Nobody likes damaged makeup. It’s tacky, inconvenient, and worst of all, messy. But as much as we hate damaged makeup, products are often so fragile, that we might end up damaging them by accident; or mistakenly picking up a well-used tester item rather than a fresh one.
But TikTok viewers were baffled when makeup artist and Ulta worker Erica Elizabeth (@ericaelizabethmua) exposed the makeup company’s bizarre method of disposing of “damaged” makeup products. In the viral video, which has been seen by 442,800 people as of Saturday, Erica shows how she’s instructed to dispose of “damaged” beauty products, from cutting the wire on a flat iron to squeezing all the moisturizer out of a bottle.
The only problem is that these items show no sign of visible damage. In fact, the items in the video looked perfectly fine. The video’s description also aroused suspicion as to whether the products were truly damaged, as Erica confessed that “this is the part I hate” and that “having to get rid of all these products is hurting my soul.”
And it wasn’t just Erica’s soul that was hurt: viewers in the comments were horrified too.
@ericaelizabethmua This is the part I hate 😭😭 Having to get rid of all these products is hurtiny my soul ❤️🩹 #ultaemployeecheck #ulta #ultadamages ♬ original sound – Erica Elizabeth
“Why don’t they donate them?” one asked. “What a waste.” Others suggested Ulta was better off selling the item despite the damage, with several commenters pointing out that the makeup brand could sell the products for a highly discounted price to reduce waste while still making the most of a product. But a few commenters also wondered why Erica couldn’t take things into her own hands: both literally and figuratively.
“Girl, I would’ve placed it in the bag and got it when I clocked,” one confessed.
“Ulta better not hire me,” another admitted. “I’d be dumping that out without destroying it hoping someone dives for it so they can slay all day.”
In the comments section, Erica added that Ulta employees weren’t allowed to take the products—but the reason behind it actually makes a lot of sense. Even if it’s not visually obvious a makeup product has been used, there’s still the question of hygiene, so we can assume these strict dumping rules are ultimately a health and safety thing.
Erika and Ulta’s PR representative didn’t immediately respond to the Daily Dot’s request for comment via email.
