In a recent TikTok clip, Kirst, a user on the platform, vented her frustration about the disappearance of certain affordable beauty products, specifically lashes that she used to purchase at Dollar Tree. Kirst lamented that these items are no longer available, emphasizing her inability to afford more expensive alternatives like lash extensions. Shopping at Dollar Tree due to budget constraints, she raised concerns about the impact on people’s appearance when affordable products are phased out, questioning, “Do you just want us all to be ugly?”
A commenter on Kirst’s video challenged her perspective, suggesting that she shouldn’t dictate where people shop. Kirst found it intriguing that this was the main takeaway from her video. Despite her passionate expression, she clarified in a caption that her criticism wasn’t entirely serious, stating, “Don’t take me too seriously; I felt like being a Karen today. But, for real, it is highly annoying when your go-to affordable products become ‘trending,’ and you lose access to them.”
This incident contributes to the ongoing dialogue about the glamorization and appropriation of elements of poor culture by wealthier individuals, often termed “cosplaying poverty.” In the fashion realm, similar controversies, like Nordstrom selling artificially muddied jeans at a high price in 2017, have sparked discussions about the symbolic meaning of such choices, as TV personality Mike Rowe characterized them as a “costume for wealthy people who see work as ironic — not iconic.”
