Sephora is facing backlash after a customer posted a video on TikTok accusing the company of scamming the ticket holders of a canceled event. She alleges Sephora pledged to give out refunds and valuable “swag bags,” but months later, no action has been taken.
The TikTok video, posted by Chloe (@chloelariccia), shows the makeup enthusiast talking about Sephora’s alleged mishandling of its Sephoria live event. “Sephora has literally lied to me and many other customers for the past two months, and I am going to expose them,” she said to start.
The Sephoria event, which was supposed to be held in New York City on Sept. 29 and 30, promised attendees an extravagant beauty experience with makeup, giveaways, and master classes. Two ticket tiers were available, with the “Silver Key” reportedly offering access to one three-hour session and a swag bag worth over $500 in goodies.
“Explore eight-plus rooms with 50-plus unique experiences, take home a beauty swag bag worth 500-plus dollars,” the TikToker read from the event website.
However, just as the event was about to kick off, attendees received a last-minute cancellation email due to heavy rain and flooding in New York City. Chloe shared her frustration, stating that people were turned away at the door while Sephora continued to post about the event on social media.
Chloe claimed that Sephora instructed disappointed customers to send emails asking for refunds. “Sephora promised that we would not only get a refund, but we would also get our swag bag for our corresponding ticket,” she said.
Despite following the instructions, Chloe stated that she had not received either the refund or the promised swag bag after a month. When she reached out to Sephora, she claimed she was told she was ineligible for a refund or the swag bag and was instead offered 500 points on her account, which amounts to $10 in discounts.
“When I asked for what the eligibility is on receiving a bag, they have no answer. And you can clearly see here that ‘you will take home a beauty swag bag worth 500-plus dollars if you buy a silver key’, which almost seems like false advertising if they’re not even going to provide that for us,” Choe said.
The TikTok video has garnered over 629,900 views in less than a day, with viewers expressing their outrage in the comments section.
@chloelariccia Sephora is a scam and i’m sad it came to this. #sephoria #sephoria2023 #sephora #sephoragiftlist #sephorasale #sephoracollection #sephorasquad #greenscreen ♬ original sound – chloelaricciawine
“I think they do owe you, at the absolute bare minimum, a refund??” one commenter wrote.
“The event was happening up until 10 minutes prior. They had to have had the bags ready…right? Where are those bags now?” a second commenter questioned.
“This is why I became an Ulta girl. I always get my money’s worth, they have actual coupons, and everyone there is nice,” a third said.
“Just do a chargeback,” another added.
In a follow-up video, Chloe updated her followers that she has since received a refund from Sephora but has still not received the reportedly promised “swag bag.”
The Daily Dot has reached out to Chloe via TikTok direct messages and to Sephora via its press email for comment.
Update 8:46am CT, Nov. 28: In a TikTok direct message exchange with the Daily Dot, Chloe thanked viewers for reaching out and elaborated on why she posted the video.
“To be clear, this video was not an attack on Sephora,” she wrote. “I shared my experience, and it turned out to be universal. I’ve received a flood of comments and messages from others sharing similar experiences, past and present.”
She concluded her statement with a request to Sephora. “As a brand with such mass reach, I’m hoping they can learn from this, and fix it,” she said.
