Pulling up in a McLaren supercar to a crowd of hundreds of shrieking fans – each of whom had paid £38 to be there – you’d be forgiven for thinking the guest of honour was a Hollywood A-lister.
Instead, the sold-out birthday party at the BOXPARK retail space in Liverpool on Sunday was thrown for 11-year-old TikTok star Lacey.m.xxx.
The venue was shut down for the event and a red carpet laid down for the influencer, who arrived in a bright pink ball gown.
But this was no ordinary children’s party: inside, the atmosphere was like a nightclub with TikTok-famous DJ Khloe Kalvina blasting expletive-ridden songs, dancers performing on stages and a VIP section separating Lacey from much of the crowd.
That’s because, according to insiders, this wasn’t a birthday celebration at all. It seems to have been a cynical advertising ploy.
Lacey began posting on TikTok in September 2024 – aged just ten – making daily videos about her passion for make-up, trying new lip glosses and perfumes.
Above all, she told followers, she loved P.Louise, a cosmetics brand owned by Manchester-born influencer Paige Louise Williams.
‘My therapy is going shopping at @PLOUISE, it is the BEST place ever. I love it,’ she said in one video.
TikTok star Lacey, 12, poses with her mum, Laura, at her birthday party – which some concerned parents have argued was nothing more than a ‘big money-making scheme’
‘Lacey.m.xxx’ holds hands with influencer and cosmetics guru Paige Louise Williams, who provided goodie bags stuffed with P.Louise products at the event
Within a few months, the content creator gained thousands of followers – predominantly other young girls.
Soon, Lacey was noticed by her idol, who followed her account in October 2024, commenting on one of her videos: ‘You’re the cutest’.
Ever the savvy businesswoman, Ms Williams spotted an advertising opportunity. She signed up Lacey as a ‘brand ambassador’ for P.Louise – a role which involved Lacey hosting TikTok Live videos encouraging viewers to buy products, applying make-up on camera and even releasing her own collection.
Lacey now has 1.7 million followers on TikTok. And so, as her 12th birthday approached, Ms Williams saw another chance to raise her brand’s profile.
Quickly, it became clear Lacey was not destined to be the star of this event. Instead, it would be P.Louise.
Tickets for the party cost £38, with Lacey herself announcing beforehand that about 2,000 people had signed up to get early access. It’s estimated the event could have made up to £54,000.
Goodie bags stuffed with P.Louise products were handed out, stalls sold make-up throughout the venue and another cosmetics brand aimed at young girls – Give Me Cosmetics – was also present selling and distributing items. Kinder Bueno milkshakes were served, too, and a strict red-carpet dress code was enforced.
But for many who attended, the reality was far from glamorous.
‘The event was an absolute shambles from start to finish,’ one parent wrote in a review afterwards. ‘We left before the end as my daughter and her friend were really upset they never got the chance to meet Lacey. She was basically in the VIP area the whole time.
‘We waited in the queue for food for 30 minutes, got to the front and Lacey’s mum walked in front of us and put a big order in, so we were then told they weren’t taking any more orders for the next 40 minutes.
‘Lacey herself went on stage and was swearing, which is not very child-friendly. It was all just a big money-making scheme and I wish I’d never bothered wasting my money on tickets.’
P.Louise was founded in 2014 by Williams, pictured, and reportedly made £71million in sales last year alone
Another attendee described the event as ‘absolutely vile’, adding: ‘The worst experience my daughter’s ever had. Disgusting treatment all round.’
And aside from the anger about the event, some were concerned for Lacey’s welfare.
‘This girl is being exploited by her mum and auntie but also by P.Louise,’ one person wrote on TikTok. ‘It’s sickening. Exposing her to the influencer world at that age is too much.’
Others claimed the event was a safeguarding issue having spotted adults, without children of their own, attending the event.
Another said: ‘There’s no hate for the child at all. It’s the adults. Grown men and women with no children going to a child’s birthday party makes my stomach drop.’
Several commenters claimed they had reported Lacey’s account out of concern for her welfare. Others questioned how an event attended by hundreds of strangers could possibly be justified as a child’s birthday party.
‘The fact tickets were sold and hundreds of strangers turned up meant random people could attend,’ one comment read. ‘This is exactly why the law needs to change about the age of kids on social media.’
Lacey professes to be ‘parent-managed’ – and, indeed, her mother Laura and aunt Natalie both regularly appear in her social media content.
For critics, this raises uncomfortable questions about consent, safeguarding and who exactly is benefiting from Lacey’s TikTok fame.
‘For decades, brands targeted children directly knowing they’d nag their parents until they gave in,’ one commenter wrote. ‘Toy companies did it. Fast food companies did it. Even cereal brands.
‘Regulators forced them to stop because it was exploitative. What we’re seeing here is the same thing, just repackaged for TikTok.’
The backlash surrounding Lacey’s ‘birthday party’ comes at a particularly febrile time for P.Louise and its founder.
Lacey’s TikTok account shows the moment the 12-year-old rocked up at her exclusive birthday party in a McLaren supercar
Ms Williams built her beauty empire on TikTok, where she rose to fame sharing make-up tutorials and livestreams. The brand, founded in 2014, reportedly made £71million in sales last year.
But controversy has followed its rapid expansion. In November, I revealed that Ms Williams had sold tickets to a highly anticipated Christmas-themed ‘Pinkmas’ event – before applying for any planning permission.
Despite charging fans up to £80 a ticket and promising a ‘fully immersive festive experience’, the event was abruptly cancelled, with Trafford Council confirming that no planning consent, building regulations or licensing applications had been submitted.
Elsewhere, the brand has faced criticism for inappropriate product names, including a ‘Bad Bitch Energy’ lip gloss set and an eyeshadow palette titled ‘Between The Sheets’, despite its school-age customer base.
More recently, Ms Williams was accused of misleading customers after selling £50 pyjamas advertised as ‘100 per cent cotton’ that were later revealed to be mostly viscose – a highly flammable and lower-quality material. The product description was quietly changed after complaints.
Against that backdrop, critics say Lacey’s birthday party represents something far more troubling than a poorly run event.
‘This is a businesswoman monetising a child’s popularity,’ one source told me. ‘Williams has the resources and knowledge to know better.’
Last night a representative for Lacey told the Mail: ‘Lacey was not exploited. P.Louise did not receive any money from the event and only provided goodie bags as a gesture of goodwill because Lacey supports the brand. £56,000 was not made from the event.’
For now, it is Lacey who remains at the centre of a storm she didn’t create – and whose childhood some fear is fast being hijacked in the name of profit.
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