Becca teamed up once again with social media personality Jaclyn Hill to promote a champagne summer collection. Their first collaboration--the shimmering skin perfector Champagne Pop--was such a success that it is not surprising to see the two teaming up yet again.
I own several Becca products: Moonstone and Opal shimmering skin perfectors, Flowerchild and Wild Honey blushes, the backlight primer, and Ombre Rouge eyeshadow palette. It's fair to say that I have a pretty wide selection of Becca products and that I am also--clearly--a fan of this brand.
I absolutely love my Ombre Rouge palette, and when I first heard that this collection was going to include an eyeshadow palette, I'll admit I figured I would cave and purchase it. When I learned that the palette was going to include shimmer shades, I was gone. I had to have it.
But then I saw the swatches and was highly disappointed. Not only do I have a dude for every single shade, but I have multiple dupes of every single shade. Even then, I thought that with the Becca quality, I could justify it.
I read Temptalia's review and was surprised to see that the palette got a poor rating. Because I already had dupes of every shade, and with disappointing performance, I decided against purchasing and moved on.
But then Rita B. on YouTube (who I've been subscribed to for a while) made a pretty amazing video. As an even bigger fan of Becca eyeshadows, Rita was so incredibly disappointed by this palette that she did some digging and found that the palette had been produced in China (instead of the US, where all their previous eyeshadow palettes were made) and used a different, cheaper formula than their normal shadows. MrKongsMom also made a video that echoed similar sentiments.
I have a lot of feelings about this. First, and most obviously, this totally sucks. My best speculation (and this is purely speculation) is that in a collaboration, the company has to split its profits. Had they produced this eyeshadow palette with the same formula as their normal palettes, they would not see as much of a return because Jaclyn would get a share of the profits. So they cut costs by producing the palette with a significantly cheaper formula, but keep the price of the palette the same. They therefore don't spend as much money on manufacturing costs to be lost to Jaclyn.
I think that's a very likely scenario, but I don't have any concrete evidence to support this. I've read that Jaclyn made a statement and said that due to the demand and time constraints on making the palette, Becca outsourced to China and unbeknownst to all of them, the product was processed with cheaper ingredients. Do I believe this? Absolutely not.
While this all infuriates me, I have to say that I am happy that Becca pulled the palette and has offered refunds to everyone who purchased it. But it feels slightly too little, too late.
It's disappointing though that it took someone (or multiple people) "exposing" the situation for Becca to take any responsibility. The palette should have never been manufactured in China, and then it should have never been put on shelves for the same price as their high-quality palettes.
I am further disappointed that so many people who were sent PR samples raved about it. This is something that really grinds my gears. It is absolutely okay to give a negative review of a product. In fact, it makes consumers more trusting of a reviewer who gives honest criticisms. I'm not sure if it was because people wanted to be in good graces with Jaclyn or just didn't want to give a negative review to such a hyped product, but I think they would be embarrassed to have raved about a sub-par product that was then pulled from the shelves.
I've never purchased a collaboration product, but now I am extremely wary of them. I'm glad that there are some reviewers who will do the research and who are not afraid to speak truths about bad products, but they are very unfortunately few and far between.
So, I will not be purchasing anything from this collection. I didn't need it anyway, and knowing the quality is sub-par is disappointing to say the least.
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