“Trippin’ with Tarte” is the brainchild of Tarte Cosmetics, a social media campaign that consists of influencers taking lavish trips to places like Bora Bora. During these excursions, as reported by the New York Times, creators are showered with gifts and access to luxuries such as a private jet, with the whole experience racking up millions on TikTok.
According to Maureen Kelly, the brand’s founder and chief executive, these trips save on advertising costs. “We found the investment in these relationships to be more valuable in the long term than spending millions of dollars on one-off media campaigns,” she told the outlet.
But seeing Tarte influencers living it up in Bora Bora may not be having the influential effects brands are hoping for. It might actually be contributing to what’s known as influencer fatigue.
As the name implies, influencer fatigue refers to people feeling a little burnt out with influencer culture, arguably as a result of the oversaturation of lavish lifestyles at a time when the cost of living is rising, and a lot more people are having to tighten their belts.
“Seeing them taking private jets to Bora Bora does not make me want to go buy something from Tarte Cosmetics,” TikToker Ellie Frazier is quoted as saying in a video. Of the near-million viewers who have watched this clip, many of them took to the comments to express similar sentiments.
“It makes me wonder how Tarte rewards the people on their team who are doing the work,” one commenter noted. “Are they being treated to a trip to Bora Bora?”
