A Norwich vlogger has slammed a £50 advent calendar created by beauty vlogger and teen favourite Zoella as 'tacky and overpriced'.
The YouTube sensation, who has millions of teenage fans, has put her name to a '12 Day of Christmas Advent Calendar' to almost universally poor reviews, including many from those who have bought it for their children.
And Jack Dean, also known as JaackMate, added to the criticism in a video on YouTube which has so far had more than half a million views.
He starts the review in a sarcastic manner and states: 'So I've just realised that this calendar is actually super, super special. It's better than your traditional calendar because it only has half the doors for 10 times the price.'
He then goes onto review each item and said 'if you smell long and hard enough you can really smell the exploitation of young children' in relation to a candle and said she was 'taking the p***' when it came to a bag of confetti.
His friend in the video added: 'How is she sleeping at night knowing this is in the f****** shops?'
The calendar contains a bauble, a small packet of confetti, a star-shaped cookie cutter, a packet of seven stickers, a small bag, a 130g 'Festive Cookie' candle, a 30ml 'Christmas Clementine' room spray, a pen, a fluffy key ring, a gingerbread man-shaped cookie cutter, a mini notepad and a 130g 'Cozy Christmas' candle.
Various reviewers have claimed the entire contents can be bought for around £20. The calendar is being sold at Boots and has so far received an overall rating of one and a half stars.
One review read: 'Definitely not worth the money and very disappointing items within', while another said: 'Parents do NOT buy!! This calendar is worth £20 MAXIMUM. I am a huge fan of Zoella, however she has made a HUGE mistake with this.'
Continuing the negative reception, one added: 'I've followed Zoella for a long time but I'm honestly shocked that she allowed her name to be attached to this pile of tat. £50?!?! For literal tat. You're losing it girl!'
However, some reviews were more positive, with one buyer writing: 'I bought this and I am so glad I did. Everyone on here is saying it is overpriced, but let's face it, company's (sic) have to make money!'
In response to the criticism, Boots has halved the price of the product. A spokesperson said: 'We are sorry to hear that the price of the Zoella 12 Days of Christmas Advent Calendar has disappointed a number of customers.
'We always listen to feedback. We will be offering the product at half price during our Christmas promotion, where the calendar will be on sale for £25 from Thursday November 16.'
A spokeswoman for Zoella Lifestyle added: 'Zoe is incredibly proud of the Christmas collection and excited to see it in store.
'However, the pricing and in-store promotional strategy of the collection, including the calendar, is at the control of third parties and is not set by Zoe.'
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