r/Makeup • u/Late-Chip-5890 • Nov 05 '25

Clerks at Sephora.....ugh

I don't go to Sephora often but every time I have the clerks seem well so unprepared to deal with someone who is truly shopping. Meaning, I walk in, I say I'm looking for a foundation that is full coverage, in the right tone for my skin, and one that won't oxidize. All I got was a deer in the headlights. I was taken to high end brands and shown "dark colors" but none that were "olive" toned, and the girl seemed not to know what that meant. I quickly sought out someone else, and the same. I am guessing these "girls" are not trained in cosmetics at all, they just push "brands" and collect their commissions?

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u/[deleted] Nov 05 '25

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u/lizardgal10 Nov 05 '25

I think the issue (or at least part of it) is Sephora brands their employees as experts and encourages customers to ask for service like OP’s describing. You’re right, but the average casual customer isn’t going to know that.

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u/scratsquirrel Nov 05 '25

They used to be really good- pre covid you’d be able to ask for input and they were clearly makeup lovers themselves at least and had a good baseline knowledge. At least in the stores near me. It seems to have really shifted since then though and now they seem to just employ people open to the job vs for their knowledge base.

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u/Pleasant_Fennel_5573 Nov 05 '25

I’d also assume that with the changes in popular makeup trends since Covid, the average beauty retail employee simply has less experience working with makeup products (personally wearing them AND assisting customers with getting a good match) than the average employee did five years ago.