Beauty brand Tarte, known for its extravagant and tone-deaf trips, is celebrating ten years of #TrippinWithTarte, and if you had issues with it before, buckle up because it all just got much worse.
This week, it took influencers including Remi Bader, Ken Eulich, and Brianna LaPaglia on a Caribbean vacation. Aside from the obvious poor timing of an island-resort trip during the most destructive wildfires in Los Angeles’s history, an influencer in attendance shared a TikTok where she stated that one of the dinner theme nights was “Tarte on Fire.” The content creator, Aspyn Ovard, quickly took down the video (and posted the below OOTD instead), but not before it was shared on Reddit. While other attendees referenced the red-dress theme night as “red hot” (which is also questionable given the current circumstances, but I digress), it seems like Ovard either wanted to expose the original or simply forgot not to share. Either way, it’s not good.
@aspynovard ootd @Revolve
♬ original sound - Aspyn Ovard
People are always upset about these trips, but they’re especially sensitive (and rightfully so) given that it continued during the displacement of tens of thousands of people in Los Angeles, which many of the attendees on this trip call home. The cosmetic brand updated its Instagram bio to say, “Our hearts are with California” and shared a post on the first day of the trip stating that it’s donating $10,000 in each influencer’s name for a $260,000 donation to World Central Kitchen (as well as 100% net proceeds from all tarte.com sales going to organization from January 8 - 15) to aid in wildfire-relief efforts. They also donated $10,000 to the LA Fire Department Foundation and $10,000 to California Wildfire Response Fund, donated products to Altadena Girls, and 1,000 self-care kits to an evacuation center. An official statement from the brand said: “Many elements of the trip have been adjusted in real time reaction to the LA Wildfires, including the name of this night’s activation.”
While some creators are posting on a regular schedule — like Brianna LaPaglia, who debuted the new man she brought along and made out with on video after swearing off dating — there are a few who have said that they don’t feel comfortable sharing content from the trip. Remi Bader posted a TikTok expressing her feelings. “I haven’t been posting a lot because I want to be sensitive to what’s going on in L.A. right now, but I’m currently in Necker Island with Tarte,” she said.
@remibader Giveaway info on ig stories and tiktok stories 🩷🩵
♬ original sound - Remi Jo
The consensus online seems to be that people are pretty torn on whether or not to pause their lives when tragedy hits, but it’s imperative to note that this is not everyday life. These influencer trips are luxury events that brands are paying for, not a nonrefundable vacation for the everyday person who has limited time off and works an office job. What I mean to say is that they could have rescheduled.
And more importantly, this is not the first time Tarte has been in hot water surrounding its influencer trips. In 2023, the brand was criticized for taking beauty creators to Dubai during a time of economic crisis, and later that same year it was criticized for its treatment of creators of color during a press trip to F1 Miami. You would think it would learn.