A former Sephora employee shares hidden secrets about working for the beauty giant, including how unsanitary the makeup testers are.
“I worked for Sephora for five months. So, now I’m spilling all the tea on Sephora secrets they made us hide from you,” TikTok user Rocio (@rociorosesglam) says. The first scoop concerns the infamous shopping bags.
“We were forced to push shopping baskets on customers when they ‘looked like they were going to steal,’” she shares. “If you’ve ever been shopping around Sephora, then randomly offered a shopping basket, you may have looked suspicious to us.”
Rocio isn’t the only ex-employee to make this claim. Another former Sephora worker confirmed he was made to do the same thing to customers who looked like they were going to steal makeup. He additionally had to approach these customers by offering to help them.
Next, Rocio warns customers about Benefit eyebrow products.
“Benefit brow products have been making people lose their eyebrows. The amount of customer complaints specifically on the Benefit brow gel was crazy,” she says.
In 2017, Benefit recalled the fan favorite Gimme Brow eyebrow gel after the product failed quality standards, and caused eye irritation for multiple users. The company has not issued any other recalls since.
Sephora’s free sample program
The ex-Sephora employee then reveals a perk about the store’s recycling program.
“If you bring in your empty perfume bottle, we have a recycling program where we will give you a discount towards your next bottle of fragrance,” the content creator shares.
Last year, the beauty brand partnered with Pact in an attempt to reduce waste. Sephora also recycles other used makeup containers like lipstick, toothpaste, pumps, applicators, and more.
The ex-employee then details the store’s policy for free samples.
“We will make you a full-size sample baggie and we keep them behind the counter if you’ve spent more than $50 in the store,” she claims. “Ask us for one. You can get full-size of products in those.”
Sephora’s makeup testers
Despite the fact that makeup testers can be found all over the store, Rocio warns against using them.
“Never use any of the makeup testers. We don’t sanitize or replace them ever,” she states.
The ex-employee adds, “I once saw a girl get a lip infection after doing her makeup with the Fenty gloss bomb testers.”
Like Rocio, another Sephora shopper also advised against using makeup testers because of the bacteria. According to Allure, makeup testers are a breeding ground for bacteria like E.coli. The article urges customers to avoid using them especially on the face.
Finally, Rocio reveals, “When you sign up to be a product reviewer at InsiderGifted.com, we will literally give you a $700 gift card to shop the entire website or store.” Insider Gifted’s website confirms this claim.
@rociorosesglam everything I can share with you as a Sephora beauty advisor 💋 #sephora #sephorafavorites #workingatsephora #comeworkwithme #dayinthelife #sephoravlog #sephorasecrets #shoppinghacks #beautyadvisor #makeupartist #insidergifted ♬ original sound – Cloned_MF
Viewers had mixed opinions
The ex-Sephora employee’s video received 1.2 million views. But users had mixed views, especially when it came to free makeup samples.
“I don’t know what happened, but I spent $82 at Sephora and I couldn’t get a full size sample bag,” one user remarked.
“I always ask for samples and they don’t give any?” a second asked.
Others laughed about the store’s shopping bag policy.
“Not me in my naive world thinking the minute I stepped in was offered a basket because they were being friendly,” one commented.
Does Sephora offer makeup samples?
It isn’t clear whether Sephora offers free, full-sized samples in stores, as Rocio claims. However, they do appear to be available online. With every purchase, customers get two free samples.
Per Sephora’s website, shoppers can claim the free samples by “visiting the Pick Your Free Samples section of the Beauty Offers page or by clicking the link to select your samples in Basket. After you have selected two samples, your samples will be automatically added to your Shopping Basket and you will see them listed along with your merchandise on the Order Confirmation page.”
The Daily Dot reached out to Rocio via TikTok comment and direct message as well as Sephora via press email.
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