Shopping for beauty products can be a daunting situation for customers who may be unsure of what they need to address a particular concern.
Some customers have taken to TikTok to share that this apprehension was made worse for them when they went to purchase products in-store at Sephora and found that their insecurities were pointed out without delicacy by employees.
Content creator Donna (@theskngrl), a skin therapist who creates TikToks around skincare and skin health, said she is one such person who has had their insecurities rudely pointed out by a Sephora employee. She said she has had eczema on her scalp, and it was identified as something to be addressed when she asked for a hydrating hair mask.
“One time I went to Sephora, and I was looking for like a hydrating hair mask,” she says in the video. “I was like, yeah, sometimes my hair gets a little bit dry. She was like, ‘Yeah I can see the flakes in your hairline.’ Like, this is not a time for you to agree and emphasize. Just say yes, let me show you the best product. The craziest part about the whole situation was like her hair was not—she wasn’t really in the position to say anything to me. But you know, since we’re giving opinions.”
In the video’s caption, Donna wrote that she believed the employee to be pointing out insecurities to make a sale.
“It’s very wild out here and unfortunately there are people out here who want to prey on people’s insecurities hoping you will fold and they can make a sale,” she wrote.
Donna’s clip was in response to a video from another Sephora customer who shared a similar experience. The original video came from Dr. Natasha Henry. In her clip, she shares how her dark marks were “brought up” by an employee when she was just shopping for fragrance.
The Daily Dot has reached out to @theskngrl via Instagram direct message regarding the video.
@theskngrl #stitch with @Skincare|Dr. Natasha Henry ♬ original sound – Donna The Skin Therapist
Several viewers wrote that they had similar experiences with employees pointing out insecurities or feeling unwelcome in Sephora stores.
“I went to sephora to get a vitamin c serum and the girl helping was like ‘do you want to work on your texture too?’” one commenter wrote. “Ma’am.”
“LmAo one time I went looking for highlighter and I was going to say I’m looking for something more sparkly but she cut me off,” another user shared. “So I said “I’m looking for something more” and she cut me off and said ‘darker?’ … lmao I know she felt dumb. I’m black btw.”
“Had a girl try to push me to buy facial razors cause of my peach fuzz,” another commented. “I was looking for a brow gel.”
