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Everything You Need To Know About The Jaclyn Hill Lipstick Drama

aimee simeon
11 June 2019, 9:42
Photo: Michael Loccisano/Getty Images.
Jaclyn Hill's long-awaited cosmetics brand has been years in the making, according to the YouTube star who launched her eponymous makeup line late last month. Hill, who has previously collaborated with Morphe Cosmetics on multiple collections, debuted with 20 nude lipsticks meant to flatter all skin tones — but the reactions have been mixed.
Since the initial launch, Hill's lipsticks have sparked an intense social media debate. While some customers raved about the consistency, colour selection, and payoff of her lipsticks (including a few Refinery29 staffers who were tasked with giving them an honest review), others expressed disappointment over various manufacturing flaws ranging from broken or melted lipsticks to bullets containing what appeared to be hair. (Editor's note: Refinery29 received the samples directly from the brand for testing, which might have impacted the quality.)
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One Twitter user posted a photo of her Jaclyn Cosmetics lipstick to Twitter and tagged Hill. "Why is my @JaclynCosmetics Decaf Lipstick lumpy?? @JaclynHill this can't be ok right?" she wrote.
Hill initially replied defensively, tweeting, "You posted swatches 2 days ago loving the lipsticks? Now you're wondering why it's lumpy? It's obvious this lipstick is used & not fresh from the factory. Like any other lipstick, if you use it over other products, have dry lips, etc., things like this can happen."
Hill's tweet prompted backlash from fans who accused the YouTuber of having a snarky tone. She deleted the initial tweet (later admitting that it "seemed much more harsh that (sic) it sounded in my mind" and was "unprofessional") but defended her underlying sentiment. "Honest to God, I have not seen one other person complain about this & I take my reviews very seriously," Hill tweeted. "It's obvious the lipstick was used (you could see other product on top), and since her first review was great, it's hard to know the actual issue. If you have seen any other issue like this, please send with photos & I will OF COURSE address it. I'm sorry if I come off defensive, truly!"
And send they did, with customers posting multiple reviews and photos to YouTube and Twitter flagging a variety of product issues. Fellow YouTuber RawBeautyKristi even made a video in which she inspected the lipstick bullets under a microscope, claiming that the quality of the lipsticks she received in a PR mailing were drastically better than the ones she purchased online.
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Other fans complained of broken bullets, lumps, spots, and even what they thought to be hair in their lipsticks, the last of which Hill claims is due to the texture of the gloves used during quality control. "If any of you are receiving lipsticks like this.... please know that this is NOT hair!" Hill tweeted. "My factory used brand new white gloves to do quality control & they shed all over my product! We switched to rubber gloves 2 days ago & will make sure this never happens again."
The brand officially responded to the controversy with this statement: “The response to the launch of Jaclyn Cosmetics has been incredible. Of the incredible volume of orders that were placed at launch, we believe less than half of one percent of orders were impacted by compromised product," wrote a spokesperson for Jaclyn Cosmetics. "We are actively reaching out to our customers with questions and concerns and have added to our customer service team to make sure that any questions are swiftly addressed. We are keeping an eye on the Jaclyn Cosmetics social channels and info@jaclyncosmetics.com, and welcome all feedback. We love our customers and are proud of our successful launch."
In another tweet, the brand shed more light on the exact cause of the issues, writing, "In rare circumstances some lipsticks were exposed to high temperatures or the raw materials were not blended thoroughly and that is not acceptable to us."
Hill also released a statement on her Twitter account, thanking customers for their feedback, and pledging to resolve the issue quickly. "I want to thank you all for the unbiased feedback on my lipstick collection. The good, the bad & the ugly," she wrote. "Every comment or concern that has been brought to my attention has not been taken lightly. My team and I are working nonstop to address any & all issues you may be having."
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She continued, "I’m so sorry if the product you received was anything less than perfect. If you are unsatisfied in ANY way please contact help@jaclyncosmetics.com & we will be sure to give you a full refund as well as send you a new product. My team and I are working very hard on finding out EXACTLY what is causing the “grittiness & bumpy texture” on some of my lipsticks. I am so sorry to see some of you dissatisfied with my product. I will make it right for you & learn from this mistake! That’s a promise."
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