Tarte's Gone Wild. (Again!) Plus: An Exclusive K-Beauty Moisturizer and The Perfect Lip Liner

Summary

Gloss Angeles: "Tarte's Gone Wild. (Again!) Plus: An Exclusive K-Beauty Moisturizer and The Perfect Lip Liner"
Released on January 21, 2025

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1. Week in Review: Fires and Social Media Turmoil

The episode opens with Kirbie Johnson and Sara Tan diving into the recent devastating wildfires in Los Angeles. Sara shares a personal connection, discussing her friend Bailey's ordeal during the Eaton fires and the challenges faced by those displaced. Both hosts express their concerns over the ongoing crisis and the community's resilience.

Notable Quote:

• Sara (05:12): "Anybody listening to this that has been displaced from their homes, I am thinking about you."

They transition to discuss the broader impact of the fires, highlighting the logistical nightmares faced by affected families, including issues with insurance and FEMA protocols. The conversation underscores the importance of sustained community support and the need for long-term assistance.

2. Social Media Landscape: TikTok's Future and Platform Ownership

Kirbie and Sara shift their focus to the evolving landscape of social media, particularly TikTok's uncertain future. They debate whether Elon Musk will acquire the platform and express their reluctance to engage with it under his ownership.

Notable Quotes:

• Kirby (02:23): "Elon Musk is not gonna buy it."
• Sarah (03:10): "Our country is going to be run by Elon Musk in a few years. Mark my words."

The hosts also touch upon the challenges of balancing personal usage of platforms like X (formerly Twitter), especially amidst political and social unrest.

3. Exclusive K-Beauty Spotlight: "Oh, Dear" Moisturizer

Transitioning to beauty topics, Kirbie introduces an exclusive K-Beauty moisturizer from the brand "Oh, Dear," emphasizing its unique formulation based on epidermal growth factors. She shares her personal experience with the product, praising its lightweight yet hydrating texture.

Notable Quotes:

• Kirby (13:07): "I just absolutely love the texture of the cream. It's almost like a pressed moisturizer."
• Sarah (16:25): "It's not a gel cream, but there's a water-based component in there."

Sara echoes Kirbie's sentiments, adding her thoughts on the product's effectiveness and its potential impact on the skincare market in 2025.

4. The Perfect Lip Liner: Sachu Peel-Off Stain

Sara introduces the Sachu Lip Liner Stain, a product inspired by Billie Eilish's flawless lips. She details her application process and the product's long-lasting, non-migrating properties, making it ideal for those seeking fuller-looking lips without the hassle of traditional liners.

Notable Quotes:

• Sarah (20:59): "This is just the perfect blush. Super blendable. Creamy, but not so creamy that it's gonna go away."
• Kirby (24:14): "No, it's gonna pick up pigment if there's rough spots."

The hosts discuss the versatility of the product, recommending it for various skin tones and highlighting its affordability, especially during sales.

5. Tarte's Controversial Influencer Trip: A Critical Review

A significant portion of the episode is dedicated to scrutinizing Tarte's recent influencer trip to Necker Island amidst the LA wildfires. Kirbie and Sara express their disappointment over the brand's decision to host a celebratory event during a time of crisis, labeling it tone-deaf and out of touch.

Notable Quotes:

• Kirby (28:31): "Nobody's watching these going, oh, I really want to try Tarte products now."
• Sarah (35:39): "They are always. They are a very generous brand. However, there feels like there's this huge disconnect between that and these trips."

They dissect the company's response, which included donations to various organizations and disaster relief funds. Despite these efforts, the hosts argue that the manner in which the trip was presented—complete with celebratory themes and influencer excitement—overshadowed the charitable intentions.

6. Call to Action and Final Thoughts

Towards the end of the episode, Kirbie and Sara emphasize the importance of mindful consumerism and supporting brands that align with genuine altruism. They encourage listeners to share their opinions on Tarte's actions and foster a dialogue on responsible brand behavior during crises.

Notable Quotes:

• Sarah (43:38): "We welcome her on. We have been welcoming her on. We are nice people, but we have questions."
• Kirby (44:14): "Are you like, hell, yeah, tart? If y'all are like, hell, yeah, tart, then we're just curmudgeons, apparently."

The hosts wrap up by reiterating their commitment to bringing authentic beauty insights while advocating for community support and ethical brand practices.

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Conclusion

In this episode of Gloss Angeles, Kirbie Johnson and Sara Tan navigate a blend of pressing societal issues and beauty innovations. From addressing the impact of wildfires and the precarious state of social media platforms to reviewing exclusive skincare products and critiquing brand behaviors, the hosts deliver a comprehensive and engaging discussion. Their balanced approach ensures that listeners are informed, inspired, and encouraged to participate in meaningful conversations both within the beauty industry and the broader community.

Transcript

[Acast]

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[Sarah]

Hello.

[Amanda Lifford]

Welcome to We Signed an NDA, our.

[Ann Maddox]

Podcast where we talk about the people who sign NDAs.

[Amanda Lifford]

Hollywood is the North Pole, and the celebrities are Santa. This is a show all about the.

[Ann Maddox]

Elves, so please don't sue us, Santa.

[Amanda Lifford]

My name is Amanda Lifford. If my voice sounds at all familiar, it's probably from the Bio Files podcast.

[Ann Maddox]

And my name is Ann Maddox. You may have seen me on Vanderpump Rules getting fired on national television by Tom Sandoval.

[Sarah]

The Glasgow Willy Wonkin experience. One of the worst jobs in history.

[Amanda Lifford]

Kirsty, you're on the right podcast. I was wearing snow pants lying under.

[Kirby]

Stephen Colbert got married.

[Sarah]

Welcome.

[Kirby]

I've heard of Vanderpump Rules. I don't know what it is, so.

[Amanda Lifford]

Listen to we signed an NDA. Wherever you listen to podcasts.

[Acast]

ACAST helps creators launch, grow, and monetize their podcasts everywhere. Acast.com.

[Kirby]

Los Angeles hi, Kirby.

[Sarah]

Hi, Sarah.

[Kirby]

Welcome to Los Angeles. I. How do we. What do we even say? How do we even start? We're Backlinos.

[Sarah]

We're back. Okay, let's go through the week in review. Fires still happening. Justin Baldoni has now sued Blake Lively for $400 million, because apparently the character Nice Pool in Deadpool was legitimately based off of Justin. There's even a wisecrack in there talking about her post Baby Body, which apparently was a direct jab at something that Justin had said to her.

[Kirby]

Oh, my gosh. Wow.

[Sarah]

And the thing that's crazy is that so much of this was speculated online. And then when they made this, they put out this lawsuit, they used actual speculation to help prove their case. So all I gotta say is there's gonna be some TikTokers, of course, RIP TikTok Gold blown away. By the time this airs, it will be gone. Yeah.

[Kirby]

Is it?

[Sarah]

I mean, they keep. People keep saying if this goes away, but TikTok has said as of Sunday, it's not that. The app will still be available and you can just keep using it until all the bugs, like, make it go away. They are taking it down. Like, you will not be getting it.

[Kirby]

Elon Musk is not gonna buy it.

[Sarah]

If he does, I will not be getting on the platform.

[Kirby]

Right.

[Sarah]

I know I've gotten off X. I'm.

[Kirby]

So annoyed because, like, because of the fires I've been on X. Because it still, unfortunately, is a place where there are, you know, some good reporting happening. Some. But I just hate Being on there, it's just not the same experience as it used to be.

[Sarah]

And this man cannot own two major platforms. No, there has. There has to be some type of government intervening.

[Kirby]

But this government.

[Sarah]

Yeah, well, this is what I'm saying. Our country is going to be run by Elon Musk in a few years. Mark my words. Because at this point, he's in everybody's pocket.

[Kirby]

Him and Mark Zuckerberg, who I guess is what. What the has happened with Mark Zuckerberg.

[Sarah]

Guys, truly, I saw this post and I was laughing out loud. It was like, it's really sad. We're living in a time where Mark Zuckerberg and Elon Musk are going through the most pathetic, pathetic midlife crisis to ever exist. I'm like, preach it. And unfortunately, they all. They both have shit, tons of money. Mark Zuckerberg has become hyper masculine, Neo Nazi bullshit. I'm like, are. Is he going through a divorce?

[Kirby]

I. Well, that's what I'm wondering. Because I'm like, his wife, seemingly lovely Asian woman. Mother, like my daughters. Yeah. I don't know that she would be okay with this.

[Sarah]

That's why I'm like, is divorce on the horizon? He's acting kind of crazy.

[Kirby]

Yeah. I don't know. What a time. What a time to be alive in 2025. I wish we could press a restart button.

[Sarah]

Just a little restart. But what if we. If we press the restart, would we have Los Angeles?

[Kirby]

No, just like, restart 2025.

[Sarah]

Oh, okay.

[Kirby]

Yeah, just like, so far, two weeks in. Not doing.

[Sarah]

I'm not liking it.

[Kirby]

Not liking it. Not liking it one bit.

[Sarah]

Return to sender. No, not appreciative. Also, I just want to say, anybody listening to this that has been displaced from their homes, I am thinking about you. My friend Bailey, who's been one of my best friends since fourth grade. We have had parallel lives. We went to the same college together. We were twins in our sorority, had the same big we. I moved out to la. She moved out to LA shortly after with her now husband, who I also love dearly, and they were affected by the Eaton fires. And I've been texting with her, like, what is going on? Where are you? Are you okay? And thankfully, she said that they have mutual friends that have a condo in San Juan Capistrano.

[Kirby]

Okay.

[Sarah]

That they're letting them use. Thankfully, she's like, I'm not having to, like, be in somebody's spare bedroom, but it's also a trek because they don't work down there.

[Kirby]

Yeah.

[Sarah]

So I just have Been thinking about her because I'm thinking about ways to help her because she said that they'd have no gas or electricity currently. Like the fires are contained where they are at, so. But they can't even go back.

[Kirby]

Totally.

[Sarah]

No gas, no electricity. They are going to have to have their house surveyed or I don't know the technical terms, but basically I know smoke and ash.

[Kirby]

There's so much to like with the insurance and FEMA and like, like protocol and it's like you don't want to like mess anything up that jeopardizes you from getting support.

[Sarah]

Right.

[Kirby]

So even with like the language used and the GoFundMes or if you have insurance on your home, can you still get fema? Like, I do not wish this on anyone. It's sounds like an absolute nightmare. And then to have like family members and children, pets also struggling with this. Like, I don't know. Are you friends with Shanna Shippen at Allure? She's like their shopping director. No, she lives in Altadena. She has a mom of two small children and their home luckily was stand still standing. But apparently everything in the home is unusable because of all of that.

[Sarah]

Oh my. See?

[Kirby]

Smoke and ash. So then it's like she has to start from scratch too. So she, like, I've, you know, been talking to her, you know, she's trying to find like, literally clothes for her kids, replacing toys, like getting diapers, formula, all the things you need. I'm just like, I cannot. And then they have a dog.

[Sarah]

Oh my gosh. I. I honestly, like, that's been. Something on my mind is thinking about these people and how overwhelmed they must be. I'm like, what can I take off of your plate? Like, can I run close to you? Can I?

[Kirby]

Right, you'll go to meal. Yes. So I think, you know, Kirby and I have been talking so much about this. It's like this is a marathon, you guys. This is not a sprint. Thank God. There have been so many amazing people that have been reaching out and holding these donation drives. But the reality is so many of these people affected are not in the mindset to actually physically go to these places and shop for themselves. They don't know what they're missing. They're dealing with trying to find housing, trying to find schooling. They're trying. They have to go to work, most of them. So they can't go to like, you know, the Dream center or these amazing places that we've been posting. And they'll need these places in a couple months. You know, so like I'm hoping that LA will continue to show the same generosity it's been showing right now, honestly for the rest of the year.

[Sarah]

I mean if not longer. I'm like, we need fundraisers, we need everyone still to be working.

[Kirby]

Also that, also that it's like we need to continue working.

[Sarah]

So employ people. Yeah, like employ a lot of people. If you are a brand and you're planning on doing some big global thing, put it in LA and hire lighting, hire builders, hire gaffers, hire, hire people from the entertainment industry that have also been very, very, very affected by this hire. If you're looking for cleaners, like I think that there's a list of like housekeepers, gardeners, things of that. Like that through one voice I believe it is that have been displaced because a lot of people are, you know, there's now become the thing like the Palisades versus you know, the Eaton fire. And like it's a different demographic, blah, blah, blah. And I'm like, okay, yes, it's more middle class families in Altadena. Yes, it's very rich, powerful people. But on both sides there's some, there are exceptions.

[Kirby]

People hurting.

[Sarah]

Yeah, people and also people hurting. And if you think about the Palisades, I mean those, those people employ the gardeners, housekeepers, nannies, where they are working multiple places to make their living and now they're out of jobs too. So we can't have a narrow view of this. We have to be very open minded and think about all the people that have been just truly detrimentally affected. I don't know how we can keep experiencing these unprecedented events. I mean in the past five years there's been a ton of them, especially for Angelinos, you know.

[Kirby]

Yeah, yeah. Having to just pick back up and re restart again, it's just so tragic. So I hope that everyone finds it in their heart to Conti. I know it's overwhelming. I feel overwhelmed. I'm like, I want to help everyone. I don't know what to do. But you know, as Kirby and I have mentioned everything you can do any little thing if you donate $5 to a GoFundMe that you see if you go through, you know, your kids closet and like find, you know, gently use things that you think could go to another home, like do whatever it is you think you can. If you can't do that right now, that's fine too because like we said in a few months, even in a year like these people are still going to need our help. So all that to Say, hope everyone's doing okay, Hope that we can bring you some light because we do have some interesting things to talk about about this episode.

[Sarah]

Yeah, we do. And honestly, a lot of this has just been taking my mind off of like thinking about everything for non stop. So it is nice to have a reprieve. I know people are trying to be very like, conscious of everybody's, you know, and mindful of everybody's emotional state. But also I, I need to know, I need to see the headline that Justin Baldoni is suing Blake Lively.

[Kirby]

Like calling out Taylor Swift.

[Sarah]

Yeah, that Taylor Swift apparently influenced him to say yes about a script change or something. I don't know. If you're that easily influenced by Taylor Swift, then just call yourself a swifty and call it a day. Like, that's, that's on you, dude. Like, really appreciate that.

[Kirby]

Yeah.

[Sarah]

Okay, so we haven't done a wife. An actual wife in a while.

[Kirby]

Crazy.

[Sarah]

A actual wife in a while. Yeah. So we're gonna do a wife.

[Kirby]

Let's do a wife.

[Sarah]

Let's do a wife. Let's do a wife. Wife is what's on your face for you listeners. I know we, we are so used to saying wife, but what's on your face? This can be, this can be hair, skin, nails, making, makeup. Yeah, body, anything.

[Kirby]

Do you want me to start?

[Sarah]

Sure.

[Kirby]

Okay. Right before all the shit went down here in LA to celebrate my birthday, just like I hate, I. Sarah's birthday.

[Sarah]

Is on the insurrection, by the way.

[Kirby]

I was like, oh, great. January 7th now associated with all the fires. Cool, cool, cool, cool, cool. Okay. Anyways, I was in Beverly Hills with Sean Shani Darden. She gave me a lovely birthday facial. And one of the reasons we love Shani, not just because she makes incredible products, but because she keeps it real. And she was like, what are you using on your face? You have more blackheads on your nose than I have ever seen on you. She literally spent like, at first we were, you know, we were just like talking, whatever, and like she was going in on my nose. But like, she stuck. Was like, she spent so much time. And I was like, what is going on? And then she was like, sarah, what are you using on your nose? You have an insane amount of blackheads. I'm not even going to be able to get all of them because there's too many, but I'm going to get as many as I can. And she's like, your nose must be in so much pain. And it was, you know, it hurt. But I was like, get as many out as you can. I was like, I've been using thicker creams because LA has been so dry, and I'm already dry. So I've been using some. Some thick barrier creams. Specifically the road barrier butter, which I love so much.

[Sarah]

Me too.

[Kirby]

Unfortunately, I think it probably is not a good idea to use it on your nose. Maybe for me, going forward, I will be using it as maybe just like a la. Like a last step. Even like just a seal on my. What do you call it? Slugging.

[Sarah]

Yes.

[Kirby]

But not avoiding my nose. I also, too use it all over my body. I think I'm just. I feel inclined to. Because the bottle is so big. I still ride for this product, but I unfortunately cannot be using it on my nose or on my skin as much as possible.

[Sarah]

When you told me this, I was like, oh, my gosh, that makes sense. Because I took a look in one of those magnifying mirrors a couple weeks ago and I was like, what the hell is going on on my nose? Like blackheads that I had not seen before.

[Kirby]

Yeah.

[Sarah]

And then I put two together that it was the. I think it's shea butter in that barrier butter. And I truly love that product. I use it all over my body. I use it on my face and neck. But I agree, this will. This will become a slugging step for me versus just like my moisturizer.

[Kirby]

Yeah, it's that, like. Yeah, the shea butter, like the Cooper. Cooper Cell or whatever. Like, you know, Brazilian butter. Anyways, it's lovely, but Shani was like, do not put this anywhere close to your face. So I went home and I was like, what do I have in my cabinet that I can use instead? Something lighter. And there was this woman, this Korean woman, who approached me when I was at beautycon, and she was like, big fan of Los Angeles. I actually brought samples of a brand that I work for, and I would love for you to try it. And it's called oh, dear, O D E A R. And the whole line is based on epidermal growth factors. So everything in their entire line and their endemic line has these growth factors in them. And I don't think I've really used. I know that it's really popular, and I think it's going to be really big for 2025 in skincare. But. But I don't personally think I really used anything consistently enough with growth factors to see, like, the results that they claim. And so, you know, so growth factors are like peptides or. Peptides, basically. Right. So epidermal growth factors are supposed to promote cell growth on your skin. It's supposed to result in, like, faster healing, better repair. So this whole endemic line from. Oh, dear. They have, like, a toner, an ampoule, a serum, and a cream. She gave me, I think the cream she also gave me some masks that are supposed to be really, really good. So anyways, I picked up the cream, and I've been using it ever since. So it's been about a week and a half now. And I just absolutely love the texture of the cream. It's almost like I was, like, trying to think of, like, how to describe it. It feels really lightweight, but still, like, very dense. It's almost like it's like a pressed moisturizer or something like that, if that makes sense. Like, it's just.

[Sarah]

Is it like a water break?

[Kirby]

Yes, but it's heavier than, like, a water cream.

[Sarah]

Yeah. So it's not a gel cream, but there's a. There's a water break component in there.

[Kirby]

Yeah. So I really enjoy it because it's still. It's really lightweight, but it's still. Still really, really hydrating on my skin. And it's almost like you just, like, press it into your face, and then you can instantly feel like your skin has, like, you know, drank, like, a glass of water. It also smells really good. It smells very similar to, like, what maybe other, like, Korean beauty skin care products you've tried. Just a very light, like, almost like, not citrus scent, but it's very bright, very fresh. I've been using it like crazy over the last week and a half. I haven't really seen, like, a huge difference in my skin. I know that my skin really likes it, but I have just been enjoying this so much. I don't know where you can buy it.

[Sarah]

Yeah, you just kind of got it.

[Kirby]

Yeah. Literally, beautycon, it's luxury. All I'm gonna try to find, like, maybe one of the K beauty sites has it. Someone's been selling it on ebay. But I'm a huge fan, and I really need to try their.

[Sarah]

I see. Yeah. Weird. Oh, yeah. I'm looking you. That's interesting. So I see. Yeah. It's like Beauty Box Korea. Huh?

[Kirby]

Ooh.

[Sarah]

It's kind of exclusive.

[Kirby]

I know. Which. I'm like, oh, that's kind of cool. Okay.

[Sarah]

I want some of that.

[Kirby]

I know.

[Sarah]

You did it on me.

[Kirby]

I feel like she was trying to find you, but it was just like, so chaotic at beautycon. It. I think it's around. It's. It's like a luxury prestige Product. So it's, you know, like 80, 80, $90. I'm gonna try to find a link. I'm gonna reach out to them and see where we can. Where we can find this in the US but yeah, it absorbs super quickly. It's got their patented growth factors supposed to improve, you know, fine lines, wrinkles. And it's just, you know, when you start using a product and then you just, like, enjoy it so much. I just like, want to like, slather my body in it. So that's.

[Sarah]

So this ebay listing says. Okay, it says that it's a 5 MGF cream. 5 milligram cream, I guess. Anti aging K Beauty. No.

[Ann Maddox]

Okay.

[Sarah]

That doesn't make sense. Oh, dear. Endurmic 5m GF. Oh, 5m growth factor. Don't know what 5m is, but I.

[Kirby]

Think it's their, like, I think that's their patent proprietary. Yeah. Okay. Yeah.

[Sarah]

It says it contains five growth factor ingredients to help improve wrinkles and lifting and improves gloss and skin texture like roughness. High functional anti aging cream contains five types of patented into cell growth factors. With new technology, it's absorbed more quickly with maximized skin penetration. So maybe that's why you're feeling like that. Water break almost. And it's being shipped from South Korea.

[Kirby]

Yeah. So maybe we need on ebay. Need to go to Korea for this to pick some up.

[Sarah]

Yes.

[Kirby]

I think you would really like it. My skin really loves it. And I know Shani will also love it for my nose.

[Sarah]

I love it for your nose as well. That's awesome. I feel like you have like an exclusive. I know.

[Kirby]

I'm like, is this the only one available?

[Sarah]

I'm like, all of Los Angeles. Like, can we get it on stylevana?

[Kirby]

I need to find this woman, this angel. All right. What. What is on your face?

[Sarah]

Okay. I am so obsessed. I have. I still wear lip liner, but this has truly just been my lip going forward. So Billie Eilish, last year, around her birthday, December 18th. I want to have a whole TED talk about people born on December 18th. Prolific people. Prolific Steven Spielberg. Oh, okay. A million people were born December 18th. Look them up. Okay. Billie Eilish, notoriously born December 18th. Our little baby angel. We love her. She does a video. She does her own makeup for tour. She does a video and she's using one of these. This is the Sachu lip liner stain. S T A Y dash N. Okay. It's like a K Beauty type product. Lip stains are not new. I'm not claiming they are starting something Brand new here. But I had tried the wonder skin option, and I did not like it. I. I felt like there was too much to it. Every time I used it, it did not work for me. I just was like, this is.

[Kirby]

I feel like it was so dry.

[Sarah]

Yeah, it was a no for me, dog. So I said no. Well, then I see her do this. And when you apply. This is a particular. This is a lip liner stain. Okay. So specifically liner. So she applies it, you wait, it dries, you peel it off, and then if you have any excess left, you can kind of like blot it off with a tissue or a towel. Her lips, I mean, she has the best lips. I. I thought this for many, many years, but I'm so obsessed with her lips. If I were a person that would go to a cosmetic dermatologist to be like, give me these lips, I would be taking in a picture of her lips. She has the most naturally beautiful lips in my. Better than Angelina Jolie, in my humble opinion. Okay. So immediately I'm in Alaska. I'm like, fuck it. Go to this Alaska. Ulta found it. Get in there. Buy three pack of the statue lip stains. And this three pack comes with pinked. It's like p inked, which is 03, which I'll just show you guys. So it's you. It looks like cherry red. And I'm pretty sure this is the shade that she put on.

[Kirby]

Okay.

[Sarah]

But unconfirmed. Okay. But, like, that's what we're thinking. I like pinked, and I'm actually wearing it right now. So what you see on my lips, that's a liner. That's the stain. That's not a lip liner, which is so crazy. Then there's moave, like, wa m u a h. And I really like this one, too. This is. It's more of a. It's more of a brick shade.

[Kirby]

Okay.

[Sarah]

But when you put it on, it looks more like. Of a. Like a nude on me. And then the last one is hazel.

[Kirby]

Okay.

[Sarah]

And this is a true brown. Well, it looks black almost, but if you look inside of the bottle or you look on the. The wand, you can see it's brown. And I feel like this would be a true nude for deeper and darker skin tones. So you can play around with them. I've tried them both. I gravitate towards mauve and paint, but when I put it on, I made a video on Instagram Stories and then ended up, like, posting it to my feed. People were, like, freaking out because they're like, whoa. You just, like, Peel it off and then it's there. And I'm like, yes. And it does not move. It stays for so long. And for me, I'm losing pigment around the corners of my mouth. Just. That's just something that happens as you get older. And so that's why I usually use lip liner, because I want to make my lips look fuller, not necessarily to like, define my lips by any means. And using this, you can go outside of your lip perimeter, and it doesn't look like you've been just drastically over lining your lips. It just gives you this really big, full, plush pout. And you don't have to put anything else on it. But I do. Like, right now I have on a lipstick on top of a Prada lipstick on top.

[Kirby]

And so good.

[Sarah]

It looks so good. And everyone I've seen use these looks good in them. Someone did message me and say, you cannot have chapped lips for this because then it looks like you have sores all over your mouth. And I'm like, yes. Well, obviously, like, it's a stain.

[Kirby]

I mean, that's gonna for anything.

[Sarah]

Yeah. It's gonna pick up pigment if there's rough spots. So make sure if you do have, like, dry lips, you exfoliate a little bit. I will. I do this usually last step in my makeup routine. So go through the whole thing. I'll put little balm on my lips to kind of set. And then I wipe it off and then I put this on. Highly recommend. I believe the three pack is $36. So individually they're probably pretty affordable. Like, I think that maybe around 12 and they have more than just these three shades. Like, you can go on and like.

[Kirby]

Buy whatever available at Ulta.

[Sarah]

Yes.

[Kirby]

Okay.

[Sarah]

Yes. And it's statue. Maybe we're gonna put it in our show notes.

[Kirby]

My Ulta.

[Sarah]

You should literally. I. I freaking love going to Ulta. I love going to Sephora. I really just love shopping for beauty. Oh, my gosh. And right now it' dollars. Okay, hold on. It's S A C H E U peel off lip liner stain.

[Kirby]

I've never normally $12.

[Sarah]

It's $8 and 40 cents right now.

[Kirby]

Why?

[Sarah]

I don't know. Maybe they're having a sale and it looks like all the ones that I like are available. Maybe. Oh, maybe she used. Maybe Billy used the red. Get ready. But maybe not. I don't know. Anyways.

[Kirby]

Oh, wow. Did you know that say Chew is of the founder is. Her name is Sarah Chung. She's like a influencer because I followed her immediately. Oh, my God. I didn't know that.

[Sarah]

Yeah.

[Kirby]

Gorge.

[Sarah]

Yeah, I, I, I became fully obsessed, and then I followed her because I was like, wow, you really did this good for her. Very proud. Can I shout out one other product that I think is amazing? And I know it's gone viral on TikTok, but I really, I'm obsessed with it. And the founder is just a complete, lovely angel from heaven.

[Kirby]

Yes.

[Sarah]

Persona. And Susan Yara mentioned this product, Personas Dreamstick cream blush. Really is that girl, like, better than every other cream blush I've used. And I'm. That says something. It is $26. You can get it at Ulta. Way to go, Ulta.

[Kirby]

Yeah.

[Sarah]

Really, really killing it. But I saw Sona, the founder, at a dinner a couple weeks ago, and she's like, I'd love to send you some new products. She was telling me that this blush had gone viral, and she was telling me about TikTok shop and how it's just like, this is how many units these people were selling of her stuff. I'm like, oh, my God, this is crazy. And I was like, that sounds like an amazing blush. And also this, this eyeliner that she makes also went viral. And so she sent me a box, a care package. I've loved her eyeliners. I've loved her lip liners.

[Kirby]

No, we. We've been, like, big fans of hers ever since day one.

[Sarah]

Yeah. And her blushes are incredible. Like, some. Some of these blushes that have come out that are like cream sticks, they're too hard. So if once you've already done your makeup and you're trying to put blush on it, like, takes off the work you've done.

[Kirby]

Yeah.

[Sarah]

Because it's not very creamy or blendable. And then some of them are so creamy that they. My skin eats them. If it's like a liquid blush, sometimes to avoid it, your skin eating it, they put in this drying component. So you'd have very little time to actually work with the products to, like, blend it out. You know what I mean?

[Kirby]

Yeah.

[Sarah]

This is just the perfect blush. Super blendable. Creamy, but not so creamy that it's gonna go away. I don't need a powder blush for on top of it. And I just sing this woman's praises. I think that Sona is doing such an amazing job with her brand. I'm so glad it's an Ulta. I saw it at Namie's and Burbank the other day. Their peptide lip balm called Day Mask, also incredible.

[Kirby]

Yeah.

[Sarah]

Does not feel sticky. It truly is a hydrating balm for your lips, which I think a lot of lip balms have lost the plot on.

[Kirby]

Yeah, no, totally. I think something too that she gets really. She understands that other brands don't is like color.

[Sarah]

Yes.

[Kirby]

She just like all of the colors are so wearable, complementary on the skin. Whereas, you know, sometimes if it's like a bubblegum pink, like blush, like it's gonna look really chalky on your skin or just like kind of clownish. But like, hers is really beautiful. I just think she. Yeah, she's so smart and I love her products.

[Sarah]

They're all really, really great. And Persona is such a good name. A great way to incorporate her name.

[Kirby]

Really cute. So currently there's fires in la, but all the way over in the Caribbean, Tarte continues to have grand old time with their Tripping With Tarte influencer trip. They're celebrating 10 years if you haven't been on Tick Tock. And then I'm like, what's gonna happen to all this content when TikTok if we're not. I mean, it's still going to be there, but just not in the UN us anyways. So I just, I'm just at a loss for words. I'm gonna, I'm gonna like summarize a little bit of the cuts article on it that writer Brooke Lamontia wrote because she just, I think did such a beautiful job summarizing this very, what she describes, extravagant and, you know, tone deaf trip. So Tarte took a bunch of influencers, including Remy Bader, Ken Ulick, Brianna La, on this trip to where is it? Necker Island.

[Sarah]

Yes. Richard Branson's island.

[Kirby]

The timing of it all, not great because it was happening during the wildfires last week, which, you know, continue to happen. One of the dinner themes was called Tart on Fire. And one of the influencers that was on that trip, Aspen Ovard Post, had posted a video, like a get ready with me or outfit of the day or whatever, announcing that the event was called Tart on Fire. She was like in like a little red outfit and she immediately deleted it, but was too late because everyone saw it. Not great. So there's, you know, a lot of criticism obviously about them hosting this trip at this time. We do want to say that Tarte did express that they were thinking of la the first day of the trip. They posted that they donated $10,000 in each influencer's name for a total of $260,000. They donated it to World Central Kitchen, 100% of the net proceeds from all tart.com sales went to that organization from January 8th through the 15th. They also donated $10,000 to the LA Fire Department, $10,000 to California Wildfire Response Fund. They donated products to Altadena Girls, and they sent a thousand self care kits to an evacuation center. And an official statement from the brand, according to the cut, said many elements of the trip have been adjusted in real time reaction to the LA wildfires, including the name night's activation. Now, Kirby, how did they choose to announce these donations?

[Sarah]

They. Okay, think MTV Spring Break 1999, okay? You have the visual in your head. Think if Ed McMahon was a part of that, okay? And if you don't know who Ed McMahon is, he would come out and give people large checks through Publishers Clearinghouse. And if you're a kid from the 90s, you remember seeing those commercials big. So they are on this island, they announce the donation of $260,000 or whatever, bring out this big ass check and people are jumping around and yelling and celebrating. And then afterwards they all go play a game and take some shots. And the thing that I think is just this is what I do not understand about Tarte. Every single one of these trips comes with some type of insane drama. It makes zero sense at this point. I am convinced that they are fully engaging in the negative discourse in some way. Like, did Aspyn Ovard accidentally post that video with the name or did they leave it up to your own imagination? Yeah, Maureen Kelly is an extremely generous founder of a brand.

[Kirby]

Yes.

[Sarah]

Her own home and family have been impacted by hurricanes. She does a lot of donations in general. When it's back to school time, she clears hundreds of teachers, Amazon wishlist. I wish that she would stick to the doing for good part instead of these batshit crazy frat parties that Tarte is throwing in order to promote their brand. Because I don't know anybody that's watching these going, oh, I really want to try Tarte products now. I think that the people that are seeing this are influencers who want to be invited on these trips going, okay, I need to start talking about Tarte more so that I can get invited on these trips. However, I have never seen Brianna Chicken Fry ever talk about tart. Point blank, period. She's not a beauty influencer. She's on a podcast and went through a huge public breakup last year. Never seen her do a tutorial where a tart is organically included. Same with Ken. And maybe I see that and I love Ken, but I do not see people who will actually use these. And maybe there's 26 people on this trip. I haven't gone down. Yeah, all of them. But, like, Remy Bader, I've never seen her do a tutorial, including Tarte. A beauty tutorial, including Tarte. But she's there too, right?

[Kirby]

And going back to what you said, that, you know, Maureen is extremely generous. The brand, I mean, ever since we've known it, there's always been like, you know, they have, like, charitable organizations that they donate to. They have like their big, like, remember their big, like, day conference where it's either they give back to teachers or whatever it is. They're always. They. They are a very generous brand. However, there feels like there's this huge disconnect between that and these trips. And it's like when you look at these trips and what's going on, it's not like you're like, oh, my gosh, I'm going to support Tarte because they gave $260,000 to LAFD. That's so amazing. It makes you look at them and ask, why are they doing this right now?

[Sarah]

Why are they posting any of this right now? None of this needs to be posted on the Internet right now. Maybe the TikTok ban is what propelled them, but I've been seeing this stuff on Instagram too. They could have easily captured all this content and posted it this week, next week, and it still would have probably done the same.

[Kirby]

Yes. If they would have just waited a week, if they would have posted this week, it would have been fine.

[Sarah]

Agreed.

[Kirby]

If they would have just asked their influencers, like, you know, we just want to be really sensitive what's going on in LA right now. If everyone could, you know, just save their content and then we will resume posting on Monday, I think that would have been fine. I don't see why they couldn't have done that.

[Sarah]

Right. And I know people think that the trip should not have taken place. I understand that this is a trip. A, it's a celebratory trip for Tarte, but B, there are probably contracts in place where. If they broke the deal now, since it's not. It's not force majeure because it's not happening where they're at. So they would have lost a ton of money on this. Probably money that they would. If they're like, well, if we're going to spend money, we might as well give it to wildfire victims or whatever. But I think that for me, the issue that I have is seeing, I know Maureen wants to be A part of the party. But look at any other brand benefit loves to fucking party. I can tell you that much. You will never see video of people taking shots.

[Kirby]

Yeah.

[Sarah]

On a benefit trip. It's never going to happen. Lvmh. Would their pants. It's never gonna happen.

[Kirby]

Yeah.

[Sarah]

There has to be some decorum. I, I truly. This is like. And what are they getting out of it? Is it. Is it name recognition? Is it being associated with the cool girls? I was like, just even for.

[Kirby]

Is that so that they're like, you know, in the conversation at all.

[Sarah]

Right.

[Kirby]

Trending on Tick Tock.

[Sarah]

Yeah. And they said that they don't have. They don't do traditional marketing. So they don't do super bowl ads like Elf. They don't do billboards. They don't do those things. This is their Super Bowl. And they do the room walkthroughs. They show you how tailored it is to everybody, how specific, blah, blah, blah. And I'm just like, these are smart people that know how to put together an event. Why don't these same people? Or why? Why. Maybe it's more so that the people in charge will not listen to the people advising them. But this trip did not need to be advertised like this. And giving away money in a fashion where you look like you are Jenny McCarthy on Singled Out. I don't know. I, I think it's in such poor taste that I know a lot of beauty editors specifically are like, I don't think I can support this brand anymore.

[Kirby]

Yeah. Yeah.

[Sarah]

Tarte reached out to us after we posted a episode last year and what did we title it?

[Kirby]

Does Tarte even have a strategy?

[Sarah]

What is Tarte's strategy exactly?

[Kirby]

Yeah.

[Sarah]

Still wondering. Would still love to know that. I truly love the people I have worked with at Tarte that are still there. This is not a criticism against them at all because they are not handling all of that. But I do think they need to sit down and figure out, like. And actually, I think the bigger question is I don't. It's not even a question. I don't think they care. Like, we are being critical and we're still talking about them and giving them promotion in a way. And they're like, well, we're still selling Maracuja. Juicy Lips.

[Kirby]

Yeah.

[Sarah]

So we want to be the party brand. We want to do this. And. And I don't think that they need to try to be something they're not. But I also think that a lot of things that happen on these trips are so bizarre. There is an event that was supposed to happen in a couple of weeks that we know about that literally the product is focused on heat and they were going to have displays set up with product on fire. Like, literally like smoking. And they. Once this happened, they said, okay, apps lutely not. We're going to pivot and we're going to change things. And while I understand that this article Tarte told the cut, you know, we are pivoting in real time. They knew going on this trip that these fires were happening.

[Kirby]

Yeah.

[Sarah]

So there should have been like immediately, like, okay, we have to tell everyone that this is not called tart on fire night. Like, we have to change the theme. If I know people might have packed accordingly. You know, they probably sent out an itinerary early and people are packing reds and whatevers.

[Kirby]

But you can change that. Called spicy. Like, you know what I mean? There's so like they're.

[Sarah]

But I think they did. That's what I'm getting from the story. They were like, we changed it. But then Aspen posted what it was.

[Kirby]

Right. Right.

[Sarah]

Instead of the new one, which is like he heat of the moment or whatever the hell it was. I'm just like, don't post the theme, period.

[Kirby]

Right. Right. Doesn't need to. Doesn't need to happen. So in the article, this is like, I just feel like she hits the nail on the head in this little paragraph. She says 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 refundable 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 to Kirby's point, maybe they couldn't have rescheduled the trip. This is, you know, there's a lot of contracts involved, a lot of timing. But I think they could have rescheduled the posting of the content and been just a little bit more mindful of the situation, as well as the way in which they presented the fundraising that they did or the donations that they did.

[Sarah]

I don't think the world should stop turning. I keep saying this phrase, the world should not stop turning because there's a plenty. There's plenty of people not based in LA that this is not. The fires are not affecting. But there was a right and a wrong way to go about this. And I just think like they did with their initial posting of Donations post a grid with text that says, we're donating this much to the fire department. We don't need a social media video with people acting celebratory about a donation when it's not a celebratory thing. People are not celebrating, at least the people that are here and living through it. So I don't know. I don't know if I can continue with this. These shenanigans. Like, it's, it feels extremely juvenile and I'm glad that everybody that went on this trip is having a good time and having fun, but I would really like to see tarte turn around their image for good. Because when I ask people about tarte, there's not a lot of goodwill towards it.

[Kirby]

So, yeah, they can't even name any of these charitable things that they do. And they do, you know, I would say a lot more than other brands do, but no one can even, no one can even name one of those things that they do because this is all that they're known for at this moment. Even beyond, like. And then it's like, also like, what. What's your favorite tarte product? Like, people don't even really know about the actual products themselves.

[Sarah]

No, that's what I'm saying. Like the last, the last trips that they did, I was like, what is even being launched? Like when this all blew up with Alex Earle and Monet on those. That Dubai trip, I was like, what is even being launched? We don't even know. So what are the purpose of these trips? Like, this one was celebrating 10 years of.

[Kirby]

10 years of tripping with tarte.

[Sarah]

Oh, 10 years of tripping with tarte. Interesting. Okay. Yeah. I don't know if we need a 10 year anniversary for that. I don't. Sorry. Celebrate your own milestones of like a brand maybe. It's like we have donated over XYZ money and I, I do have to put this out there. They are doing a trip in March that's all going to be first responders and things like that. People affected by the fires, I guess.

[Kirby]

Oh, I didn't know that.

[Sarah]

Yes, so I saw that. That'll be interesting. But I'm also like, is that too soon? I don't know. I don't know.

[Kirby]

Is that helping? I don't know. It's a weird, it's weird, it's weird. What do you guys think? How do you feel?

[Sarah]

I want the, the tarte brain studied.

[Kirby]

That's what I want Maureen Kelly's brain to be studied.

[Sarah]

What is, what is the. And listen again. We welcome her on. We have been welcoming her on. We are nice people, but we have questions. Come on and answer the questions. We would love to speak with you and, like, let you say your piece, because I. Once I get more information, I can change my opinion on things. But right now, based on optics and what we're seeing, I know we are not the only people being this critical.

[Kirby]

Yeah. Maybe there's something we don't know. We'd love to know. So let us know.

[Sarah]

And listeners, how do you feel about this stuff?

[Kirby]

Yeah.

[Sarah]

Are you like, hell, yeah, hell, yeah, tart? If. If y'all are like, hell, yeah, tart, then we're just curmudgeons, apparently.

[Kirby]

Or are you like, I'm gonna find a new concealer? I know. I don't really want to buy shape tape because of all of this, you know? Yeah. Let us know.

[Sarah]

Let us know. On Spotify.

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