The Skims Advent calendar, which sells for $148, is being refunded after viral unboxing videos showed hair ties, bobby pins, keychains, and hair clips.
In a statement to Today.com on Sunday, a spokesperson for the brand expressed sympathy for the criticism and said that, for some, the Advent calendar was not up to par.
The statement said the company reached out to all customers who bought the calendar and offered them the option to get a refund or store credit to purchase other items.
“We want every customer to be truly happy with what they receive from Skims,” the spokesperson said, adding that customer feedback “will directly shape how we approach future releases.”
Under the offer, buyers can return the calendar for a full refund minus shipping, or keep it and receive store credit for its full value.
As Rolling Out reported, the company sent an apology email to buyers offering a $150 refund, slightly above the calendar’s cost. It likely includes tax or shipping costs.
Skims called the product ‘Accessories Advent Calendar’ and promised 12 days of surprises when it was released on October 29th in the company’s Holiday Shop. The product was priced at $148 in the USA and £ 158 in the UK.
On the website of the brand, one could learn that the doors of the Advent calendar were hiding a bear keychain, packs of hair elastics, satin scrunchies, bobby pins, hair clips, headbands made of bra elastic, a comb keychain, a logo keychain, and a squishy toy featuring the Skims logo. None of these items are clothing.
The advent calendar design differed from the company’s first advent calendar in 2021, which included 25 pairs of panties and cost $450.
Unboxing videos were posted shortly after the calendars were delivered and, within a couple of days, were widely shared across social media. One TikTok video of a disappointed customer unboxing the calendar already has almost 65 million views on E! News.
“I’m hoping this is a prank and the last one is a $150 gift card,” influencer Kayla Ryan said in her unboxing video.
“Not even a full pack of plain hair ties is taking me out,” one user complained on Reddit.
Most people considered the product a scam and asked for refunds, while some TikTok viewers said the accessories looked like things from a cheap bin on Temu.
Not all agreed that the product should be condemned. They said the product name clearly indicated it was accessories rather than apparel.
“Do people really expect Skims to send them bras and panties?” one person asked online.
Currently, the calendar is not available on Skims’ website, but people are asked to join the waitlist. The number of sales, refund requests, and the reason why the product became unavailable are not specified.
The calendar was part of the holiday collection, presented in a campaign featuring Kardashian, her sisters Kourtney and Khloé Kardashian, and Kendall and Kylie Jenner, shot by Nadia Lee Cohen. This is the first time all five sisters pose for Skims in the same photo.
Kardashian said in Elle magazine that she loves the holiday countdown excitement and that the calendar lets her surprise someone with a new gift daily.
Kardashian and Jens Grede founded the company Skims online in 2019. Since then, it has become one of the major companies producing shapewear and loungewear.
Advent calendars have long gone beyond chocolate and now come from beauty labels and fast food companies, with the hope that customers will post daily unboxing videos around the holiday season; for Skims, that led to a wave of complaints.
