The job of an influencer is to review and sell products in honesty to their followers and viewers on YouTube and Tik Tok.

The makeup brand “Tarte cosmetics” took a handful of influencers to Dubai for a brand trip, where influencers were allowed to bring a plus one and flew business class on the United Emirates. The flight for one person to fly to Dubai varies between $4,000  to $8,000 dollars. Many have speculated how the brand managed to pull this trip off, after starting in a New York city apartment with just credit cards and a dream.

The venue they stayed at was the Ritz Carlton which is such an expensive place, where you have to call someone in order for them to tell you how much to stay there. This was before Covid influencer trips with brand deals were popular and known to be a trip of a lifetime.

Surrounded by makeup, the trip was paid for in full and a 50/50 deal between the brand, influencer, and the influencers fans. Most of the time on these trips the influencer is taken care of. As they get free makeup, a place to stay, activities to do, and more. Just as long as the influencer posts on their social media about the brand’s products.

The videos influencers make can vary to “get ready with me” or vlogging their trip for their followers and viewers.  In exchange for views for them and an increase in sales for the brand. While the viewers get content and possibly invest in the products the influencer is using. For some of the TikTok users and viewers of the influencers that went on the trip. They couldn’t seem to wrap their heads around why the brand chose the influencers that they did, as well as why they decided to hold the trip when they were not promoting anything new.

Where in the past the whole reason for brand deals was to promote new releases and get influencers to talk about them. This led to a whole set of problems when the time came for the influencers to get ready and use the brands products in their makeup routines. Unfortunately, this expectation was not met as the influencers ended up using their own makeup, on top of the products Tarte Cosmetics provided and mispronounced the names of the products they used. As a result of seeing this, the amount of viewers who believed in brand deals increased as some thought that they should remain a thing of the past as drama, favoritism, and non-diversity were the main problems to brand trips.

The conspiracies behind the trip are seen as being a write off. Which is known to be for when you buy something for business purposes and the government pays you back for it with nobody paying for it, making it a write off situation in the end. Many believe that there was a tax conspiracy behind the trip, when they could fail to realize that this can simply be their marketing budget. As for the fact that Tarte cosmetics could make more money from social media and influencers than any ad slot. It could make them as influencers increase the sale of the products within the amount of luxury, and dream vacations they sell to the influencers they invite to how it comes across to the public.

The more it pops up on Instagram and TikTok feeds the more it’s going to be talked about and gain attention. The attention most brands want is for it to be aimed at their products, in hopes people buy and talk about it in regards to wanting more customers. Another thought outsiders had when it came to thinking of playing a factor in the trip, was thinking that maybe the tourism board for Dubai gave the cosmetic company a discount to pull everything off. 

In the past, the cosmetic brand gave YouTubers and beauty influencers a trip to Fiji and Bora Bora as those are trips many viewers are familiar with after watching numerous YouTubers go and have the time of their lives. Like most stories there are sides that agree and disagree when it comes to just about anything and leave people wanting to voice their opinions.