Sephora is the one-stop shop for makeup and beauty addicts. However, like any other workplace, some of the employees can be total duds. The problem with that is: When customer service is bad, it can leave you feeling bad — especially when things like vanity are concerned.
People walk into Sephora, sometimes in their most vulnerable state. They're looking for skin care solutions for acne or (because society hates old people) to reduce the signs of aging. They're hoping to walk out of the store feeling more confident, but in these Sephora horror stories, they end up feeling so much worse.
The woman who was told she "must feel ugly."
The woman who was told Sephora doesn't carry makeup for people with dark skin.
The woman who was told she was so pale she looked "sickly."
The 17-year-old girl who got told she "looked dirty" because she had regular, old, teenage acne.
The 24-year-old who got told she looked too old for her age.
The woman who was class-shamed for not "looking the part" so to speak.
The woman who just wanted a new foundation but got shamed for having acne instead.
The other woman who was class-shamed but fought back.
The person accused of shoplifting because they ... had acne.
The woman who wanted a makeover but was told there was no way to make her look better.
The Sephora employee who doesn't GAF about your recent foot surgery.
The person who was told they can't afford Marc Jacobs.
A 23-year-old walks into Sephora at 10 a.m. just looking for a few samples before the VIB Rouge sale, but all she got was some serious ageism.
Worst Sephora experience with the rudest associate ever.
My blood is still boiling from a recent experience I had at the Americana Sephora in Glendale, CA. I've never had an employee speak to me in such a condescending tone.
Before I begin venting, let me just say that I walked into Sephora with a completely bare face. Also, I'm 23 years old and Asian so I probably looked like a baby who didn't deserve "proper" customer service? I don't know.
With Sephora's November VIB sale coming up, I wanted to get a new foundation and went in to sample some foundations I've been meaning to try. After spending a good amount of time shade-matching myself, I grabbed my shades in Tarte's Amazonian Clay, Estee Lauder's Double Wear, and KVD's Lock-It Tattoo, and TF's Born This Way.
I went to the nearest employee and asked if I could grab some samples of the four foundations I picked out. I knew four was a lot, but it wasn't busy (I went in at 10:30AM) and I tried to sound as polite as possible while explaining that I wanted to try them out before purchasing one during their semi-annual VIB sale. This lady then proceeded to give me a very loud sigh and a judgemental up-and-down glance. Then she said, "You know, Sephora has a policy to only give out two samples, right?" I was taken aback because I was never informed of this in all my years of shopping at Sephora. It was also weird because I was just at this branch a week ago with my friend and she got more than two samples.
Maybe this was a newer policy? Either way, she didn't have to have such a haughty attitude. I would've completely understood if she said it in a nicer tone.. I replied, "Oh, sorry.. I had no idea. I came last week with my friend and she got more than two, haha.. May I just sample Tarte and Estee Lauder, please?" She then rolled her eyes and walked away without saying anything. I followed behind her and watched her make two of the dinkiest samples I've ever been given, lol. When I reluctantly commented on how little she was giving me, she said, "These samples oxidize VERY quickly so I can't give you a lot. You have to use them by tomorrow or the shades are going to change and you're going to think that they're not your match." I had nothing to say to that and I didn't even want to argue back at this point. I was just thinking, what the heck.. I've never had an issue with samples noticeably changing shades after one day.
Here's a picture for reference: https://imgur.com/L8mgCVW
You can't really tell, but that Tarte sample is just a small drop and probably barely enough to cover my face. I also love how she just wrote "Light Sand" without writing the brand name and "2W2 ES" for Estee Lauder. Maybe I'm just being nitpicky but these just seemed very lazily made because of her judgement on my appearance. I could tell by her attitude that she probably thought that I was a broke kid who couldn't af
Why can't every Sephora employee just be Rihanna?
This article originally appeared on our sister sister Revelist and was republished with permission.