Facial masks of L'Oréal Photo: VCG

France-based beauty and cosmetics giant L'Oréal offered coupons to customers in compensation after two Chinese top livestreamers announced on Wednesday they suspended their cooperation with the brand, as many Chinese customers accused the brand of false advertisement during the Double 11 online shopping festival.

L'Oréal said it will offer a 200 yuan ($31.32) coupon to customers who spent 999 yuan or more on one of its facial masks in the brand's flagship online store during the presale of its Double 11 festival on tmall.com. The coupon and will be effective until June 20, 2022.

L'Oréal apologized to consumers on Thursday morning in connection to their complex promotion mechanism and any problems it had caused. L'Oréal said they had initiated a special inspection group with local government authorities to address consumer feedback.

According to media outlet The Paper, at the end of October, several livestreamers including Li Jiaqi, sold one of L'Oréal's facial masks on livestream platforms, with the brand announcing that it was offering the "biggest discount of the year" for it. Customers could buy 50 masks for 429 yuan ($67.30).

However, after a few days, in early November, many consumers who bought the masks found that in L'Oréal's livestream platform they could buy 50 pieces for 257 yuan ($40.30), nearly half the price they paid.

The reduction in price was applicable to customers who got coupons issued by L'Oréal from November 1 to 3 worth 200 yuan ($31), which could be used on any purchase over 999 yuan ($156), according to the report.

Top Chinese livestreamers Li Jiaqi and Wei Ya issued statements on Wednesday evening on Chinese social media platform Sina Weibo announcing that they would suspend their cooperation with the L'Oréal, criticizing the incident as it is not fair to their customers. 

According to the two statements, both internet influencers have carried out repeated negotiations with the brand but have not reached an agreement on this incident. If the brand fails to provide a reasonable solution in 24 hours they will compensate the customers, the influencers said in their statements.