The 2024 beauty razzies
And the award for worst reformulation goes to...
Joker 2, Megalopollis and Madame Web were just some of the films, announced as nominees for the 2024 Razzies and it got me thinking, what would the beauty equivalent of this ceremony look like?
Clearly, I’m in the mood to get myself blacklisted, so without further ado, let’s take a look back on the year that was.
Worst launch
Youthforia Foundation
This was an easy dub and honestly, the way they handled it, I don’t think there’s any coming back for Youthforia.
In case you missed it, Youthforia made headlines, after they extended the shades of their foundation line. Which, should be noted, came after customers complained about the lack of inclusivity.
Youthforia’s response? Launch a foundation that was just pure, black pigment. No other tones at all.
Influencer, Golloria was the one to call them out on this, when she did a side by side comparison of the foundation vs black face paint.
Cosmetic chemist, Javon Ford, broke down the formula and revealed that while other foundations are a mix of different pigments (obviously), Youthforia had just used pure black.
To make matters worse, videos of the process, on Youthforia’s TikTok, showed them revealing they couldn’t find any models dark enough to wear the foundation for the campaign shoot.
Instead, the founder, chased down two random men in a mall and they were used… despite the video showing the foundation (obviously) didn’t match their skin tone either.
Four months later, Youthforia’s founder finally apologised, admitting she rushed the labs to launch the product.
Worst influencer gifting
TirTir Hermès bags
You might not be familiar with the name, but if you’re chronically online, I’m sure you’ve seen reviews of the viral Korean cushion foundation, in bright red packaging.
Now, personally, I’m really desperate to try TirTir, as everyone seems to rave about it (not because I want a Birkin), but the one thing that really puts me off, is their beyond extravagant influencer gifting.
That’s because TirTir have gifted at least two influencers with Birkin bags. A fact, that is absolutely wild to me.
Wild to me, on the account they would do that in the first place and even wilder that the influencers would be so crass as to post a video about it.
I appreciate they have made the brand a lot of money in sales, but honestly, if you are going to do extravagant thank yous like that, ask the influencers not to post about it.
It doesn’t look good.
Worst reformulation
Givenchy Prisme Libre Loose Powder
Givenchy is one of those brands that relies on its hero products, which is why, drastically changing their arguably most iconic, was always going to be difficult.
However, changing a beloved setting powder into what is effectively a glittery highlighter, seems a bit extreme.
The theory is that Givenchy reformulated to remove talc from the ingredients list (something a lot of brands are doing). But, why they added a ton of unwanted shimmer in its place, is anyone’s guess.
Sadly for them, the Internet has been voicing their upset, ever since.
Worst press trip
Tarte Bora Bora
Honestly, I don’t even like giving Tarte any attention for their press trips. At this point, I genuinely feel like they use these tropical vacations as rage bait.
Tarte is a brand I used to be excited to try when I went to the States, but now, sadly, I have no interest in them.
I don’t think they’re innovative (how are we still promoting Shape Tape?) I think they are outdated and out of touch.
We talk about consumer trust a lot and Tarte feels quite fake to me. A weird way to describe a company, I know, but watching their founder’s TikTok videos makes me recoil in Britishness.
Please watch this to see what I mean.
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Worst campaign
YSL Make Me Blush
You know what, not every makeup product can or will suit everybody.
In some instances, to be inclusive you have to acknowledge that a certain colour is designed for only one skin tone and there’s nothing wrong with that, as long as you are also releasing shades across the entire spectrum.
This is where YSL’s viral (for all the wrong reasons) Lavender Lust liquid blush went wrong.
In my opinion, it’s a shade designed for a different market altogether. You know that softness that is so popular in Korean makeup trends? Only very fair skin could pull this off (I imagine), so marketing it as a shade for everyone and showing a Black model ‘wearing’ it in campaign images, feels purposefully misleading.
Again, one shade in the range that won’t work for all skin tones, I don’t think, is an issue. However, marketing it this way and sending samples to Black and Brown influencers, who won’t be able to use it, without an alternative, really is an own goal.
What do you think of my Razzie suggestions? I’d love to hear yours.
For me the marketing fail goes to SpaceNK. I hate to say it as I love their shops but paying for a millionaire and her friends to go to Las Vegas with other influencers to see Adele was bad enough but they really topped it off with the seemingly endless stream of Father Christmas visits to the homes of celebrities and influencers. If you want to do such tasteless PR at least add a tag line saying that the same Santa visited local care homes & hospitals and that you have paid for some respite holidays for families in need. It all comes across as totally gratuitous. I am not inspired to spend my money with a brand because they give free things to already materially privileged people. Rant over 🤓
That Bora Bora TikTok made me sick in my mouth a little🥴 despite that, I really enjoyed this one and your list is spot on!