Photo: Screenshot from website

Huaxizi, the Chinese homegrown beauty brand, is a hot topic once again on China's social media platform Sina Weibo. It all started with the brand's spokesperson of advertising, Oksana Aleksandrovna Chusovitina, an Uzbekistani artistic gymnast. Dressed in Chinese traditional clothing Hanfu, she wore makeup which was stigmatized and billed as "inscrutable makeup."

In the promotional video, Chusovitina wears the white beautiful Hanfu with her hair in a high bun, holding a fan in her hand in an ancient environment. Although the ad campaign states that it wants to showcase the beauty of the orient with gentle Chinese makeup, the video caused controversy immediately after its release online. 

The hashtag about appreciation of the beauty of Huaxizi has racked up 240 million views on Sina Weibo.

Some thought that foreigners could be used to promote oriental aesthetics, but Chusovikina's makeup was just not beautiful.

Amid the widespread debate about the issue on Weibo, a number of commentators have complained about its practices. 

"It's downright ugly, Huaxizi is crazy!" one person said on Weibo. 

"It feels like it's going to ruin her reputation for the rest of her life," quipped one user. 

"Is that an endorsement problem?" another user asked, while another remarked, "it's beautiful for other brands endorsed by Chusovikina."

Under this condition, Huaxizi official claimed that Huaxizi represents the Chinese makeup and it may not be suitable for every customer's esthetics. Feedback and suggestions will be shown to the relevant departments, but there is no guarantee that the results of the feedback will be communicated. 

A search reveals that the advertisement has been hidden and handled by the official side of Huaxizi.

These controversies make Huaxizi embroiled in a trouble. 

The turnover of Huaxizi's Douyin live stream, which has tens of millions of followers, plummeted by 90 percent to less than 100,000 yuan ($15,000), and its official platform suspended live streaming for a period of time amid the intense controversy, according to media reports. 
For those in the know, it is not the first time Huaxizi has caused controversy on the internet.

The notable beauty influencer Li Jiaqi, is known as the "King of Lipstick." On September 10, he was trying to sell an eyebrow pencil by Huaxizi for 79 yuan ($10.83).  

When some viewers complained about the price being too expensive, Li hit back at the netizens by saying, "Why do you find a 79-yuan eyebrow pencil expensive? It's your problem. Haven't you gotten a raise after working so many years? Is it because you haven't been working hard enough? Domestic brands like Huaxizi have been facing a tough situation in recent years."  

His response dragged Huaxizi into a hot water. Although Li subsequently apologized twice for this, and was also in tears during the live streaming, it did not sit well with many of the followers.

The name Huaxizi was taken from a classic Chinese poem, The dimming hills present rare view in rainy haze. In recent years, witnessing an explosion in sales, Huaxizi has gradually become a "superior product of Chinese provenance."

While these storms among Huaxizi make people feel disappointed, insiders pointed out that the homegrown product should learn from this and build consumer trust and respect their feelings and seek to meet the demands of the consumer.