Estée Lauder Apologizes To Korean Consumers For “Racist” Controversy

A Korean woman recently shared her experience of ordering one shade of Estée Lauder powder foundation only to receive another shade along with a note notifying her that the shade that was given would suit Asian skin tones better.

This sparked a “racist” controversy with netizens questioning why the department store she shopped at would send consumers a product they didn’t even order in exchange for what they wanted.

Following the controversy, Estée Lauder released a formal apology.

Our brand recently sent a portion of our consumers a different shade of the matte powder foundation along with a very inappropriate note.

— Estée Lauder

Along with their sincere apologies, they assured consumers that they take the matter very seriously.

We’d like to sincerely apologize to consumers who received a different shade from what they ordered as well as the note. This behavior does not match our value of the individual beauty of all our consumers, and as such, all executives and staff of our brand take this very seriously.

— Estée Lauder

Estée Lauder acknowledged how the incident must’ve disappointed not only the consumers affected but those who have respected the brand.

We cherish our consumers, so we’d like to not only apologize to the consumers who purchased an item, but all consumers who expected to see a better version of us as a brand.

— Estée Lauder

They then shared how they plan to prevent such incidences from happening in the future.

We’ll be sure to intensify our internal education so that this never happens again. We will also inspect the process that led to this incident in continued efforts to meet your expectations.

— Estée Lauder

Estée Lauder concluded with yet another apology to all those affected by the inappropriate behavior.

We apologize once again to consumers who have used our brand as well as all consumers for the harm we’ve caused.

— Estée Lauder