Tarte Cosmetics latest #TrippinWithTarte extravaganza in the Caribbean has taken a turn for the worse, with reports of a “Tarte on Fire” themed dinner night. Yep, you read that right.
As Los Angeles battles its most devastating wildfires in recent history, Tarte thought it’d be a brilliant idea to throw a fiery shindig on a tropical island. It’s giving “let them eat cake” influencer edition.
The tea was spilled by influencer Aspyn Ovard in a now-deleted TikTok. Other attendees tried to save face by referring to it as a “red hot” theme, but the damage was done.
Tarte’s attempt at damage control included updating their Insta bio to “Our hearts are with California” and throwing money at various charities.
They’ve donated $260,000 to World Central Kitchen, $10K each to the LA Fire Department Foundation and California Wildfire Response Fund, and even chucked in some self-care kits to evacuation centres. Because nothing says “sorry about your house burning down” like some shape tape, right?
Fans weren’t entirely impressed with the gesture as the way that they announced the donations was through a video of them playing Neon Beach Olympics. Tarte said that they were “playing games with a purpose”. I do wonder why there was a need to play a game to donate to a cause that has damaged more than 12,000 structures and has killed more than 25 people and I’m not the only one.
“So disappointed in tarte. The donation is kind but you are pushing out content on multiple platforms while literally a state is up in flames . Do better!” said one user on the post.
“Maybe just donate and shut up? Utterly tone deaf and out of touch,” said another.
While some influencers are carrying on as if everything’s fine and dandy — Brianna ChickenFry and Ken Eurich — others like Remi Bader are at least trying to read the room.
Bader posted a TikTok saying she’s been keeping quiet out of sensitivity to the situation in LA. A solid effort Remi, but maybe next time just… don’t go?
Tarte’s official statement claims they’ve “adjusted” elements of the trip in “real time reaction” to the LA wildfires, per The Cut.
Some users online have come to the influencers defense, suggesting that there’s not much that they could be doing anyways.
“I get that there’s a social responsibility, but they’ve donated and they’ve shown their support for the fires in LA. I think a lot of these people that are upset just don’t like brand trips in the first place and are just using this as an excuse to hate on the brand,” said TikToker ReadySetGalmour who says she was actually evacuated from her home due to the fires.
It’s definitely not the first time Tarte has copped flak for these influencer trips. The concept itself is enough to rub people the wrong way — a bunch of mostly already rich influencers invited on a free trip designed to make you (the consumer) buy things to make a company richer.
However, Tarte trips have gone the extra mile on the hate train with accusations of mistreatment of people of colour on these trips and tone-deaf luxury itineraries during economic downturns.
Look, we get it. It’s a tough call whether to pause your life when tragedy strikes. But let’s be real — this isn’t your average person’s hard-earned holiday we’re talking about. These are luxury brand trips that could easily be rescheduled. It’s not rocket science, Tarte. Maybe next time, try reading the room before setting it on fire.
Lead image: Aspyn Ovard / Remi Bader / Ken Eurich via TikTok
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