The BIGGEST SCAM in the beauty industry that EVERYONE forgot about… (Naturium)

[@ruth98765]

I, personally, never enjoyed any of the Ordinary products but to trash them just to lift up your own brand is extremely shady 🙄🙄

[@angelikamakeup]

SO shady!

[@quackitytheasker9977]

The Ordinary is hands down the best drugstore skincare brand, better than other regular skincare brands that try to make targeting treatment like products. For my currency it's still a bit expensive but it's so worth it! And they have different acidic solutions for different groups of people like multiple types of retinoids. The Ordinary for clear skin!

[@m.younis9849]

@maria th4 how did it impact your skin please? "positively I assume"

[@catis4]

I've tried so many products from them and they do nothing. I gave up on those brands that sell products with only one active ingredient. It is so overwhelming and confusing to me and I end up spending more money, because I am buying several bottles with different ingredients. While if I buy a product a bit more pricey, but with a formulation with several ingredients and that actually works, I end up spending less.

[@oliver_liew]

@@catis4 Same. They didn't do anything for me and they also didn't have very good textures. The niacinamide and buffet serums both pilled like crazy on my skin, literally the only products that have done that for me.

[@cherry_girl179]

She could’ve just anonymously sent the PR out to influencers and not commented on the brand herself, and then later announced that she was the owner

[@bruisedviolets]

Literally was about to comment this, shes a liar and a bad one

[@kikiTHEalien]

That's literary what happened. It wasn't so long ago.

[@ivette1229]

@@kikiTHEalien did you watch the video? She trashed another brand while propping up her own without disclosing her affiliation to it. Then she trashed the people that saw there was something fishy and started doing some digging. There was literally no need to lie and the fact she can't take accountability and instead projects blame to others speaks volumes.

[@LittleMonstr16]

That's what still blows me away about this. It would've been so easy to not commit a crime yet she still did.

[@Frankendiaz]

​@@kikiTHEalien No, she hyped up her own brand on her own channel, encouraged people to try and buy and didnt say it belonged to her. If she had not spoke about it herself and just allowed other influencers to review it on their own channels she would have saved herself a lot of slack. Instead she lied and broke the law.

[@rosalinahope9752]

I feel like her skincare line would have been automatically respected in the community if she had launched honestly. She should have let the beauty community embrace her brand instead of being shady. She acts like she's too good to have an "influencer brand" when that's exactly what she made. She should have been proud of her achievement from the beginning and launched honestly.

[@autumnrose_tv]

Agreed. Influencers have a head start when making their own beauty and/or fragrance lineups bc they already have an audience willing to buy it. Shame she didn’t see the good side of having an audience willing to purchase products bc she was too focused on the word ‘influencer’

[@maloojisloves6586]

I completely agree!

[@99brushes]

Completely agree! Not to mention that her stuff is actually good. So all of that was rather unnecessary.

[@married2makeup]

100%. I can sort of see the idea of wanting other influencers to form their own opinions and not be biased based on their friendship with her, but she should not have promoted the products on her own channel before admitting it was her brand.

[@coolida23511]

Susan Yara is full of herself and arrogant. There's a video on her channel where she reviews Dr. Pimple Popper's (Sandra Lee) video and acts like she knows more than Dr. Lee. People were calling her out for her arrogance and the like/dislike ratio was brutal. That video showed me the type of person she was and I stopped watching her. Later, when I heard about this scandal, I wasn't surprised. It only validated my feelings towards her.

[@skincarecoachmelanie7741]

The whole, "I didn't want this to be an influencer brand, I wanted honest feedback" thing NEVER made sense. She used her influencer platform and reputation to promote the brand, her industry contacts and connections to get Naturium to other influencers. If she really didn't want Naturium to be an "influencer" brand, then she would have released it & never mentioned it.

[@-A-09]

True! That would have gotten her the results she "wanted" if she never promoted the brand at all and let it make a name for itself in the skincare market.

[@Frankendiaz]

I agree. But i also think she could have released as an 'influencer' and still got honest feedback. Fans that bought Hyram's Skincare line is a pretty good example. Lying makes it look like a cash grab.

[@skincarecoachmelanie7741]

@@Frankendiaz It also makes me wonder if she was concerned people weren't going to like Naturium and didn't want potentially negative feedback to effect her channel? Also, she's be on The KZbins for so long. I could see how she might have backed into a bad marketing strategy by starting with the video idea. Like, she wanted to do a big reveal video that she thought would get a ton of views/publicity and so then decided that the biggest/baddest reveal of them all could be her involvement. Hyram's brand was released a solid year after the whole Naturium debacle, which in Internet trend speak (and pandemic speak) is a lifetime. I'm not sure his release experience is necessarily a fair reference point...? And again, like you said, in either of those scenarios, it's hard to get away from major cash grab vibes.

[@amandalynn4979]

​@@Frankendiaz It's not a skincare brand but the Popflex brand by Blogilates is also feedback based! Cassey listens to reviews and questions and improves her products from there!

[@stephanieann6622]

I mean it kind of makes sense only in the sense that influencers are known To lie to hype up companies to get a paycheck but yeah when she's a influencer herself it's mad weird lmao

[@Jess-jl2tx]

HER HUSBAND IS A LAWYER! she has absolutely no excuse

[@cukimiso]

I hate how she trashed the ordinary. When i started my skincare journey (since going to dermatologists wasn't a good experience for me) the ordinary really helped me figure out what works for me and what my skin needs! Especially not to mention how the ordinary makes skincare available for people w low income! I'll never buy from her brand just bc of how evil this was

[@theaudjob3267]

The fact that Susan Yara wasn't fined by the FTC is INSANE

[@leah212]

I saw this whole thing unfold on youtube and it just put a bad taste in my mouth about the whole lying part. I would love to try it but I’m not gonna put my money in a brand where i was lied to. No. And she absolutely trashed the ordinary. We all started with the ordinary on our skincare journey and they’re OG. You don’t do ordinary like that.

[@angelikamakeup]

Exactly - same for me!

[@ananyamahapatra9483]

Same. Recently saw a bunch of influencers recommend the brand’s products. And I honestly could not bring myself to invest in it.

[@TheZanaaaaa]

TO is not an OG, many of us started skin care journeys way before TO.

[@Tracylyn42]

She acts like JH Jr. we don’t need another one of those in this space

[@anikajoy5739]

I didn't start with ordinary 🤣 some people were into skincare before the ordinary

[@xBriidgette]

All this did was leave a bad taste in my mouth for Naturium. The Ordinary got me into skincare by teaching me what the basic ingredients did for your skin and allowed me to expand from them once I was more knowledgable. They are affordable and that’s what I needed as a beginner! Not some big scheme from an influencer pretending to have no affiliation to the brand they own and are advertising..

[@myrialynn]

Agreed

[@flowerspolkadots6025]

I think not mentioning that she’s behind the brand and „getting real feedback from other influencers“ wouldn’t have been such an issue if she didn’t promote it on her channel and didn’t compare it to other products in her videos. Like if she never mentioned it on her socials and just send out pr to influencers to then later say she’s behind the brand would not have been as bad as the mess she ended up in

[@angelikamakeup]

Exactly!

[@iliveforzelda]

That's crazy, i started watching skincare yt back in 2019, watched everyone that you showed in this video and somehow missed this scandal. Just goes to show that there is still value in making videos about older drama!

[@reikun86]

I think it's important to know the history of a brand. I can't get behind it because of the lack of transparency. How she was able to avoid FTC might have to do with the fact that her husband is a lawyer.

[@iliveforzelda]

@@reikun86 ohh that's sneaky! Yeah, i agree that the lack of transparency was a huge problem. I also don't like how she so boldly discouraged ppl from using the ordinary bc secretly its her competition, was so disingenuous.

[@meliapo1367]

Same here ! Never heard of this “drama”

[@reikun86]

@@meliapo1367 I heard about it a couple of years ago, but never followed up on it.

[@w.mtower4895]

You may not think she's an awful person for doing this, but I do. What she did is a big deal. Not only is this an insult to everyone's intelligence, it's a scam! She knew exactly what she was doing and to try and turn it around and put the blame on the people that were upset because they felt duped, saying that those people put her children's life in danger? Classic narcissist!

[@ukmary1968]

Yes, I no longer believe her

[@elysemorgan1854]

If the launch wasn’t shady enough, the “apology” video was like 10 times worse, how does she get to act like a victim by spinning the story of “feeling pressured” to launch 😭😂

[@b.k8051]

It was definitely the biggest scam in the skincare space. So manipulative. So unethical. And likely illegal

[@angelikamakeup]

Very illegal 😩

[@freethetomatoes]

@@angelikamakeup and her husband is a lawyer! They knew exactly what they were doing!

[@onepiecegotmeinlove691]

Ok but the biggest in the beauty community?

[@ivette1229]

@@onepiecegotmeinlove691 they said skincare space and to that I would agree

[@lenamariejackson]

@@onepiecegotmeinlove691 i think ‘skincare space’ is accurate. that whittles it down nicely

[@taylorgayhart9497]

I HATE that you have to defend yourself for not spending your hard earned money on a brand you can’t support ethically. The attack on “cancel culture” is infuriating, if someone’s actions warrant consequences, that’s on them.

[@angelikamakeup]

Completely agree!

[@bernadette85]

well said!!

[@sherryelle225]

I didn't forget about this scam. It made me so mad that some1 could do what she did. I would never buy from this brand.

[@angelikamakeup]

I’m glad you remember!! I feel like so many people either forgot/don’t know about it at all

[@sherryelle225]

@@angelikamakeup I was trying to block it out actually lol. But I did not know that she had kept this secret for that amount of time however. I thought it was a relatively short time but February to June? Nah, she may have never admitted it, if not for people figuring it out themselves.

[@angelikamakeup]

I wonder how long she would have kept it a secret if people didn't find out!

[@cheeling794]

@@angelikamakeup I hadn't heard of it before, I'm glad you made this video to spread the info

[@friendlyneighborhoodanthro475]

I think for such an over saturated market that is the beauty and skin care industry being aware of how brands started early on is a good indicator of what they are WILLING to do for money. And for something like skin care which is very crucial to the health of literally the largest organ we have- I would never trust this brand. What is to stop her from lying in the future?? I don’t think it’s cancel worthy I think it’s just a fact of deciding where to spend your money. Also I think it’s good that we as consumers are thinking critically about who gets our money. Great video though !!

[@angelikamakeup]

Such a good point!

[@carolin2544]

She could've sent her product to other people, kept quiet for a while, and then announce her association with the brand. Her extremely positive review might've already influenced other folks testing the product, so she messed up her original intent (if that even existed) on top of doing something illegal.

[@biancacolmenares620]

I was obsessed with her around when this happened, she seemed so genuine and lovely. But I immediately stopped watching her, I just couldn’t endorse. She was way too smart to make that mistake on purpose, so shady. I would have been excited to use the brand if it went down different. But I am def surprised when people still use her products today.

[@chai_lattes]

I think if you present yourself in a certain way a lot of people are willing to overlook shady behavior but totally agree on "way too smart to make that mistake on purpose"

[@jenn6721]

I thought everyone forgot about this! It literally ruined my view of her. I don’t think I’ll ever bring myself to support her ever again.

[@-A-09]

It's calculating, deceiving, dishonest and disrespectful to her viewers. She lost my respect with this fiasco.

[@tiahnarodriguez3809]

I never forgot. I used to like the other lady who did the SASS with her, but after Susan’s scandal with Naturium, I can’t stand to watch or support anything of hers even if it’s her making a cameo.

[@autumnrosesorg8151]

I had NO idea about this and I use Naturium daily. So…… not anymore. Thank you

[@angelikamakeup]

Omg I can’t believe some people don’t know - glad I could inform ✨

[@abigailjolene]

Same! I just got some of her products for Christmas, thankfully I have the receipt.😬

[@taylorgayhart9497]

Did you get their products from a Fab, Fit, Fun box? Lol that’s where I got mine, that’s why I’m asking!

[@abigailjolene]

@@taylorgayhart9497 No I got them from target :/

[@taylorgayhart9497]

@@abigailjolene I’ll have to look at mine, but I’ve never noticed it there.

[@paulleveriza2090]

A scam would be selling something that doesn’t do what it says. Does it really matter if the products work?

[@alexisayala4028]

I was a follower of hers on youtube and loved her content and respected her recommendations. When this unfolded I was blown away. Her response sealed the deal for me. I no longer follow her and it left such a bad taste I would never buy the products. It was just beyond shady.

[@nephinie]

the ordinary has been a lifesaver for a lot of people. before, using skincare with all the buzz word ingredients was literally a privilege because of how expensive it is, but the ordinary has made it accessible to so many people. i have only ever tried their foundation and it’s now my daily one as it’s the only one i’ve found that works for my combination skin. everyone’s skin is different, and i hate to see one business promote themselves by tearing others down, leaves a bad taste in my mouth regardless of all the other stuff she’s done

[@lindah23]

I remember the story and have not purchased any products because of Susan's deceit. She is a very smart woman, with many years in the beauty industry. She knew exactly what she was doing. One more thing- After the apology video, she made a statement like - I apologized already and will not discuss it any further. And that was enough for me. I never watched another video of hers.

[@userhhjjjkj]

i don’t think it’s fair to criticize her for saying she’s already apologized. she DID apologize. if she hadn’t, y’all would have had something negative to say. and now that she did, it still won’t shut you guys up. you guys want someone to kiss up to y’all for the rest of their lives for a mistake they made. the slander she got is enough and she learned her lesson.

[@catswhisper]

I don’t like the fact that Susan was deceitful about owning the brand… However,I do like and use Naturium

[@adara4635]

@@userhhjjjkjthe thing is this was ILLEGAL. That makes people not trust her so for her to mention it one time and then move on is not really the way to go.

[@ukmary1968]

Me either

[@vst8968]

Every time I walk past the display in target I think of this scandal and shake my head. I can’t believe the brand is still alive after this.

[@chickpeapasta]

Same!

[@rhipressler6798]

I was in target today and saw everything from the brand is on clearance!! I’ve never seen it be marked down before this has to be why

[@freyaegrey]

Funny how her face is all over it too.

[@Carameldamour]

Is the product any good?

[@vst8968]

@@Carameldamour I’ve only tried like one thing from them before I know about this and it was meh. I used it for a month and saw no change in my skin. Dr. Dray did a video about them and she says the same thing. Just very basic and not effective. There’s better products there for a better price.

[@ladyday1972]

What bothers me the most is in the clip you showed of her talking about the vitamin drops she literally lied with a smile on her face!!! That is narcissistic behavior 100% and its creepy

[@angelikamakeup]

That's the worst bit!

[@lolly9889]

HOW did this not get more coverage?! Its literally illegal. Great video as always ♥♥♥

[@rosalina2773]

At the time this happened I’m pretty sure there was some major drama going on (might have been the major Shane Dawson cancellation? Can’t remember) and so no one outside of the skincare community really paid any attention to this. And even then, the only person who really mentioned it was James Welsh in an IG stream, where he just said that he didn’t know (he was one of the people she gifted PR to without revealing it was her).

[@annagardiner8351]

She played the “I’m not like other girls” card in the influencer affiliate market and then still somehow made a rookie influencer mistake. Not to mention bashing another brand to promote her own, unbeknownst to everyone. So shady and foolish. I won’t be buying from that brand anymore. I actually did use one product earlier this year and ended up not using all of it because it didn’t make a difference in my skin and didn’t stand out. Maybe it works for others but it wasn’t for me. Not a big loss.

[@jeannie101]

Finally someone made this video! Back in 2019-2021 era of KZbin skin care, I was really following a lot of creators and influencers like Susan, Hyram, Cassandra, etc. and when the entire drama broke out, I was expecting a lot more drama channels to cover how illegal and deceptive this entire brand/ launch of it was and I was ready for the receipts and people getting cancelled, but somehow it was all swept under the rug. Not in support of cancel culture or anything, but there was a lack of remorse on the end of many skincare influencers who supported the line and everyone just moved on as business as usual. Flashforward, the Mixed Makeup channel still seems to be doing fairly well, which I am indifferent about as I don't really follow them anymore after the scandal. There's just a sour taste in my mouth for people who are deceptive and scam loyal fans for money.

[@chickpeapasta]

I have not forgot about what Susan Yara did and I will never give my money to Naturium. Whenever I see people recommend a Naturium product online, I let them know about what happened

[@paulinab0412]

She did the equivalent of grading your own homework (with a million witnesses)😂 and then played stupid to all of us like “huh?? That’s wrong or untruthful? Oops”

[@raaid22]

I remember Dr. Dray tried out their stuff and was mostly unimpressed. They are pricey for the drug store and one of the founders is sketchy af. I am good.

[@chrisweaver1842]

However plenty of other derns have recommended it and sorry but it’s on par with other decent drug store prices.

[@Ash2theB]

@@chrisweaver1842 But she bought the products out her own pocket and that's what makes her review more valuable.

[@cupidream9702]

My first real skincare brand I tried was The Ordinary. I was scared to get into skincare because of how expensive and luxurious it seemed, so finally having affordable and working products available was everything to me. I still use them but use other products that can be expensive to some. Putting them under the bus because they were her competition is insane. How could anyone trust her reviews again? People will truly admire anyone.

[@chickpeapasta]

I would love to see you cover Hyram’s rise and fall as a content creator and his skin care line! I used to watch him all the time until his line came out and then I never saw him after that

[@blueiepureesteluca]

Wait can you tell me a bit more about this? Cause I was under the impression he's still super famous

[@dianarusnov292]

He hasn't had a "fall," maybe not as hyped as before but he still has a strong viewer base and close to like 5 mil subs I think?

[@blueiepureesteluca]

@@dianarusnov292 thank you so much for the info

[@ukmary1968]

Come to think of it, I haven't seen much from him

[@gracenagel]

This has been the major reason why I haven't bought anything from Naturium. I haven't been able to watch Susan or Mixed Makeup either since the whole debacle.

[@ukmary1968]

Me too

[@b.k8051]

Naturium is a terrible name. Sounds very MLM-y

[@angelikamakeup]

So true - I couldn't put my finger on why it sounded bad 😩

[@shoppingwithshay]

yes I thought the same!!

[@furrnicka8394]

I also love(d) Cassandra Bankson, but she heavily backpedaled as well in the case of Cay Skin, owned by Winnie Harlow. There was a whole saga extended on 3 lengthy videos. First she tried out the products, tested them for a longer period of time, documented every step and gave unfavorable reviews backed with reasons we could all see for ourselves were real and obvious - the products were extremely poor quality, maybe even unsafe, at least one of the three was since reportedly called back from Sephora by the brand itself, packaging issues, people kept saying the line was a cash grab... Then all it took was a PR/customer service e-mail from Cay Skin to Cassandra for her narrative to spin 180°. Basically they saw her negative yt reviews and figured she has a massive audience and reach for a "skin guru" and offered her a refund for 2 of the products, even though she hadn't asked for it herself. This video is the last in the series and is called "Cay Skin is SO GOOD?!?!" You can watch the whole travesty yourself. It's sort of a review conclusion that doesn't take into account the actual quality(!!!) of the skincare products. Just that the company response was considered so diligent by Cassandra, I guess that affects product quality as well :))) Seesh, just terrible. I still can't come to terms with this since I loved her so much..

[@ukmary1968]

Yes, that was a mess. you could see the sunscreen separate why she tried to use it. Then to be so impressed with customer service........😮

[@josipag2185]

God, that one is so so irritating

[@lydiaerickson3731]

She tore down a company a lot of people rely on for good affordable skin care (or average even) to build her own lies. I’ve never heard of this story but after this video I can promise you I won’t be buying it. I’ll be sticking to my ordinary products.

[@shayleenrose9118]

Definitely not the worst thing a brand has done like you said, but there are plenty of other affordable skin care lines out there that I'd choose instead. Like the ordinary lol.

[@mothershipexe2242]

I love that you're doing videos that really interest you. I've been listening to the podcast and I too am going through the process of getting a formal diagnosis. Seeing you talk about topics that genuinly spark your interest makes me really happy. It radiates through the screen

[@angelikamakeup]

Thank you 🥺💞

[@KAYoLEE]

I was in her Facebook group when that reveal went down, A MESS! I ended up trying the brand and it trashed my skin lol.

[@angelikamakeup]

OMG NO 💀

[@annayuqi3]

yes her products made my skim bad. her body washes are good but her skincare makes my skin cru

[@reneeb6117]

First time hearing the story and I'm with you. In the current environment of people scamming, deceiving and not taking responsibility for anything, it's just one more example of someone trying to get something over on people strictly for their own monetary benefit. It makes you question the whole idea of influencers and she has to live with her contribution to that. The fact that she was not just covertly promoting her own products but blatantly trashing others speaks volumes about her character.

[@bxx3366]

If she didnt trash ordinary and then reviewed her own brand when no one knew it was hers, the idea of anonymously sending pr to others could've been very smart. All she had to do was post an announcement video right after the reviews explaining her own brand as a co-owner. She was already trusted a lot, this way she could've gained even more respect if the influencers liked it without knowing the owner.

[@Scj940]

I’m glad you’re talking about this because ever since I noticed they’ve been sold in Target it makes me feel terrible that no one will know the despicable things the brand owner did to launch this brand. I remember when it first happened, Hyram completely erased the brand’s presence from his YT channel and had to address his followers. I just saw in one of his best of 2022 videos he mentioned one of the brand’s cleansers and I was so disappointed in him. I know a lot of people love him but he also has a lot of haters and the main thing they attack is his credibility. So how he could support Naturium again after the way they put his reputation at risk is beyond me.

[@veronicaroblesleon9008]

I do wonder too why his skincare brand never got so big as I thought it would get

[@lizstyla88]

Part of the way influencers sell their products is through the relationship they build with their followers. They ideally can create a more personal connection that would make the follower more likely to trust the influencer over say a larger corporation. Once the he influencer loses the audience's trust it is hard to come back from that. Unless you are Jaclyn Hill and have nine lives for some reason 😅

[@AnnaItem]

when all this came out, i was following some random micro-influencer who posted about how much she haaaaates liars and IMMEDIATELY after posted about Naturium…. so I DM’ed her and (politely!) told her what was going on, and she proceeded to cuss me out and publicly flame me 🤩

[@caitroseco6752]

Naturium’s products are legitimately amazing products and despite this scandal they have been extremely successful. If Susan had been honest imagine what could have been!

[@Cfaerify]

I was a big fan of hers and witnessed all of this first hand. Her apology video was the worst thing I’ve ever seen. Crocodile tears, gaslighting, pointing fingers and hiding behind her team. There’s no way in hell I’m supporting Naturium or her, ever. I actually do believe the theory that she didn’t want it to be called an “influencer” brand. But once she realized that Naturium wasn’t getting on anyone’s radar she had to get out there and promote it herself because an announcement after months of it actually being out would’ve been weird and she would’ve had to admit that without her “influence”, the brand wasn’t successful.

[@Iamyl4]

What sucks is I actually like these products and I was aware of what happened when I purchased them in target. The saddest thing is the products are good enough imo to speak for themselves, so she didn’t need to lie. I will prob still purchase them tho just being honest

[@Thegeekponygirl]

agreed it is a damn shame

[@Caffeinated.Regret]

I agree! It feels weird to know its history but it does help me personally and I feel like since my skin adjusts to products weirdly, finding new products is hard and I'll probably continue their use

[@kimjohnson8471]

The absolute best! I use the body wash, Vit C,hyaluronic acid, and face wash. Sorry to hear this....but the stuff works and I'm going to keep buying.

[@Iamyl4]

@@Caffeinated.Regret exactly! I love the rice and their gel cleanser. Also their cleansing balm is hands down the best I ever tried and unique in that it’s a gel like oil in a squeeze tube so it’s more sanitary

[@Caffeinated.Regret]

@@Iamyl4 yes!!! I loveeee their cleaning balm in tube! It’s so easy and It’s lasted me so long because of how easy it is to get the right amount!!

[@miraino15]

She didn’t have to review it herself, she could just of sent it to people without them knowing it was hers and had them review it. But based on what went down my best guess is that she wanted free promotion and it blew up in her face. Stopped watching her videos after that. It’s not just about guidelines or laws, it’s about being an honest person.

[@Sliceof_joy]

I love how her uploads are perfectly timed for me in the usa even though she is in a completely different time zone

[@jodieflute5480]

Thanks for sharing this information. I remember her “reviewing” Naturium and thinking that it sounded interesting. And I also remember her “reviewing” The Ordinary and feeling like she was going into it extremely pessimistically and biased. You could tell she was testing out each product expecting to detest every single one of them. The whole thing just felt off. This video really helped piece everything together since I didn’t follow her KZbin channel much through each development.

[@CaptHB]

"I'm not cancelling anyone" Girl, I am 🔫 There's no way I can ever support this brand, her, or anyone who stays affiliated with her. To take your thoughts one step further; If I were to ever buy from this brand knowing what I know, it would be as if SUSan were calling me an idiot the entire time. 💀

[@LadyVenVen]

I haven’t watched a video from her or bought her products since the second video. There was no reason to lie so many times. After you got caught it was your chance to come clean, but she didn’t, so I moved on. I’m not cancelling or anything, but I except more from someone that is giving me advice on my skincare. When receipts also came out on fb that she was promoting products that she was getting paid for without disclosing it, it just solidified that I couldn’t watch her anymore. Because they were products she had previously not liked or she didn’t really agree on ingredients. Also, I switched to the skincare community after the makeup community was too shady and toxic. And then this happens.

[@misssunnybunny437]

Not gonna lie...I literally bought a Naturium Skincare product off of Amazon, thinking it was a random brand. I am shocked to find this out! I will say, the product did help reduce acne flare-ups; however, this makes me not want to purchase from them again. I'll probably look into buying from The Ordinary.

[@julietmimo7421]

so glad you covered this cause i feel like everyone kinda just moved on! she is beyond wrong for this. saw the brand at target and i wanted to try some so bad but as soon as i remembered why the brand was so familiar to me i was like no way. idc what the product is like her unethical ass is not scamming me NOPE

[@MellieDarcy]

Thank yoooooooou for continuing to speak about this. People forget so easily. I refuse to buy from her brand. I don’t care how many people say it’s amazing. Her brand will truly always suffer in some capacity from this and it’s what she deserves.

[@brendatan321]

Ive been using all Naturium for a year now and this is my first time hearing about this! I super agree that the entitlement and lack of transparency is super offputting. I also completely see how this can deter potential customers from supporting the brand. That being said, I also think that this is comparatively on a lower level of offenses products can commit (cheap household products made by prison labor, fast fashion sourced from bangladesh, racist/homophobic makeup brands). Not that multiple wrongs make a right, but since this is a case of her being shady and having a bad attitude rather than hurting people actively (except for the ordinary, though since that brand is very popular I doubt her word had much of an impact on their sales) I feel like it doesnt deter me much from buying from the brand. The products are amazing and affordable. The formulation is solid and I highly recommend them. I definitely have less respect for her as a person though.

[@kerry8461]

The Cassandra Bankson video was so obnoxious. She said nothing but “ggguuyyysss you can believe me I’m vouching for her” completely missing the point that taking KZbinrs word about this brand IS the scandal. I’m still disgusted by this whole mess. And now with mascaragate I hope people remember how Naturium started with falsehoods. jenLuvs video on this was great. She brought receipts.

[@josipag2185]

This woman is so irritaring. And she is so smart, apparently, had a diploma of chemistry, I mean hello, she is just estetician that had acne and found what is workong for her, she can comment something that works for her and her clients, but literally everything by reading the ingredients? 0 formula? 0 quantity? And OMG so irritating girl.

[@aarondavis2258]

I may be the minority in this, but as a Black man who uses her products because they are affordable & work for my skin I recognize the issues with what she's done. But in the same token, I'm not going to harp on them. As a consumer you have the right. By brands that you support & don't if you don't. And for the record, literally NO skincare brand is squeaky clean & plenty have had their share of BIG skincare scandals. AKA, Neutrogena, OLAY, Nivea, Cerave, ALL of them. Yes, including other influencer's skincare brands.

[@maloojisloves6586]

I was such a fan of Susan Yara. I watched all of her videos and subscribed to her everywhere. The way in which she announced that she was in fact involved with her skin care brand really upset me. She thought she could pull the wool over all of eyes? It was so insulting to me. The level of unethical behavior which she seemed to be completely unaware of was astounding. I was shocked and appalled by her behavior and the incredibly shady tactics she used to talk up her own brand. After that video where she revealed to all of her influencer friends that she was the co-founder showed me she was also willing to lie to her OWN FRIENDS. She made them all look so silly by doing that. I immediately unsubscribed from her, unfollowed her from all her socials and I REFUSE to purchase from anything she is involved with. My trust in her is irrevocably broken. THANK YOU for bringing attention to this important topic. All influencers should be held accountable for *properly* disclosing their affiliation with any and every brand they work with!

[@arthvrx]

Wow that’s so wrong. Can’t believe she used her popularity and reputation as a skincare influencer to spruik her own products… only coming out after she was pressured and going to be exposed… wow.. and then erasing all traces of her apology too and turning off all the comments … some truly shady dishonest behaviour. Thank u for exposing this.

[@MissKapanadze]

For me personally, this specific scandal isn’t a deal breaker for the brand itself, as i found out about it before i knew about Susan Yara or the drama surrounding it. I don’t think what she did was good, but to me it’s less harmful than some other shady practices that brands do that are deal breakers. However, it’s absolutely a deal breaker for Susan Yara as a content creator. While I never watched her before, I’m definitely never going to now and wouldn’t trust any reviews she puts out. We can dislike the owner without disliking the brand/products. Just my personal opinion and approach.

[@laviebohemia93]

I have purchased from Naturium, and enjoyed what I got. The Niacinamide cleanser is god tier. I hate that she started it off this way because what I’ve used is really good.

[@pineapple365]

So messed up what that Susan lady did. Every time I see her products in target I get annoyed.

[@AnotherLawyer93]

As someone from the Philippines, The Ordinary was a great brand to start with that wasn't exactly drugstore, but was relatively affordable and accessible compared to other foreign brands that was difficult to get a hold of. I had also gotten into skincare sometime 2019 and came across her vids, but when she trashed The Ordinary, I was really surprised. It's not for everyone, just like other skincare products have their own issues, but I'd never seen someone absolutely trash it like how she did and it gave really off vibes. I ended up getting a good skincare routine and never looked back at her vids lol. I didn't know it had drama that followed. Thanks for covering. You are looking fantastic as always.

[@nadine1729]

i’m going on a trip to the PH soon, can you recommend an SPF please? thank you!

[@AnotherLawyer93]

@@nadine1729 Depending on what part of the PH you're heading, most drugstores have good sunscreen. Dermplus 35spf is what I usually go for

[@MaresBarres]

@@nadine1729 Because of how humid and sweaty it is, always go for a water-resistant foreign sunscreen (American or East Asian) if you’re doing anything outside. You’ll notice locals don’t really wear sunscreen though, but will opt for parasols and sun-protective clothing. There are local sunscreens but I wouldn’t chance it if sunburn and cancer is a real risk for you.

[@morgianasartre6709]

I remember there being other problems with the brand too that got overshadowed by the launch drama, like them claiming a product was vegan when it had beeswax in it.

[@Sliceof_joy]

Thank you for being my favorite youtuber keeping me updated on people i dont know✨😂

[@angelikamakeup]

Thank you 💗

[@melchol2121]

I vaguely heard of the story before I bought a product but now after hearing it all, the entitlement and her response makes me upset and angry that she didn't take accountability immediately with honest remorse. especially with her vendetta against the ordinary, which I do love, that makes me think she was acting with a lot more deception and malicious intent than what I heard initially

[@Durhamred69]

The deception and false/angry apology reminds me of JH lipstick and company naming scandal. Glad you’re telling the story and helping people to be accountable for their actions. She should have just been honest or sent the items out, without doing the reviews herself. Hope she learns the lesson for the future.

[@kat0726]

I was literally about to purchase this skincare brand, and saw this today ( Friday ) and the whole situation makes me very uncomfortable 😣

[@karinapratiwi90]

I wasn't aware about this scandal and it makes me sad really, cause I'm currently using their Retinol and it has been working wonderfully for my skin 😔 Guess imma start to look into the inkey list or something

[@angelikamakeup]

I just got my boyfriend the inkey list retinol and it was reasonably priced - looks like a good formula too!

[@karinapratiwi90]

@@angelikamakeup Will try it out for sure once I run out of my Naturium one, thanks!

[@ukmary1968]

I mean, if it works

[@ccalde7]

I never got over this deceit and have never bought anything. There are so many better affordable skincare brands like Cocokind and Versed that I prefer to support!

[@hollybabyyy]

The ordinary is amaaaazing. Im pretty sure it introduced ALL of us into niacinimide and hylaronic acid. Its easy to understand and easy to find what u actually need

[@kalync.8232]

There's so much nuance in the "influencer brand" stigma that Susan just didn't understand. If an influencer presented themselves as objective and informed about the products they promote, like Susan, people would not associate her brand with the stigma so casually. She shot herself in the foot because she was obviously paranoid about the prejudice towards "influencer brands".

[@96unique2]

I don’t know if people really forgot about it. It seems to me that people either decided to accept the apology and purchased, or decided they didn’t want to support her. Both sets of people decided to move on with their lives and both types of the reactions are valid. Do we really need to rehash it every year? Purchase or dont Also, I think it helps that the reviews for most products are good, the products are more affordable, and there hasn’t really been any dishonesty since

[@grilledsleaze]

I seriously can’t get myself to buy these products either, I was shopping for body wash at target the other day and was looking for something with decent ingredients similar to what I use on my face and had her body wash in my hand but just couldn’t get myself to buy it and I feel better knowing I didn’t walk out of there giving her money because I decided when this broke that I couldn’t support someone as deceptive as her 🤷🏻‍♀️

[@shoppingwithshay]

Dove’s new body love wash line has skincare ingredients in it for your body! Highly recommend! 🥰

[@grilledsleaze]

@@shoppingwithshay wonderful thank you for the hot tip!!! I will be ordering Saltair once I finally land on what scent I want to try l!!lol so I needed a good placeholder in the meantime 🙃

[@amandaharris5055]

Naturium body wash is amazing though. Especially the glow oil and its affordable.

[@GivesMelissasABadName]

I’m with you. I remember when this all happened and have been shocked that so many people just let it go like it was no big deal.

[@macannaud]

I never knew about this scandal until seeing this video-so thank you so much for posting it! I just started watching her videos in early 2022 and had considered purchasing some of the products when I run out of my overload of current skincare products. But now that I know about all this I will NOT purchase anything from the brand and probably won’t watch any of her videos again. In fact Im already not a fan because she promoted another brands expensive ($50) eye serum that I bought solely based on her recommendation and it did nothing for me - was a waste of my money, so I don’t trust her recommendations in general and this just seals the deal.

[@jeanams07]

You know she used to say "you don't need an eye serum because using a heavy moisturizer is just as good", so she is even going against her own real beliefs by pushing that rye serum. I don't necessarily agree or disagree, I think a good eye serum can make a difference but I also think that a good drug store or similar priced one is just as good as most expensive ones especially if you know what ingredients to look for. I have compared a lot of those luxury ones to cheaper ones, and often the cheaper ones have just as good, if not better, ingredients.

[@emirojas92]

I remember when this happened. I'm surprised to see it yearssss later on my recommendations. I didn't think her brand would still be around.

[@doreenzimmerman7410]

Thank you for this video! It's a very well researched and put together presentation of the facts. I watched it happen in real time and have been extremely disappointed that Susan Yara committed a crime and many people helped her sweep the evidence under the rug by purchasing the products and allowing the brand to thrive. I thought her brand would flop back when she did her launch and apology videos and so many of us was appalled by her narcissistic behavior.

[@shoppingwithshay]

I’d love to see a rise and fall video of skincare by hyram. Not that he’s not big anymore, but definitely fell off after the launch of his brand.

[@nataliemadsen8369]

I'm glad Dr. Dray reviewed this brand. Theres a derm on you tube who promotes skincare that costs 250 euro!! The deception is obvious. 😔

[@brettgirl]

I bought some Naturium body wash a year ago from Amazon (used one bottle and went back to Olay lol) and recently wanted to get a retinol body lotion so one from Naturim came up. I didn't find out about the scandal until today basically. Didn't know who Susan Yara was until today, but I live under a rock. This is the second video I watched about it. I watched Dr Dray's review video last night. I will not support the brand because of it's CLEAR lack of transparency, disclosure, honesty, and integrity. I am disappointed that Dr Shaw from The Doctorly was featured in a promo video on her channel. And while I don't know the nature of their relationship, I can't help but think she's swindled him to do a promo, or paid him to sit next to her and say a few things so there is the association with a social media dermatologist. I removed the Naturium product from my shopping cart on Amazon and I won't consider the brand for any future purchases. I think she knew EXACTLY what she was doing. She knows her role to disclosure as an influencer and she didn't.

[@bbyfeather]

I only heard about her lying about owning the brand, but I didn't know she trashed the ordinary in the process. I did buy some of the products before I found out she lied, but none of them were that amazing anyways. But I haven't bought any since 🤷🏻‍♀️

[@lavendertwilight08]

So glad you posted this! I saw this brand back on my feed everywhere and I'm thinking did I miss something? Amazing you can scam people, wait for the dust to settle, and then continue on

[@vickyjija3319]

Im just annoyed that she can’t admit her wrong doing and instead she’s just shifting blame and excusing her behavior. Had she just announce this as her brand this whole thing would’ve been avoidable.

[@elettramia6380]

I Personally love a lot of the ordinary’s items . They keep it simple and clean .

[@foreverdreaming8999]

And they're affordable :D she probably knew they were her biggest competitors in the drugstore skincare Market what a shady lady

[@heatherlee2047]

I remember watching the video where she revealed that it was her own brand and feeling so lied to and manipulated. ☠

[@genegoss1160]

So I knew about this situation and I still decided to try two things from the brand and my opinion was like Dr. Dray. This was mediocre at best. None of the products seemed to have the same potency as some that were more and less expensive. I wasn’t a fan and haven’t purchased since. I still watch her content but I also give each product recommendation a little side eye. We all make mistakes but when you have a platform like Susan’s you have to be truthful and transparent as possible with your following. Cancelation could knock on your door with no warning.

[@DVelez-wz3fe]

Look up her racist posts that she has deleted but you can still find on the internet. She seems to be quite unethical and narcissistic

[@Lushaholic24]

Thank you for talking about this!! I kept wondering what everyone else thought about this situation or if they’ve just forgotten because I see more and more people reviewing the brand. It’s interesting to me how her explanation for her actions was “because she wanted honest opinions” from others, when there will always be people giving their ruthless opinion online no matter what. I get that she didn’t want her friends in the industry to give biased reviews or whatever but there would be so many people reviewing the brand that there would be a lot of different opinions out there anyway. And she makes it like she was doing US a favor by “ensuring honest reviews” this way.

[@SofiaPerezLlanos]

This was so crazy. But honestly, all she had to do, was come out and said "u know what? I lied, I made a mistake, I hurt a lot of people and lied even to my colleagues. I take responsibility for it, it was wrong and I am very sorry and hope u can still support my brand" that's it. I'll honestly never understand why it is so hard for people in the media to own up to their bs, we all make mistakes. It is sad for Susan bc people really respected and trusted her as far as I know, she didn't need to do all that.

[@FIONA21ful]

100% Im with you on this, its underhanded, very unpleasant & dismissive treatment of us the public & ultimately the buyers , by a person in a position of trust. I feel she disrespected her audience who put her in this very priveledged position, when she said " I didnt want this to be an Influencer Brand". She IS an influencer! yet she is blatantly obviously ashamed of being such... in saying all of that kind of stuff instead of admitting that she tried to pull a stunt, she cheapened the whole idea of her "influencer" job, cheapened herself...and threw shade on her apoarently cheap audience whom she underestimated when she didnt trust them with transparency & honesty. I wouldnt buy her stuff now , she comes across as superior & entitled. I only know who she is because I watch her make up person Nikki la Rose. I came to see who Susan Yara was because Nikki works with her ... and I guess I found out!!

[@silviii9681]

I'm surprised this is the first time I'm hearing about this. She did shoot herself on the foot with how she did things . Like I understand wanting fair reviews, she could've just not said ANYTHING about the brand while people review it and then make a video of reviewing/ explaining that it's her brand , her products and why they're amazing. There's like so many things she could've done instead of lying to her audience and friends

[@jb44421]

Yeah. Dr. Dray gave the most honest feedback. By the way Susan Yara talks about product formulations, you can tell she has no idea what is in her products.

[@sillykitten202]

I have never purchased from the brand for the same reason. Weird other people swept it under the rug - glad to see someone talking about it! lol

[@Lovemyson23]

I really liked her reaction videos but when this happened I found it very manipulating and immoral and I stop watching or interact with her or her brand. It's a no for me... the ordinary on the other hand is a hit or miss in a lot of products but it's accessible skincare with good products so... the bashing she did I think backfired 🤷‍♀️ love your channel ,new subscriber

[@Dianne2597]

Trashing a GOOD skincare brand just to promote your own.. disgusting. Like "yeah, ordinary sucks, how about Notorium guys?" 🥴

[@naomim66]

Actually so glad you covered this, I had no idea and was still subbed 😳 how is her brand still a thing?!?! Absolutely a scam!!

[@Alice-ib4cz]

I never forgot! It’s always in the back of my mind. I assumed no one else remembered as people still used her products. 😭 it’s shady I’m not touching them.