Tarte Denies Using Beauty Filter To Promote ‘No Filter’ Makeup
Image via Tarte
Not so smooth after all: cosmetics company Tarte has been called out by Instagram followers for seemingly using a blurring, skin-enhancing filter to promote their Timeless Smoothing Primer.
In an Instagram Reels video posted to the company’s official account two days ago, the voiceover claims the primer to be “like a filter, without a filter” while the model applies it. However, in the last few seconds of the video, the skin’s texture appears to glitch in the way that some filters do when users move and the AI loses track of their face for a second.
A spokesperson for Tarte said that the “changes in viewer quality” were due to its team working from home without proper equipment. They stated that the model used an ordinary setup—an iPhone and ring light—and the shot went “in and out of focus” automatically, causing the glitch that users saw. The company also uploaded another video addressing the uproar.
Many were still unsatisfied with the claim. Makeup artist Kait Kelly uploaded a slow-motion clip of the video on her Instagram story, highlighting the part where the filter is most obvious. “You can SEE the blur filter activate and deactivate,” she writes in the caption.
The Timeless Smoothing Primer “smooths appearance of pores, fine lines & wrinkles” and “provides perfect canvas to enhance wear of makeup”, according to the product description on Tarte's website.
Given that these are the product’s main selling points, it’s understandable why the usage of a filter would spark outrage in customers. “You can see the edited part SO obviously. Stop the false advertising. Wow,” is the current top comment, posted by Instagram user annjuliedee.
[via Buzzfeed News, image via Tarte]
Also check out these recent news
