If you’re anything like me, the moment the option for “Skip Ad” comes up before a YouTube video, I slam it down.
But every so often, there is an ad that grabs my attention. However, as I clicked on a SimplyNailogical video, an ad for a kabuki brush caught my eye. The ad boasted this special brush had 22,000 bristles on it (way more than its competitors) and showed promising examples of just how good it was. What especially sealed the deal was that they were giving away this revolutionary brush for free. Yes, that’s right. Free. All you had to do is pay $4.95 for shipping and handling.
Well, not so much…
As someone who loves makeup and a good deal, I opened up the ad in Safari with intentions of possibly purchasing the brush. But if my years on the internet have taught me anything, it is to actually do research. I immediately searched it up on YouTube, hoping to find some reviews. Yet, the top videos that popped up had the word scam in the title. I watched every video and was appalled to see how big of a scam this brush actually was.
It turns out that not only were people not getting their brushes sent to them, but none of the contact information on the site was real. If you emailed the company, you got an error message back immediately. If you called the number listed, it would go straight to voicemail.
Nothing about it was real.
“I found their Facebook page and not a single person had received their makeup brush ever from this company,” YouTuber Learsss said in her video. “And this has been happening since, I think, late 2016.”
https://www.facebook.com/kemanon/activity/1528435037204117
https://www.facebook.com/jojo.le.9/activity/1484686518240089
I came across this ad on January 29. Learsss video is from October 29, 2017. Some of the Facebook reviews date back to early 2017. This ad has been going around for almost a year.
How has Youtube not taken it down? It seems ridiculous that so many people are being scammed. And as YouTube does, the ad is being played most frequently in front of beauty gurus’ content, meaning the most likely customers are being scammed the most.
So, if this article tells you anything, do not order this brush. Doing research on brands and products prior to buying them is super important. Who knows what would’ve happened if I went ahead and bought the brush?
