Tarte Cosmetics Faces Backlash Again for Lavish Influencer Gifts, Though Brand Says 'This Is a Misunderstanding'

Tarte Cosmetics’ PR packages are going viral on TikTok after several influencers posted the very different gifts they received from the brand.

On Thursday, Sept. 12, New York-based influencer Halley Kate shared in a TikTok that she received a Hermès bracelet from Tarte, along with some of the brand’s makeup products, in a PR package sent to her home. In the video, Kate showed a Dancing with the Stars-themed box and opened it to reveal the Mini Clic Kelly Bracelet inside.

Halley was visibly overwhelmed by the surprise gift and thanked the brand, showing off “how cute” the bracelet looked with the rest of her “stack” on her wrist. According to the Hermès website, the Mini Clic Kelly Bracelet retails for $700.

Along with Kate, other creators like Cierra Miller, Lauren Wolfe, Alexis Oakley and Aditya Madiraju also received the surprise gift in their PR packages, and their reactions subsequently went viral.

However, the anticipation for the potential Hermès gift sparked controversy online after other influencers revealed that they did not receive the coveted bracelet in their packages.

Influencer Ken Eurich posted a TikTok on Saturday, Sept. 14, and shared her excitement to open her own PR package from Tarte after she saw “Halley Kate get sent a Hermès bracelet” in her own package, she said. In the video, she then revealed that she did receive a little box, but it instead contained a necklace with her name on it.

“They’re picking favorites and this is f—– up,” Eurich said in her video before she held up the necklace for the camera. While she said she would “take” the necklace, she expressed her disappointment and said the brand is “on her s— list.”

Another influencer, Chloe Bean, also shared in a video posted on TikTok on Sunday, Sept. 15, that she saw the excitement around the PR packages and revealed that she received a box of Cheez-It crackers and candy fish in her package instead. But she wasn’t overly disappointed.

In the video, she said she was happiest about getting restocks of her favorite Tarte products and that the brand “thought of me” in the first place. She added, “Who needs jewelry?,” in response to not receiving the coveted bracelet.

Users online reacted with shock to the discrepancies and accused the brand of “playing favorites” with the influencers — especially White creators — who received the Hermès bracelets and the others who did not.

A spokesperson at Tarte Cosmetics tells PEOPLE that “this is a misunderstanding” and clarifies that “for the Hermès bracelet mailer, 33% of the creators [who received the bracelet] were Black and 50% were BIPOC.”

“We don’t pay creators to post, so not everyone decided to share,” the spokesman explains. “No matter the mailer — whether it’s Cheez-Its & candy for a Love Island mailer, Hermès bracelets, or nameplate necklaces — 33% of every mailer always goes to Black creators & 50% to BIPOC. Our DEI efforts will remain intentional.”

Tarte has previously been criticized for brand trips organized for influencers that aren’t diverse. The most recent influencer trip that received backlash took place in February 2024, when the brand flew influencers to Bora Bora. While the latest brand trip did include a more diverse group of influencers than previous trips, many still criticized the lavish display by the brand.

In an interview with the New York Times, Tarte Cosmetics founder Maureen Kelly defended the brand’s approach and said, “We found the investment in these relationships to be more valuable in the long term than spending millions of dollars on one-off media campaigns.” 

She explained that the trips generally cost “way less” than a typical Super Bowl ad and that she “finds it so interesting that people don’t get outraged when they see the Super Bowl commercials or those Times Square billboards.”

She previously also expressed that she believed that the “brand trips aren’t out of touch” and that she thought the outrage was because “people are upset that they’re not there.”