Skims offers refunds for viral $148 advent calendar

By the time TikTok creator @wetsloppyswollen got to day eight of Skims‘ $148 advent calendar, she’d already opened a teddy bear keychain, hair ties, satin scrunchies, and a little foam toy with the Skims logo on it. Day eight was bobby pins, which would have been more of a surprise if day four hadn’t also been bobby pins. As one commenter put it, the whole thing was like a “box of pranks.”

The Nov. 6 video racked up 65 million views in just three days, and prompted many more shoppers to post their own unboxings. “Terrible!” beauty creator Kayla Ryan cried out to her 1.6 million followers. Some creators are also showing off other brands’ advent calendars, like P. Louise and H&M’s, to compare.

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By Nov. 8, Kim Kardashian’s loungewear and lingerie brand was offering refunds.

“We understand that the calendar didn’t meet expectations,” a Skims representative told Entertainment Weekly on Nov. 9, adding that the company had contacted everyone who bought the box. Customers can return it for a full refund or keep it and take store credit. Despite the backlash, the advent calendar appears to be sold out — the demand is there. As it always is for Kim.

Though a surprise to many (well, most) purchasers, when Skims first released the box as part of its Holiday Shop on Oct. 29, under the “Fit & Fabric” dropdown page, shoppers could see exactly what was behind each door. Seven of the 12 days were devoted to hair accessories, including two packs of satin scrunchies, two packs of bobby pins, and a pair of headbands made from bra elastic. Four more doors held keychains, including one with a comb and another with a fuzzy compact mirror, and the last item in the mix was the Skims squishy. The original product URL now redirects to the brand’s accessories page.

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Nevertheless, disclosure isn’t exactly the issue here. On social media, people posted mock unboxings and compared the contents to what they might find under their couch cushions or on the floor of their car. “Not the SHEIN advent calendar being better than skims,” wrote one TikTok commenter. Some online are replacing the word “SKIMS” with “SKAMS.”

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Some fans and customers defended Kim: Beauty creator Glamzilla argued that the calendar was for “fans of SKIMS” who’d get a kick out of opening a little something from the brand each day. One X user wrote, “Tbh I was mad about it until I saw it’s literally labeled as an accessories advent calendar. They made it very obvious there would be no clothes (all advent calendars are scams imo though).”

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But something that might go over well with a Skims superfan can play very differently on social media, where anyone can watch all 12 doors open and decide for themselves whether the box was worth $148.

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As brands get better at making products people want to unbox on TikTok, they still owe the people who actually buy them a little respect. In this case, that means giving even the most devoted Skims fans something worth getting excited about.

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