Refy Ditches Content Approval for Creator Campaign, Sees 200% Sales Jump

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5.4.2026

Quick Facts

Refy eliminated content approval for 12 paid creators promoting its new $40 skin tint
The campaign generated viral organic content about the brand’s bold strategy
Sales exceeded forecasts by 200% following the no-approval approach

Beauty brand Refy handed 12 creators complete control over paid content for its Skin Base Skin Tint launch, eliminating the standard approval process that defines most influencer marketing campaigns.

The $40 skin tint, available in 18 shades and infused with hyaluronic acid and patented Inclusium extract, exceeded sales forecasts by 200% following the campaign launch about a month ago.

“We don’t whitelist formulas, we don’t whitelist packaging,” said Charlotte Geoghegan, Refy’s head of brand marketing. “We develop everything ourselves, with our partners, and this product had been two years in the making. I was like, ‘I think we should put our money where our mouth is and just see what happens with it.’”

Seven of the 12 creators had worked with Refy previously, providing what brand consultant Lauren Spearman called a “safety net” that gave the company confidence to skip approvals.

The strategy generated unexpected viral content. Creator Kayla Ryan, who has 1.3 million TikTok followers, told her audience: “Refy is so confident in their new skin tints that they paid me to review these, and they said, ‘Don’t even show us. We don’t have to approve it. Just post.’ Hello? I have never had a brand do that with me before.”

Kelly Huang, with 820,000 TikTok followers, opened her video saying: “They actually emailed me and said, ‘We will pay you for your 100% honest opinion. Don’t need to see the video. Just go and post it,’ because they’re confident I’m gonna love it.”

The campaign sparked organic content from creators who weren’t part of the paid partnership. Farron Clark, who has 183,000 followers, posted: “I’ve got nobody I can speak to about Refy’s most recent influencer marketing campaign, so I’m going to speak to you girls about it, because it screams product confidence.”

Even smaller creators took notice. Kelsey Krystin, with 11,000 followers, said: “Refy was so confident in their latest launch, this Skin Base, that they didn’t even want to approve the influencers’ videos who were part of the launch campaign before they were posted.”

“Creator marketing has all become very similar,” Geoghegan said. “TikTok used to be a place for such creativity, and now there’s this kind of cookie-cutter formula.”

The approach breaks from industry norms where brands typically require final approval on influencer content before publication. Geoghegan believes the trust shown to creators may have influenced their reviews, even if they had been negative.

“I do wonder if, because we gave them that trust, they would have been tinged with a tiny bit more kindness, even if the reviews were negative,” she said.