It's been a busy and stressful couple of weeks for Jeffree Star after the sell-out launch of his Conspiracy palette with Shane Dawson.
First, there was the release of his new Extreme Frost Highlighter, which, although undeniably blinding, were also undeniably expensive at $50 (roughly P2,539) each.
While Jeffree claimed the high price tag was due to an expensive formula (each highlighter also comes packaged in a vegan leather jewelry box), fans were quick to call him out for being a "hypocrite" after he criticized Jaclyn Hill for the price of her $49 (roughly P2,487) highlighters.
Now, he has come under fire again from fans for his holiday mystery boxes.
The limited-edition boxes (which have all sold out), were available in three tiers: The Mini which contained three items ($20/P1,015), Premium which contained five ($60/P3,046), and the Deluxe which contained eight ($100/P5,078).
If you have no idea what a mystery box is, the clue is in the name. You get no choice in the products or shades, which are picked at random and could range from makeup to clothing. The only thing guaranteed was that each box would contain one "exclusive mystery cosmetic item."
Before the boxes went on sale, Jeffree did announce one of the exclusive products in the Deluxe box and to say our heart skipped a beat is an understatement.
Customers who bit the bullet and purchased the $100 (P5,078) box would all receive a Peppermint Frost Highlighter Palette, which Jeffree announced would not be sold individually and once all the deluxe boxes were sold, it would be gone for good.
In true mystery box spirit, no pictures of the inside of the palette were released, but images have slowly been leaking online since customers received their orders.
Problems started when Jeffree tweeted asking fans whether he should make more palettes and sell them individually after he found people re-selling theirs on eBay for $180 (that's an eye-watering P9,140).
"I’m seeing so many people reselling the Mystery Box exclusive #peppermintfrost palette. Should I make more and sell them by itself? You all know now that makeup takes a few months to make so I wouldn’t have it until the end of March. But I’ll do it if you guys want me to!"
One fan replied and pointed out that the palette was sold to people as an exclusive.
"I mean, it was marketed as an exclusive and a reason to buy the box. If you sell more, it's no longer exclusive."
To which Jeffree replied: "That’s why I’m asking everyone’s opinions, not everyone will ever agree but I love to hear what you guys have to say! This is a unique situation and with the website having bad checkout issues... I am starting a conversation."
Responses from fans were mixed. Some thought it would be unfair on those who splurged on the deluxe box:
While others—including those who paid for the box—were happy for it to be sold again.
Things all got heated and after claiming he got death threats, Jeffree announced Peppermint Frost was gone for good.
This wasn't the only Mystery Box problem Jeffree experienced. After an error on one of the advertisements said that all boxes would contain "at least 1 exclusive mystery cosmetics item", some buyers of the Mini Box were disappointed to receive a sheet of stickers instead.
In a since-deleted Tweet that appeared to come from Jeffree's account, the brand owner attacked one fan who tweeted him to complain.
"I just showed your message to the guy that spent hours drawing those stickers, he said you are rude and disgusting. My holiday collection was with Shane, mystery boxes are fun and... a mystery. Get over yourself, the entitlement is gross."
While not confirming or denying the Tweet, Jeffree later jumped on Instagram Stories to apologize for the error claiming that although in his announcement he had specified one "exclusive item" the advertisement had not been updated accordingly. He then announced all customers who purchased the mini box would receive a refund regardless of whether they requested one or not.
I wonder if Jeffree still find mystery boxes "fun"...
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This article originally appeared on Cosmopolitan.com/uk. Minor edits have been made by the Cosmo.ph editors.
