Using makeup testers will always be a gamble, but for J.C. Drombrowski (@jc.drombrowski), they can have even worse implications than we thought. With 2.9 million followers, Drombrowski regularly gives his scientific and anecdotal insight into all things makeup and skincare, and in his latest video, he referred to “kids being absolute monsters” in drug stores as they tried to get their hands on skincare brand Drunk Elephant.
But as kids continue to trash our favorite makeup aisles, Drombrowski thinks there’s one crucial issue we’re overlooking. “I don’t see enough people talking about the real and potentially severe health ramifications of this behaviour,” he said in a TikTok that has now amassed 109,700 views. “A bunch of kids rubbing dirty, left-out product that was touched by other people is a great way to get herpes at, like, 10 years old.”
He continued, “And once you get it, you have it for life, not to mention staph infections, all sorts of other diseases. And honestly, I feel like parents should be a lot more cognizant of this but apparently they’re not.”
In the comments, other TikTokers couldn’t agree more with Drombrowski’s sentiments.
“I have never not once used a tester on my face I thought that was common sense,” one commenter wrote. “Only on the back of the hand or inside of the wrist.”
“When I started wearing mascara the very first thing my mom taught me was to never ever share anything that goes near your eyes,” another user explained, adding that pinkeye and other eye problems are common with makeup testers.
“Companies are going to have to crack down on safety seals,” a third noted.
This is far from the first time concerns have been raised about the bacteria left on tester makeup. In 2017, a woman sued Sephora after claiming she contracted herpes after using an in-store lipstick tester.
@jc.dombrowski Not to get on a soapbox about this but also??? 😭💀 this is a great way to spread diseases y’all. #skincare #sephora #health #parenting ♬ original sound – J.C. Dombrowski
Similarly, a study by The Perfect365 revealed that 63% of consumers no longer use store makeup because they’re worried about coming into contact with potentially harmful bacteria; and research in 2004 found that 67-100% of makeup samples can contain harmful bacteria depending on the time of day.
We’ve reached out to Drombrowski and Sephora.