'This is a joke': Chanel roasted on TikTok for underwhelming $1,150 Christmas advent calendar

Chanel is touting its very first advent calendar as "unlike any other". Well, they certainly aren't lying — the collectible has gone viral, but for all the wrong reasons.

Complaints have surfaced online about the underwhelming contents of the $1,150 calendar, including a viral TikTok which has amassed over 15 million views since it was first posted on Dec 3.

The video, posted by one Elise Harmon, started off as an unboxing where she showed off the calendar.

Elise rated the calendar, which is shaped like a Chanel No. 5 bottle, "10 out of 10" on the packaging front, but things quickly went downhill when she opened her first box to reveal some stickers.

"This is a joke. Stickers? Stickers?"

@eliseharmon

Worth the hype? Probably not but it is pretty

♬ It's Beginning to Look a Lot like Christmas - Michael Bublé

What followed was a series of videos of her unboxing more items such as a fabric pouch (with nothing inside), a flipbook and a key ring, and getting increasingly disappointed.

After unearthing a tiny 6g jar of body cream from the calendar, she sarcastically commented, "I'm pretty sure this is enough cream for my left arm."

She also wasn't too impressed by a ceramic bracelet made to resemble the Chanel No. 5 bottle's wax seal, commenting that it's more like a "plastic bottle cap".

All in all, among the 27 boxes in the calendar, there were only four full-size products: the iconic perfume (U.P. $128), a hand cream (U.P. $87), a Rouge Allure Velvet lipstick (U.P. $54) and a bottle of Le Vernis nail polish (U.P. $42).

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Netizens were similarly unimpressed, and took to her comments section to roast the luxury brand.

"I think Sephora has better free stuff than that," one said.

Another wrote, "Girl, if you go to a Chanel counter in any department store they will give you those for free."

The online drama took another turn when Elise alleged that Chanel had blocked her on TikTok.

However, according to the New York Times, Gregoire Audidier, the international communication and client experience strategy director at Chanel Fragrance and Beauty, later clarified in an email: "The recent claim of a person being blocked by Chanel on TikTok is inaccurate.

"We have never blocked access to the Chanel TikTok page to anyone, because it is not an active account and no content has ever been published."

He added, "Our pages are open to everyone, and our followers are free to express their feelings and opinions, whether they are enthusiastic or critical."

Elise is far from the only person who has expressed their disappointment over Chanel's advent calendar.

Back in November, the issue made waves on Chinese microblogging platform Weibo, with the hashtag #Chanelblindbox reaching over 46 million views.

kimberlylim@asiaone.com