Perfume testers are essential to picking the perfect fragrance. Apparently, they are also perfect for shoplifting. One Ulta Beauty store is trying to mitigate the shoplifting of these items.
In the video, creator @auntiebritt is inside an Ulta store filming the perfume section and its tester bottles. The perfume section is graced with extravagantly designed bottles from designer brands like Carolina Herrera, Ralph Lauren, and Marc Jacobs. The bottles of testers for these fragrances have lettering on them in red or black.
At first glance, @auntiebritt thought this was just an aesthetic decision for the design of one bottle. However, she soon noticed all of the bottles had text asking customers not to steal.
The video has almost 300 comments and 370,000 views as of Friday.
@auntiebrittt ulta is wore out 😂. #perfumetok #perfumetiktok #fragrancetok #goodgirlglam #ulta ♬ original sound – auntiebrittt
“Ya’ll, I went to Ulta and I went to the perfume section and I see this and I’m thinking OK, that’s just the new design for Good Girl [Carolina Herrera’s perfume],” they said. “Then I keep walking and it’s on every single bottle. What the hell been going on at Ulta? They are tired of the bullsh*t. It’s on every single tester.”
The anti-theft messages on the bottles vary. Some bottles have the word “ULTA” on them repeatedly. Others say “Don’t Steal Plz,” “Camera Watching,” or “Put it Back.” These bottles send a clear reminder to customers not to steal the testers, just in case they were thinking about it.
One former Ulta employee in the comments informs viewers that theft is a big issue at the cosmetic store.
“When I worked at Ulta people would steal everything in the store & the testers. With garbage bags,” mentions one user.
Others in the comments have noticed other anti-theft methods by employees at their local Ultas.
“The fragrance section at the ultas near me are a wasteland. They had an employee with a fanny pack of samples instead of testers!” one viewer recalled.
“Everything was locked up at mine today, I wanted to smell some to buy my son something,” another wrote.
“I saw that at the Ulta in my area as well! I thought it was a new design too!” one user agreed.
“At my ulta they don’t even have testers out. everything is locked up!! it must be a nationwide issue for loss prevention,” a user said, to which the creator responded, “Judging by these comments, it has to be smh.”
The CEO of Ulta Beauty, Dave Kimbell, has recently addressed the company’s concerns with increased rates of theft.
“The rise in violence and aggressive behavior during organized retail crime thefts is concerning. The company has experienced higher levels of theft and is challenged to address the issues collaboratively,” he stated. “Retailers in other sectors have similarly raised concerns about increased organized retail crime (ORC)—professional, large-scale theft conducted as a business with goods resold on the black market for financial gain.”
The Daily Dot has reached out to @auntiebrittt and Ulta for comment.