maybelline says.

2024 Lifetime Achievement Award