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I don’t know how much interest there is in this follow-up story but the original story got more comments than I thought it would. As you know, Dutch makeup artist Nikkie de Jager came out as transgender in a heartfelt YouTube video earlier this week. Nikkie revealed that she’d been blackmailed by people who wanted to expose her and that was why she was being open about it. The response was overwhelmingly positive and supportive except for a few key people, namely the sister of the CEO of TooFaced, a popular high-end makeup brand. Nikkie worked with TooFaced last year on a makeup palette. They had a bad business deal apparently, with Nikkie calling out TooFaced for changing their formulation after she approved it. You can read her tweet about that here, she was upset at the negative review and considered them not her fault. That’s just background for the mean way this woman Lisa Blandino (she goes by Dani California online) responded to Nikkie’s announcement. She changed her Instagram bio to “Transgender, huh? That’s not the only thing she’s been LYING about” (that’s so mean!) but later deleted and replaced that with a message of support for transgender people, still shading Nikkie obliquely. The CEO of TooFaced, Jerrod Blandino, wrote a statement that his sister doesn’t represent their company and then he fired her.
The co-founder of the cosmetics company Too Faced said he fired his sister over comments she made attacking YouTube creator Nikkie de Jager after [Nikkie] came out as transgender…
Shortly after [Nikkie’s] video was posted, Too Face co-founder Jerrod Blandino’s sister, who goes by Dani California on Instagram, allegedly changed her bio to: “Transgender, huh? That’s not the only thing she’s been LYING about.”
The comment sparked a wave of backlash on Twitter, with many people labeling the remark as transphobic.
Dani California later changed her Instagram bio to: “Lets be clear, I love trans people & dislike anyone who lies to hurt others! Period!”
In a lengthy statement on Too Faced Cosmetics’ Twitter page Tuesday night, Blandino praised de Jager for “sharing her beautiful truth” and condemned his sister’s comments.
“I would like to make sure it is understood that although I love my sister very much, the things she says or does have absolutely nothing to do with me and do not in any way reflect me, my opinions, thoughts, or feelings nor speak for me or Too Faced in any way shape or form,” he said. “I have always stood for love, equality and kindness in my life and everything I do. I am sorry for the hurt she has caused.”
The statement continued: “Let it be known that I am truly shocked and disgusted to my core at her recent actions. I do not tolerate this behavior and she is no longer an employee of Too Faced.”
Blandino went on to say that he was proud of de Jager. “I am sending all my love to her,” he said.
After all that Lisa aka Dani made her Instagram private. This response by Jarrod is probably the only way to save face for his brand. You can’t be bigoted about LGBTQ people and have a successful brand unless you market to the fundies and they’re dwindling.
For her part Nikkie has released a couple of tweets thanking everyone for their support.
I’ll never be able to put into words what these last few days have been like. thank you for accepting me and teaching me that on the other side of fear lies freedom. 🥺🌈💖 I love you so unconditionally, always.
— NikkieTutorials (@NikkieTutorials) January 15, 2020
#IamMe 🌈😭
— NikkieTutorials (@NikkieTutorials) January 13, 2020
Incidentally, I watched a couple of Nikkie’s videos and I feel like I instantly upped my makeup game! I was able to sculpt my eyebrows, do contouring and highlighting and I got some great tips for how to define my eyes. Also thank you for all of your YouTube recommendations and I’m looking forward to watching more this weekend.
Transphobia in the UK is so awful at present. It angers me that people possess so much hate towards the trans community. We’re a hysterical lot easily manipulated by our media which has proven to be horrendously transphobic. I’m glad to see overall Nikki has been welcomed. There was a way this situation could have been handled without bringing someone’s transness into it.
Suggesting that a trans person is lying about their identity is so gross. I’m glad she was fired.
Shall we also talk about how the President of Estee Lauder – who owns Too Faced – posted a photo on his IG where he superimposed Yoko Ono’s face onto Duchess Meghan’s ?? And then got called out for it and deleted it.
A lot of people don’t believe that Jarrod actually fired his sister. This isn’t the first time she has harassed and bullied influencers on social media and he was perfectly fine with it then. I like Too Faced’s products but will have to take a “wait and see” stance on this because I don’t know if I believe that she was actually fired. I think it’s mote like she no longer has a PUBLIC role but will continue to work for the brand behind the scenes.
Just wanted to point out that TooFaced is mid range makeup NOT high end. It’s more expensive than drug store, sure, but it’s not Chanel, Dior, Pat McGrath level. TooFaced uses cheap af packaging as well and the CEO is absolutely nuts
Eh – they’re packaging is definitely better than most drugstore packaging but yes they are solidly mid-range. And yes, Jerrod is problematic as well.
I mean, what else was he supposed to do? That’s a PR nightmare if one was ever brewing. A lot of people who aren’t super into makeup don’t realize how much mid-to-higher range makeup has become hugely reliant on the online makeup community. There’s A LOT of sales boosting there through mega sites like Temptalia or YouTube stars. If you go after one of the big names, you’re asking for a backlash because that community tends to close ranks.
Has anyone heard of leveled up cosmetics? Im looking for affordable make up for work that wont break the bank. I am not a make up person and have recently returned to the work force and need make up for work. Im not sure which colors I will like so I will have to purchase A couple different eyeshadow palettes and liquid lip sticks shades most likely as I find the colors i like best and I want options!
I like Nyx, Morphe, and Colourpop for lower end.
Profusion is really good I think, pallets are typically 5-15$ and nicely pigmented
I never heard of that brand. I steer clear of IG only brands. I heard too many horror stories. There are lots of affordable brands. If you are near an Ulta, pay them a visit. They always have a $3.50 off coupon for their non-prestige brands. Juvia’s Place eyeshadow palettes are very pigmented and affordable. Their website pricing is cheaper than Ulta’s. There is also Milani Cosmetics. Their eyeshadow palettes are great. Make sure you purchase Milani from Walmart bc it is cheaper there. Wet n Wild has decent liquid lipstick for am affordable price. I hope this helps!
Temptalia.com is a great site if you want to catch up to the cosmetic market. The site owner reviews products up and down the market, and she’s pretty blunt about quality and won’t take money for reviews.
From personal experience:
-On the lower end, I recommend Colourpop and Nyx. Maybelline is pretty good where face products are concerned, though their darker skin range is more limited than Covergirl’s
-For mid-end, I’d recommend Urban Decay and IT Cosmetics.
-For high end, NARS (fantastic skin tone range), Chanel, and Giorgio Armani are my favorites.
-For highest of high end, Guerlain and Cle de Peau.
Blandino is vile. For his birthday he had a cake and it said: Rich lives matter. And showed it on IG…
He sure did. I can’t remember if he apologized for it. But I don’t care if he did, I stop buying Too Faced when I saw that. So I wasn’t surprised to find out his sister is just as problematic as her brother.
“please please please LGBTQ+ & solidarity community please please don’t stop buying our products bc we’re so totally screwed if you do!!!”
hard to gauge the dude’s sincerity about all the emo lovie smush he says when this is the context.
I have a list of “Makeup Brands to Avoid” and Too Faced is on it, along with Kat Von D (anti-vax), and Jeffree Starr (racist).
They don’t need my money if they’re going to behave badly.
Same! I no longer fvck with those brands either for those very reasons. There are so many awesome brands that aren’t run by complete monsters. I’m trying to be less of a cancel culture liberal but when it comes to where my money goes, I spend $$$ with my conscience.
The further you dig, the more you realize how DIRTY this business is. I decided to go cruelty free, saying goodbye to brands that claim to not test on animals but sell in China where they will. Then there are the brands like Kylie that just got purchased by Coty…so many are owned by huge conglomerates that sell in China or owned by problematic screwballs.
Now I just stick to brands that simply don’t f#@k with China. Colorpop is a great example, as is Bite Beauty, ELF, LA Girl and PUR. higher end would be RMS Beauty and ILIA.
I know it’s not an issue for everyone, but honestly watching YouTube tutorials and listening to beauty podcasts like Natch Beaut sent me down the rabbit hole! Good luck, Celebitchy!
p.s. I still am using the shadow palette you recommended a couple years ago. Cruelty free, it turns out!
So Nikki was not honest about being a trans woman? Yeah, that is called a lie, but understandable considering the obstacles.