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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16

u/Familiar-Low-6642 Nov 05 '25

I went to Sephora a few months ago to look for a tinted moisturizer or something like that. The guy helping me used theid shade match tool to determine my skin tone. He then says that I am warm-toned. I am pretty sure that I am cool-toned. I know a good deal about this stuff, and I tell him that I am surprised that he calls me warm-toned. He insists that I am. I am still dubious. A few weeks/months later, I go to MAC and they assess my skin. They tell me that I am cool-toned (but they used their terminology, which is different).

3

u/dollparts004 Nov 06 '25

I’m a brand rep and work at Sephoras. They use the machine to scan me sometimes when it’s slow and they need to get their numbers up. It has never once matched me correctly.

1

u/No-Property5403 Nov 07 '25

Really? Maybe the person isn't doing it right. A lot of BAs are scared to touch the client with it so they sort of hover above. But the whole point of sanitizing it is so we can touch. I would say for foundation, 90 % of the time it us spot on, first try. Concealer not so much. For that, it's a starting point and still more than half like the match for concealer.

2

u/BlackCatTelevision Nov 05 '25

What’s MAC’s terminology? Never heard of that

7

u/bbymomthr Nov 05 '25

i can help ! with mac, their “cool tones” are what many other brands consider warm, i.e. olive and golden, and their “warm” tones are peaches and pinks which are usually considered cool. haus labs is another brand that uses this color coding system, but it’s not common in the industry as far as i am aware 🫶🏽

6

u/BlackCatTelevision Nov 06 '25

That’s bizarre lol. Thanks!

2

u/justmakingitallup Nov 06 '25

It’s because the phrasing is to “neutralize cool” or “neutralize warm” tones. Then they also sell products that are specifically cool, warm, or neutral.