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$276 for hair ties? Skims offers advent calendar refunds after online backlash

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Cite

Stechyson, N. (2026, November 9). $276 for hair ties? Skims offers advent calendar refunds after online backlash. CBC News. https://www.cbc.ca/news/entertainment/skims-advent-calendar-backlash-9.7414783?cmp=rss

Dated from the outlet's own feed. Check the original for its byline.

CBC News · collected 2026-11-09 · by Natalie Stechyson

Quick Summary

Kim Kardashian’s brand Skims has faced significant online backlash after selling an advent calendar priced at $276 CDN ($148 USD) that disappointed customers found to contain items like hair ties and bobby pins deemed overly expensive. Influencers and content creators posted viral unboxing videos criticizing the product, leading Skims to offer refunds or credits to all purchasers. The company acknowledged in statements that the calendar did not meet some customers’ expectations but has not provided further details beyond initial media responses.
Written by AI on 2026-11-09, from this article's own text only (the story summary below draws on all the coverage).

AI analysis

Story summary

Kim Kardashian's SKIMS brand faced intense backlash online over its pricey $276 (or $148 USD) advent calendar, which disappointed customers described as containing low-cost items like hair ties and keychains. A TikTok user who opened the calendar reported being increasingly frustrated with each item revealed, such as a SKIMS-branded foam squishy and Christmas ornaments, leading to over 65 million views for her video. Commenters agreed that the contents were underwhelming compared to the price tag, suggesting it might be "scams" or even prompting calls for legal action. In response to the criticism, SKIMS offered refunds to customers who purchased the calendar.

Written for “Kim Kardashian Skims Backlash” on 2026-11-10, grounded in this article and the 1 other(s) covering the same event.
Why this leaning score
This article does not take a side on a contested political question, so it has no leaning score. That is an answer rather than a gap: a match report or a rescue can be warmly or critically written without being left or right, and scoring it anyway is how approval of a subject gets recorded as a political position.
No political leaning scored for article 139501 · logged 2026-11-10

Story

Kim Kardashian Skims Backlash
Entertainment · 2 article(s) covering the same event. See how they differ ↓

Compared with similar articles

This article reads unscored and hedges 4% of its claims. Each row says how that neighbour differs.
The Daily Wire
Hedges 0 of 17 claims Outlet record 95/100
How this article was measured signals, leaning charts, publisher record, byline, topics and claims

Signals How these are calculated →

Claims extracted
25
sentences that state something as happening or true
Uncertain
4%
1 of 25 hedged ("reportedly", "may", "according to")
Leaning
not political
takes no side on a contested political question
Publisher signals
71/100
CBC News's corrections and hedging, across everything collected from it. Not a measure of accuracy.
Outlets on this story
2
Entertainment
Same framing elsewhere
1
articles that frame the event the way this one does
Analyzed 2026-11-09 · how these are computed

How this is being covered How these are calculated →

Article leaning vs. publisher reliability
Source leaning vs. consistency

Publisher

CBC News · 2046 article(s) · 6 correction(s) detected
Running correction rate · 6 correction(s)

Who wrote this

Natalie Stechyson
34 article(s) here · 1 carrying a prediction
'For some, the calendar didn't meet expectations,' says rep from Kim Kardashian's apparel brand The contents of the Skims 2026 accessories advent calendar have been described as what you might find in the bottom of your purse, on the floor of a car, or behind your dresser when you pull it away from the wall.
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Also by Natalie Stechyson
Nothing else under this byline is closely related to this article, so these are simply their most recent.
All 34 articles by Natalie Stechyson →

Topics

@wetsloppyswollen CBC News Page Six Skims TikTok

Subjects

Skims ORG · 6× TikTok ORG · 4× Dior ORG · 3× Chanel ORG · 2× Kayla Ryan PERSON · 2× Kim Kardashian's PERSON · 2× @wetsloppyswollen ORG · 1× Brittany Shaw PERSON · 1× CBC News ORG · 1× Page Six ORG · 1×

Narrative

Some people have noted, the product description online details exactly what can be found in the calendar each day: a bear keychain, hair elastics, scrunchies, bobby pins, a squishie, bra elastic hairbands, more bobby pins, a comb keychain, a logo keychain, more scrunchies and a faux fur compact mirror keychain.
framing: assertive · carried by 1 article(s) · first seen 2026-11-09
'For some, the calendar didn't meet expectations,' says rep from Kim Kardashian's apparel brand The contents of the Skims 2026 accessories advent calendar have been described as what you might find in the bottom of your purse, on the floor of a car, or behind your dresser when you pull it away from the wall.

Claims (25 extracted, 1 hedged)

Skims offers advent calendar refunds after online backlash asserted
Skims → offer → backlash
'For some, the calendar didn't meet expectations,' says rep from Kim Kardashian's apparel brand The contents of the Skims 2026 accessories advent calendar have been described as what you might find in the bottom of your purse, on the floor of a car, or behind your dresser when you pull it away from the wall. uncertain
you → meet → wall
After intense customer backlash, Kim Kardashian's apparel brand is offering refunds to anyone who purchased the calendar. asserted
who → offer → calendar
The package costs $276 Cdn (or $148 US — a relative premium), is advertised as "12 fun days of surprises" and contains an assortment of hair ties, bobby pins and key chains. asserted
package → cost → ties
Viral unboxing videos posted over the weekend by disappointed customers have called the pricey calendar "a mess" and a scam. asserted
videos → post → calendar
"Are we serious right now?" exclaimed influencer Kayla Ryan as she opened the package for Day 4 to reveal three pink bobby pins. asserted
she → exclaim → pins
She called it "the worst advent calendar I have ever seen" in her Saturday video which accrued more than 20 million views as of Monday morning. asserted
which → call → morning
"I’m hoping this is a prank and the last one is a $150 gift card for all my money back," she added, after opening Day 9 to reveal an ornamental keychain comb that can't actually comb hair. asserted
that → hop → hair
"This is the last one and it better be made of gold," another content creator says in a TikTok video with nearly 65 million views before opening Day 12 to reveal a furry compact mirror on a key chain and then grimacing. asserted
creator → make → chain
"So, basically, everything that falls between my car seats," one person commented on the video; another described it as "wild for maybe $20 worth of stuff." asserted
another → fall → stuff
In statements provided to multiple media outlets, a Skims spokesperson said the company was "aware of the feedback" about the advent calendar and acknowledged that "for some, the calendar didn't meet expectations." asserted
calendar → provide → expectations
The company told told Page Six they "personally contacted every customer who purchased the calendar" and offered either a full refund or credit towards their other products. asserted
who → tell → products
CBC News reached out to Skims for further comment but has not received a reply. asserted
News → reach → reply
'Disappointed they got what they paid for' asserted
they → disappoint → what
In 2021, Chanel was roasted online for a $1,025 calendar full of stickers, a magnet, a keychain and other miscellaneous branded items in addition to a miniature lipstick, hand cream and small bottle of perfume. asserted
Chanel → roast → perfume
A year later, Dior was slammed for a nearly $5,000 advent calendar that mostly contained candle accessories and scented soaps in addition to small bottles of perfume. asserted
that → slam → perfume
Some commentators have criticized high-end advent calendars for being little more than luxury status symbols driven by the unboxing craze. asserted
commentators → criticize → craze
Last year, for instance, Dior sold an $11,000 calendar. asserted
Dior → sell → calendar
In 2019, Tiffany & Co. released a limited advent calendar that contained 24 pieces of jewelry and cost $158,000. asserted
that → release → 158,000
Here’s how the humble advent calendar has gone bananas Luxury brand Chanel roasted online for $1,025 Advent calendar full of stickers, other trinkets The Skims advent calendar is currently sold out with a waitlist. asserted
calendar → ’ → waitlist
Some people have noted, the product description online details exactly what can be found in the calendar each day: a bear keychain, hair elastics, scrunchies, bobby pins, a squishie, bra elastic hairbands, more bobby pins, a comb keychain, a logo keychain, more scrunchies and a faux fur compact mirror keychain. asserted
what → note → calendar
"While I agree the contents are ridiculously overpriced, we need to have a conversation about personal accountability as consumers," one person wrote on Threads. asserted
person → agree → Threads
"If the contents were disclosed, you ignored the description, spent $148 [US], and then acted completely blindsided by what you received, some of that responsibility belongs to YOU." asserted
some → disclose → YOU
A Toronto influencer who goes by the name Glamzilla online defended the advent calendar in a TikTok video, where she argued it's about the experience of opening something leading up to the holidays rather than a "big gift." asserted
it → go → holidays
She was dragged in the video's comments, with some accusing of "gaslighting" and being insensitive to the price. asserted
some → drag → price
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