'Naturally beautiful' Faryal Makhdoom comes under fire for failing to disclose paid Instagram ads

Faryal Makhdoom is the latest celebrity to come under fire for failing to identify when she is promoting products on social media by not writing "#ad" in the caption.

The 26-year-old single mother has thrown herself into work amid her pending divorce from British boxer Amir Khan in a bid to support herself and daughter Lamaisah.

Aside from promoting her eponymous cosmetics line Faryal Cosmetics to her 812K followers on Instagram, the American-Pakistani entrepreneur is also getting paid to endorse other beauty products.

Her recent ventures include a whitening dental kit from Denteto and a dermaroller by skin specialists Base Lift.

Makhdoom was criticised by many of her followers for promoting the teeth whitening kit since she has veneers, despite her admitting in the caption that she only has five.

She wrote: "Teeth time I've been receiving loads of messages about what teeth whitening product I use. I trust and use @denteto_uk and recommend them to all of you lovelies. www.denteto.com discount code 'Faryal' for 10% off your order. (P.s. I ONLY HAVE 5 veneers -- not all)". She failed to state clearly that it was a promotional post.

Makhdoom received a mixed reaction from her followers, with many questioning her agenda as others hailed her for wearing less make-up.

One person wrote: "Anything to make a buck."

Many commenters focused on Makhdoom's lack of the tags "#ad" or "#spon" to indicate that she was trying to sell a product to her followers.

Another said: "Where is the hashtag AD!!! Honestly" while someone else put: "I almost got it... if it's an #AD. She should announce it ..."

Other fans took the opportunity to tell the make-up lover how much better she looks natural.

One person commented: "Faryal u look so so much better with your natural looks with out makeup. Always stay happy and keep smiling looks nice. U dont need makup with ur natural beauty."

Someone else added: "You are so beautiful with natural make up".

Makhdoom later posted a video of herself using a dermaroller tool on her face, which is used to combat fine lines, acne and pigmentation.

She also offered her followers a 50% discount using the code "Faryal", so it's clear that she was paid for the social media advertising despite not explicitly informing her followers.

Later on, Makhdoom shared a glamorous selfie of herself in full make-up complete with false eyelashes, drawing attention to her hair extensions in the caption by writing: "Just do it.

Hair by - @hair_by_charlotte". It is not clear whether Makhdoom was paid to promote the extensions or not.

Makhdoom's posts come as Marnie Simpson from Geordie Shore was exposed for falling foul to the UK's advertising rules on Snapchat today.

The reality television star uploaded images of products from two firms that she has business relationships with onto the social media platform without identifying them as adverts.

Since Snapchat Story posts self-delete after 24 hours, Simpson has not been ordered to take any action on this occasion, but the two companies involved have agreed to ensure the hashtag #ad appears alongside adverts they produce in the future.

The Federal Trade Commission targeted a sample of posts earlier this year that referenced a brand or directly endorsed products without saying so. The intervention was part-prompted by the advocacy group Public Citizen which named celebrities including Rihanna and Kim Kardashian among 113 influencers who it said endorsed product without disclosure in their own investigation.

The FTC enforced various rules and advertising regulations over social media related endorsements and testimonials to ensure they are not misleading to the public. The connection between the endorser and the company must be clearly disclosed – and consumers have a right to know when someone is being paid to promote a product.

Secondly, an endorsement must reflect the honest opinion of the endorser and cannot be used to make a claim that the product's marketer couldn't legally make. Companies have been known to violate this regulation by manipulating what endorsers tell their fans.

If social media endorsements fail to comply with FTC regulations, it could result in civil lawsuits and regulatory investigations, fines, court costs and irreparable damage to customer goodwill.