• On October 11, Jeffree Star launched Halloween-themed mystery boxes filled with exclusive makeup products.
  • As customers began receiving their packages, some posted photos of broken highlighters on Twitter.
  • Star acknowledged the complaints on Sunday, saying that “a few hundred” were damaged. He seemed to blame accidental damage on “handling from USPS” on Twitter and said his brand would replace the broken items.
  • Other YouTubers like Jaclyn Hill and Safiya Nygaard have also faced issues when shipping their beauty products. Both offered refunds to their customers.
  • Visit Insider’s homepage for more stories.

Some customers of Jeffree Star’s makeup brand are not thrilled with their recent purchases.

On October 11, Jeffree Star Cosmetics launched three Halloween-themed mystery boxes filled with everything from T-shirts to exclusive beauty products. The three packages, which ranged in price from $40 to $160, sold out instantly.

But as customers began receiving their packages last week, some posted photos of broken highlighters that they said arrived in pieces.

Some people say their Jeffree Star Cosmetics highlighter was broken before they opened it

Star said in a tweet that the $75 "deluxe" mystery box contained a Skin Frost highlighter that "will never be made again." The product appears to be orange with black flecks.

Though many were excited to get their hands on the limited-edition product, some said their highlighter arrived broken and was damaged before they even opened it.

https://twitter.com/Nowheregirl866/status/1185728316210204672?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw

Star acknowledged the broken products on Twitter

On Sunday, a Twitter user asked Star whether the highlighters were meant to have black spots, which some have said resemble mold.

"Can you let us know what's going on here @JeffreeStar?" the user asked. "I know the breakage isn't intentional, but are the spots intentional? I saw some photos of an unbroken one on Mercari that had spots, but it would be great to get this info directly from you rather than a resale site. Thanks!"

Star said that the black spots were added "for Halloween aesthetic purposes" and that only "a few hundred" highlighters "out of a VERY large amount" were damaged.

Star followed up with another tweet in which he blamed accidental damage on the US Postal Service.

"I pride myself on my customer service team and all anyone has to do is email a photo of the broken product and we will send out a new one," Star said. "No tea, just for handling from USPS but we prepare of these moments and always have extra stock for CS issues like this!"

Customers say Jeffree Star Cosmetics has been quick to correct the issue

On Twitter, some customers said they'd already gotten confirmation from Jeffree Star Cosmetics that they'd receive a new highlighter.

A customer named Alex Schirch told Insider she purchased a deluxe kit because she loves buying new makeup and had previously purchased mystery boxes with no issue. However, she said she found her highlighter damaged this time around.

"My highlighter was broken immediately upon opening it," Schirch said. "I picked up the highlighter box and noticed some powder fall out of it. I thought to myself, 'Oh shoot, I hope it's not shattered.' And it was when I opened it up."

jeffree star highlighter

Foto: Alex Schirch said her highlighter arrived in pieces.sourceAlex Schirch

While Schirch said she was initially "bummed" to receive a broken limited-edition product, she wasn't worried about getting a replacement.

"Jeffree stands by his brand, and I assumed they would take care of it," Schirch said. "Plus, things happen. He can't have total control over the people who deliver it."

Schirch said Jeffree Star Cosmetics responded to her in less than two hours.

"I reached out to the brand, and they responded within an hour or two," Schirch said. "All they needed was a picture of it, and they have already placed an order for a replacement."

Read more: A woman decorated her makeup desk with framed screenshots of beauty YouTubers crying in their apology videos

Star isn't the only YouTuber to face accusations of broken beauty products

In June, people on social media said they received damaged lipstick from Jaclyn Cosmetics, a beauty brand owned by the YouTuber Jaclyn Hill. While some said their lipsticks arrived melted and broken, others said their products contained strange fibers and "black dots."

After some said the damaged products caused their lips to swell and become covered in bumps, Hill promised to refund every customer, even if their lipstick wasn't damaged.

By July, however, some customers said they still hadn't received refunds.

More recently, the YouTuber Safiya Nygaard teamed up with ColourPop to create a line of six lipsticks - and though many customers have praised the products, others said their lipsticks arrived damaged.

https://twitter.com/_SkeletonnCrew/status/1185200208516390912?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw

Nygaard has since used her Twitter account to directly respond to customer complaints about her lipsticks.

https://twitter.com/safiyajn/status/1185236140170735616?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw

Representatives for Jeffree Star and the US Postal Service did not immediately respond to Insider's requests for comment.