It’s that time of year again… influencer holiday gift guides have hit the blogs. Anyone else guilty of shopping these lists? We love influencer recommendations, considering they try so many new products all of the time – they always know what’s best. But can we trust these recommendations? Or are influencers being paid by brands to promote these gifts?
Here’s the Vitamin C inside scoop to the question: Are influencer holiday gift guides sponsored?
Arielle Charnas (Something Navy) x Shopbop
Arielle curates an entire list of holiday gifts on the Shopbop website, including this adorable headband and this plaid jacket for her husband. View the list here.
The Vitamin C Verdict: Fully Sponsored by Shopbop, however she did show off her family enjoying the gift selections at home on her Instagram Story.
Happily Grey x Missoma
Mary features Lucy Williams’ (another influencer!) Square Malachite Necklace and the Large Zenyu Hoops as a part of her list. See her picks here!
The Vitamin C Verdict: While the list itself isn’t sponsored, Mary is a Missoma partner and has worked on sponsored posts with them in the past.
Alexandrea Garza x T3 and Miranda Frye
An every year staple, Alexandrea releases her holiday guide YouTube videos, featuring products from the brands she reps like this T3 hair tool and these Miranda Frye pieces.
The Vitamin C Verdict: Alexandrea makes a commission off of codes for both T3 and Miranda Frye. Yet, these are the items she has used and mentioned again and again, so her high opinion of the brands is genuine.
Tati Westbrook x Tati Beauty and Halo Beauty
Tati Westbrook recommends her own products from Tati Beauty and Halo Beauty in her holiday gift guide video.
The Vitamin C Verdict: While it is a shameless plug for her own product, Tati puts her blood, sweat, and tears into her brands. The products are quality and topnotch, so they would be great gifts.
Yin2MyYang x Cariuma
Charlotte & Sophie Bickley have an extensive Holiday Guide, none sponsored but containing affiliate links through Shopstyle. We recently did see Sophie receive Cariuma shoes in PR, which she included in the list.
The Vitamin C Verdict: We love a non-spon list to give honest picks for holiday lists, and love that they included a PR gift from a brand. It demonstrates that they really like Cariuma shoes to recommend them as a gift!
