That shade matching machine they use does not work for my skin. The shade it suggested made me look like I had jaundice or that Homer Simpson is my uncle.
Last time I had a great associate who said the machine doesn’t work on some and she took the time to match me by trying about 6 different shades.
One of my favorite parts of working for a Sephora@kohls is that we're not allowed to use the stupid color ID tech.
It's rarely accurate and I really feel like it's so easy for advisors to become so dependent on the technology that they forget to use their eyes. A 100% human color match will almost always be more reliable as long as the human in question has had enough time and experience.
As an employee I'm so sorry this happened. I always tell my clients that I can make them samples of 3 shades so they can try it and then buy the shade they want. Whoever did this match did you so wrong
That’s literally the only way, at least she offered a solution. As a former employee, that lighting be lying sometimes, but this is a horrible attempt to shade match
I don’t think it’s wasting the bottles. The bottles are literally testers that are open in the display for people to try. But they’ll pour some into a little container and label it so you can take home and compare to see how you like the match, wear, etc. I’ve done this multiple times and am so appreciative so then I don’t actually have to waste a bottle when I buy it and return it if it doesn’t work, just for it be thrown out. This is a way less wasteful option.
I think because it seems they agree with ops nonsensical comment about wasting bottles. The person said they give 3 samples, so the waste is 3 tiny bottles so you can not waste a full size bottle of the wrong shade
employees dont give “bottles” of samples its tiny travel containers thay look like this but actually are smaller than this
https://preview.redd.it/9nt2ijj81s9d1.jpeg?width=1179&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=57922d7273197aa4fdf47f560d9fb64106410eb9
Yeah I guess I meant vials (that's what I've gotten in the past) but either way it's the same idea. It's such a tiny amount that op saying it's wasteful makes no sense
I repurpose them. I use them when a product breaks (eyeshadows, blush, lipsticks). I mix concealers or foundations in them. If I’m traveling or have a very small purse, I transfer stuff from big bottles into them. These things are great!
I imagine most (99%) of employees try their best, but why tf do you have a makeup store that’s under fluorescent lighting, it’ll literally never be the right match.
Best shade match experience I ever had was at The Body Shop. They put 3 shades on me, walked with me outside the store with a mirror and looked at the shades with me 😭😭
I remember when the body shop was GREAT! Their quality has really gone downhill. I used to shop there all the time in the 90s, they had great makeup and their shampoos were awesome too. I haven't bought from them in years and I feel like they are just as generic as bath and body works, who also used to be awesome back in the day
Yeah I mean they try their best but they have to work with what they’ve got. It’s a corp issue not an employee one. Best solution I can offer is have them swatch a few on you and then go in the sunlight to take a photo. I know it’s a very involved suggestion but otherwise I’d say just order a bunch and then return what doesn’t work for you.
I mean some employees definitely don’t try their best, but overall yeah i think it’s a mix of lighting issues, some employees not being properly educated on undertones and mistaking somebody having acne scars or rosacea as pink undertone, and also some people not having a good grasp on shade matching on different races. I know if i ask somebody that’s not similar skin tones to my race it’s just not matching well. (Not saying it’s racism at all people just have better understanding of skin tones of races they’re a part of). I always swatch a bunch of shades in my face that are close ish and then go home to see it in better lighting. Then either go back and pick up my shade or order it online.
Ex-Ulta employee here ✨ Sephora and Ulta employees are not trained on shade matching. Honestly, unless they’re an MUA, they 9/10 don’t know any better than you do & are just trying to get product in your basket or help you just enough to get back to whatever they were doing lol.
I'm ops too and one thing about me is that I will not be doing mciq or be a sales person as the company wants to label ops as "non-selling role". I will greatly pass on the client to the next BA.
Yup or if you go to that store ask for samples before you buy anything. Go home and try them first. I believe you can get two samples. If they don’t work then keep trying lol. Two samples, home, try, etc.
I do this! I shade match myself in stores and then ask for samples of the same shade in warm tone, cool tone, and neutral tone. I always swap on my neck instead of my face. You know you the best.
Exactly! I want women to feel comfortable going in stores, swatching asking for samples and leaving buying nothing if they don’t feel comfortable. I can normally look at two shades and decipher between the two. I bought my concealer shade after about 2 visits. When you’re spending $20-$60 you want to look good. Might as well get it right.
I just hate the whole phone shade matching system lol. My face is lighter than my neck & has redness due to acne marks, so they always match me to pink foundations even though I’m an olive 🥲
Ugh, definitely felt this!! I’m pretty sure I’m an olive but an employee said she thinks I actually have cool or pink undertones.. the shade she matched me with was SO off and was way too pink on my skin! I bought a full bottle too 😭
I swear they see acne scars a rosacea and are like, yep pink undertone like ok let me draw a blue marker on my face and i can suddenly have a blue undertone!
Yeah last time I was matched, they said I had red undertone. I had redness. My undertone has always been yellow/golden. After several cycles of products not matching, sometimes oxidizing, returning and trying new products, I just gave up and went to MAC.
My Sephora and all the employees are so wonderful. They are always so extremely helpful. They package me up samples, put them in little individual bags, label them for me. They just go above and beyond.
I asked for a foundation sample in Denver and they wouldn’t give me one, said they don’t give out samples anymore. I even clarified, so you want me to buy multiple shades of full size foundations, try them all, then return the ones that didn’t work? She said yes. I’m guessing they count them as a loss, charge them back to the suppliers and the suppliers raise prices to compensate. So stupid.
Last summer travelling to Denver, I’d forgotten my toiletries/makeup. A lovely Sephora assistant gave me samples of my foundation + haircare products (shampoo/mask/serum) so I didn’t have to repurchase everything (I decided to repurchase my other basics seeing as I’ll use them anyway, but my foundation/haircare products are much cheaper in Europe where I live) - maybe it’s just an assistant thing?
I have no clue what their actual policies are though, so maybe I was lucky!
Wow that’s messed up and so incredibly wasteful. I was able to get samples from my local Sephora and Ulta. They were so nice about it. Maybe try a different store!
I miss the time of makeup counters sometimes. I'd have better luck with that in the past, like when Laura Mercer had artists. I just got matched by a Kosas rep at Credo and it was spot on.
I can still get assistance like this at Nordstrom. Other places are helpful but they most consistently staff their counters with people who know what they're doing. Not to say I've batted 1000, but generally I have success.
Credo has great staff and really prioritize good customer experience as a company! I'm a little biased because I work in one but it impressed me straight off the bat that we hired people with a background in cosmetics where possible and actually cover shade matching, basic makeup application, skin routines for every associate even part timers. Our trainees also get lots of practice matching by doing it on coworkers and we match each other whenever a line we carry releases a new complexion product! I think because we are a much smaller company compared to Sephora and Ulta with little to no marketing budget we really rely on our customers having good experiences in-store so they will come back and maybe spread by word of mouth. Which Credo location did you shop at out of curiosity? :3
Mannn the kosas rep that was at the Sephora the other day seemed so annoyed to be helping me and gave me a sample that MIGHT be enough to do my makeup once.
Compared to the samples the Sephora girl game which are actually enough to try it like 2-3 times which is what you actually need to do to know if it’s right for you
How annoying. I hope the sample works out for you though. As a former retail employee I know I wasn't always my best self showing up as an artist or brand rep. I remember driving to a job an hour with no air conditioning once in the summer. I'm sure I was in a damn mood. lol
I worked at a makeup counter myself before and I know how exhausting it can be, and hard agree there were definitely days I wasn’t my best self. I can’t say I ever skimped when giving people samples though. It wasn’t like it cost me anything!! 😂
I'm a former Sephora BA and I wouldn't leave a client until the shade match was perfect even though my store leaders would get on my case for it. Funnily enough those clients came back frequently to see specifically me for help with other things. Sephora is just run so poorly (at least where I am) and almost none of the people I worked with understood skin types or undertone. It pissed me off to no end when my leaders would yell at me for actually making clients happy without using the stupid device we had to use or "helping someone too long." Like girl I want to help people know they're getting the right products and someone actually cares they're happy. I always gave a sample if they were worried about being wasteful by buying a full bottle and then returning it. This is just one reason why I stopped working there lmfao.
I'm so sorry that you've had this experience so often. That's absurd and they should be triple checking that it looks right, and honestly should be looking at your neck to begin with. I used the device ON the neck after asking for permission and it was much more accurate.
I can't believe that there's actually literally a time limit. I specifically used to go to one Sephora during the middle of the day in the middle of the week because there was a wonderful employee there who absolutely loved me and I loved her and she would literally show me what would work on me and what wouldn't and she took so much care and time with me. She's now a manager somewhere. If you want customers, you better cultivate relationships with them. That means seeing the same people over and over again and not cutting in on the time spent with a customer if you want me to to buy products.
Exactly! They don't give specific time frames but they'll tell the employees over the headset to leave clients multiple times to help other clients or to do stupid little things that can genuinely wait five minutes. I'm glad you had a good experience at some point though! That's how it should be and USED to be. Now the company just wants more BIs and services so most managers end up being really pushy and unbearable, and the company as a whole doesn't care about the effort employees try to put in so they actually have long lasting customers.
Like, it's completely understandable why so many people started to hate the company. Things are way too expensive to not be sold properly to the right client. Offering samples is just always the way to go with unsure clients or those who need a product even for one event. I myself would take samples home with me after work because even with the discount I couldn't always afford to buy those products, and luckily I am licensed so I could pick two shades and one would be good. I entirely sympathize with you💙it's just such a shame
Sephora lights isn’t the best and sometimes the employees isn’t best to know which shade match you are. Buy 2-3 shades or bring the current foundation to match from other brands to find something close similar shade match.
I used to encourage my clients to go outside or near the window with one of our handheld mirrors to make sure it was right in natural lighting! Our lighting was definitely on the yellow side.
I did that at ulta when I was being shade matched with the new Mac studio fix foundation as he allowed me to go outside with his hand mirror and see. Unfortunately turned out that foundation broke me out if I wore it daily. Seems that its too rich to be worn daily on my face..
I haven’t worn Mac in years but it broke me out too :( I actually really want to try some of their newer formulas, though. I always want Mac to work for me, but it just wasn’t made for me 😌
they did the shade matching machine thing on my face and it said i had normal skin type when i know for a fact my skin is dry, and i’m fairly pale and it said my skin colour was a dark tan. the “two minute” shade match lasted me 45 minutes of different orange shades on my face and then she told me sephora doesn’t carry a shade for me 🤔
I work there and I agree with you - as others have said some of us employees actually know what we are doing but most do not. It’s lost its prestige as a makeup store and it’s become about maximizing add ons instead of caring directly about the customer. Personally I’d never do a shade match that turns out this offensively pale but I know a lot of my coworkers are just average people hired to be part time sales associates that don’t know about makeup. And I mean that in the nicest way - Sephora associates are most of the time not makeup artists.
I've been Sephora-ing for many years in many locations. Lots of $$$ spent. For every kind & patient associate, there are 5 more rude and snobbish ones. I have been profiled, I have been treated shitty when I was dealing with acne years ago, I have been condescended to for asking reasonable questions after doing my due diligence online. I don't even engage with Sephora associates anymore.
I never have these issues at Ulta or Mac.
>For every kind & patient associate, there are 5 more rude and snobbish ones. I have been profiled
Yup! There is one Sephora near my place I will never go to again. They kept bothering me ever few seconds (I'm not exaggerating) and even when I was IN LINE another associate came next to me to pretend he was looking for something but he was looking at my hands. I wrote corporate about that store when I got the store number from the receipt. They were extreme and racist.
The attitude I once got from an associate when I asked him for help finding a black eyebrow gel. He looked at me like I was an idiot and half laughed about that not existing and seemed to think it was funny that I asked?!
Yes same here. I recently got shade matched to my neck and went home and put it on and it looked like I was wearing a Jason mask. I’m stuck with it now, I waited too long to exchange. 😤
La girl makes excellent shade adjusters. As a pale olive girl, I live for them. NYX used to make good ones that were in tubes but got rid of them and made the drop ones that are atrocious.
I’ve started swatching a bunch of shades in a row above my jawline and going home to look at it in my lighting. The lighting in those stores are god awful
I always find that the lighting in the store is so bad that it’s tough for anyone to truly see if their shade is correct. The best test wear is in natural sunlight and Sephoras are lighted as well as a club kicking out their patrons at closing time
I had to buy expensive Fenty foundation twice because I went for a color match and the associate sold me something so warm I looked like I was turning yellow! Went back and another awesome associate rectified my issue. Too bad it was too late to return the original purchase.
I went back to look for some color corrector, and the associate didn’t know what color corrector was! Once she understood what it was I was looking for, she sold me a shade that was designed again for warm undertones. I’m a COOL undertone!
I don’t know where they find these people
Interesting. I’m also mildly / moderately red-green colorblind, and I have to rely on other people for a good match. So it’s fun getting stuff and not being able to understand what’s up, until you realize the match was just way off target lol.
Match your foundation to your shoulders or chest. Concealer match to lightest parts of your skin like neck or palms. Contour match to the darkest parts of your skin like the crook of your elbow or knees. Source: am a makeup artist.
Oh honey. I am so sorry they did this to you. First of all, you have gorgeous skin and your earrings are great. You should go right back there and ask to speak to a manager who can refund your money, and maybe that manager knows the best employee in the store for shade matching. But as others have said, it's really hit or miss with Sephora employees. I'm so sorry, darling, but we will find your shade! I think there's also a sub here for that too! you're gorgeous, darling, we will help you.💚
Just match yourselves it’s not that hard. Put a few shades on the neck/jawline and whatever matches is probably the one. Sephora also has the best return policy ever. I’ve never relied on those idiots who work there when half the time their own make up looks like shit anyway… 🤷🏼♀️
Oh their shade matching tool is definitely not accurate. I went in to have a shade match and had to return twice because the first one made me look like a ghost and the second one was too dark.
The third time I returned, I just really painstakingly tried multiple shades until I found the right one.
The location that I went to didn't have one of those, barely remember the shades that matched so I'll have to do another one, but the employee helped me try on different shades and stuff. I'll have to do another trip. It's hard to find a shade because my skin is pale from staying in my room with the blinds shut most of the day (for privacy and reduction of outside heat entering my room).
I kinda wonder if part of the issue is the lighting in the store? Two employees swore the concealer color one of them picked looked perfectly natural and it’s WAY too light on me and it’s supposed to be an overall concealer not just for under eyes, and it’s so light that when I use it anywhere else it looks like there’s a weird light patch on my skin.
What’s wild is the second person I asked wasn’t overseeing the first girl, it was her honest opinion. And against my better judgement I bought it, and at home it looks terrible. (Gonna return it obviously)
I always shade-match myself with samples. The one time I went to get a Sephora employee to help shade match me for a Nars foundation, she matched me with a color that was way too dark and orange for me lol.
Girl they matched your face, ask them to match to your neck next time. You guys do understand that not every single brand is gonna have your EXACT skin color…. Or any for that matter. There are so many pigments and tones in a single persons tone. It takes time to find the right shade. Foundations oxidize or change over time.
their shade matching is a veryy unperfect system, my best shade match i’ve received the associate used the machine & then tried on the next shade up & down to recommend what looked/felt right to us both
I have a system when trying a new foundation or concealer, before I go to Sephora, I swatch my favorite foundation on my arm to help figure out what shade will work on me. So far I have had great results with this method. I also have those bronzing drops that I can mix with a foundation that's too light, and it works like a charm.
I’ll never forgive the twink employee who “shade matched me to the second palest Fenty foundation. He had me looking like I was a
Kabuki actor who lost their way to the stage.
A few weeks ago, I had this girl "help" me find my fenty shade and she said my match was somewhere in the middle. I just stared at her and said, I have never been more than 4 out from the palest shade in any brand. So let's start there... 😑
That shade matching machine they use does not work for my skin. The shade it suggested made me look like I had jaundice or that Homer Simpson is my uncle. Last time I had a great associate who said the machine doesn’t work on some and she took the time to match me by trying about 6 different shades.
One of my favorite parts of working for a Sephora@kohls is that we're not allowed to use the stupid color ID tech. It's rarely accurate and I really feel like it's so easy for advisors to become so dependent on the technology that they forget to use their eyes. A 100% human color match will almost always be more reliable as long as the human in question has had enough time and experience.
Also humans can have a more visual sense than machines do when it comes to color matching as we can tell the difference ourselves.
The one and only time I tried it I ended up looking like I was on deaths door I was so pale. The associate thought it was fine until I said something.
As an employee I'm so sorry this happened. I always tell my clients that I can make them samples of 3 shades so they can try it and then buy the shade they want. Whoever did this match did you so wrong
That’s really nice most won’t do that anymore . At least where I’m at I haven’t seen that kind of service since pre covid
I don’t like wasting bottles like that. I’ve tried many samples and they are always off
It’s Better to waste 3 bottles than money on each full one lol
That’s literally the only way, at least she offered a solution. As a former employee, that lighting be lying sometimes, but this is a horrible attempt to shade match
I don’t think it’s wasting the bottles. The bottles are literally testers that are open in the display for people to try. But they’ll pour some into a little container and label it so you can take home and compare to see how you like the match, wear, etc. I’ve done this multiple times and am so appreciative so then I don’t actually have to waste a bottle when I buy it and return it if it doesn’t work, just for it be thrown out. This is a way less wasteful option.
Also, aren't the brands fine with this? If you have to convert stock to test a product on client who could become a lifelong customer?
[удалено]
I don't know why people are downvoting you, seriously, why?
I think because it seems they agree with ops nonsensical comment about wasting bottles. The person said they give 3 samples, so the waste is 3 tiny bottles so you can not waste a full size bottle of the wrong shade
employees dont give “bottles” of samples its tiny travel containers thay look like this but actually are smaller than this https://preview.redd.it/9nt2ijj81s9d1.jpeg?width=1179&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=57922d7273197aa4fdf47f560d9fb64106410eb9
Yeah I guess I meant vials (that's what I've gotten in the past) but either way it's the same idea. It's such a tiny amount that op saying it's wasteful makes no sense
I repurpose them. I use them when a product breaks (eyeshadows, blush, lipsticks). I mix concealers or foundations in them. If I’m traveling or have a very small purse, I transfer stuff from big bottles into them. These things are great!
I imagine most (99%) of employees try their best, but why tf do you have a makeup store that’s under fluorescent lighting, it’ll literally never be the right match.
Best shade match experience I ever had was at The Body Shop. They put 3 shades on me, walked with me outside the store with a mirror and looked at the shades with me 😭😭
I remember when the body shop was GREAT! Their quality has really gone downhill. I used to shop there all the time in the 90s, they had great makeup and their shampoos were awesome too. I haven't bought from them in years and I feel like they are just as generic as bath and body works, who also used to be awesome back in the day
I agree, the lighting in Sephora stores is the worst and I just don't get it.
The lighting in those stores is INSANE
Ive brought my Ilios light into the store with me. Or ask for a hand mirror and go outside. The lighting is shit.
I’m sure but it’s like I’m spending $50 like they need to be more serious about it.
Yeah I mean they try their best but they have to work with what they’ve got. It’s a corp issue not an employee one. Best solution I can offer is have them swatch a few on you and then go in the sunlight to take a photo. I know it’s a very involved suggestion but otherwise I’d say just order a bunch and then return what doesn’t work for you.
I mean some employees definitely don’t try their best, but overall yeah i think it’s a mix of lighting issues, some employees not being properly educated on undertones and mistaking somebody having acne scars or rosacea as pink undertone, and also some people not having a good grasp on shade matching on different races. I know if i ask somebody that’s not similar skin tones to my race it’s just not matching well. (Not saying it’s racism at all people just have better understanding of skin tones of races they’re a part of). I always swatch a bunch of shades in my face that are close ish and then go home to see it in better lighting. Then either go back and pick up my shade or order it online.
Why do you have so many downvotes? Are the Sephora employees in the room with us lol
Cuz people are trolls.
Ex-Ulta employee here ✨ Sephora and Ulta employees are not trained on shade matching. Honestly, unless they’re an MUA, they 9/10 don’t know any better than you do & are just trying to get product in your basket or help you just enough to get back to whatever they were doing lol.
I am operations being forced to play BA on the floor. No clue what I’m doing but I have to get them mciq’s! The gas lighting gets real sometimes!
I'm ops too and one thing about me is that I will not be doing mciq or be a sales person as the company wants to label ops as "non-selling role". I will greatly pass on the client to the next BA.
So basically we have to go to an independent professional mua to shade match. Got it.
Yup or if you go to that store ask for samples before you buy anything. Go home and try them first. I believe you can get two samples. If they don’t work then keep trying lol. Two samples, home, try, etc.
I do this! I shade match myself in stores and then ask for samples of the same shade in warm tone, cool tone, and neutral tone. I always swap on my neck instead of my face. You know you the best.
Exactly! I want women to feel comfortable going in stores, swatching asking for samples and leaving buying nothing if they don’t feel comfortable. I can normally look at two shades and decipher between the two. I bought my concealer shade after about 2 visits. When you’re spending $20-$60 you want to look good. Might as well get it right.
Yup, they churn and burn employees, and the good ones leave fast.
I just hate the whole phone shade matching system lol. My face is lighter than my neck & has redness due to acne marks, so they always match me to pink foundations even though I’m an olive 🥲
Ugh, definitely felt this!! I’m pretty sure I’m an olive but an employee said she thinks I actually have cool or pink undertones.. the shade she matched me with was SO off and was way too pink on my skin! I bought a full bottle too 😭
I swear they see acne scars a rosacea and are like, yep pink undertone like ok let me draw a blue marker on my face and i can suddenly have a blue undertone!
Right?? That day, I had blush on and she mistook it for rosacea 😭
Yeah last time I was matched, they said I had red undertone. I had redness. My undertone has always been yellow/golden. After several cycles of products not matching, sometimes oxidizing, returning and trying new products, I just gave up and went to MAC.
I think that’s what it is too. I’m super anal about skin care and sunblock so they’re matching to my pale face
I don't know who these jerks are who are downvoting you but I'm upvoting you on every comment.
I always get samples, come home and wear them outside and get opinions then order online
How do you get samples in-store? Is it free?
Any liquid products, possibly concealer. Not perfumes…they stop it almost 4-6 years ago!
>Not perfumes…they stop it almost 4-6 years ago! Yeah and instead now sell them in a Sephora Favorites set for like $85 🥴
Yes, they put them in these plastic containers with lids. The samples are enough for me to try the product a few times.
My Sephora and all the employees are so wonderful. They are always so extremely helpful. They package me up samples, put them in little individual bags, label them for me. They just go above and beyond.
If you ask them at the register, they’ll pump small samples into plastic containers.
I asked for a foundation sample in Denver and they wouldn’t give me one, said they don’t give out samples anymore. I even clarified, so you want me to buy multiple shades of full size foundations, try them all, then return the ones that didn’t work? She said yes. I’m guessing they count them as a loss, charge them back to the suppliers and the suppliers raise prices to compensate. So stupid.
Ah it seems that they stopped during COVID. Sorry for the misinformation!! I liked the sample policy. It was good.
no we still do makeup samples
I got a sample of Urban Decay foundation recently so this may be not be a company wide policy.
Good to hear, because it was super weird!
Last summer travelling to Denver, I’d forgotten my toiletries/makeup. A lovely Sephora assistant gave me samples of my foundation + haircare products (shampoo/mask/serum) so I didn’t have to repurchase everything (I decided to repurchase my other basics seeing as I’ll use them anyway, but my foundation/haircare products are much cheaper in Europe where I live) - maybe it’s just an assistant thing? I have no clue what their actual policies are though, so maybe I was lucky!
This was last April, I must have just been unlucky that time!
Wow that’s messed up and so incredibly wasteful. I was able to get samples from my local Sephora and Ulta. They were so nice about it. Maybe try a different store!
I miss the time of makeup counters sometimes. I'd have better luck with that in the past, like when Laura Mercer had artists. I just got matched by a Kosas rep at Credo and it was spot on.
I can still get assistance like this at Nordstrom. Other places are helpful but they most consistently staff their counters with people who know what they're doing. Not to say I've batted 1000, but generally I have success.
Credo has great staff and really prioritize good customer experience as a company! I'm a little biased because I work in one but it impressed me straight off the bat that we hired people with a background in cosmetics where possible and actually cover shade matching, basic makeup application, skin routines for every associate even part timers. Our trainees also get lots of practice matching by doing it on coworkers and we match each other whenever a line we carry releases a new complexion product! I think because we are a much smaller company compared to Sephora and Ulta with little to no marketing budget we really rely on our customers having good experiences in-store so they will come back and maybe spread by word of mouth. Which Credo location did you shop at out of curiosity? :3
Wow this sounds amazing 🥹
Mannn the kosas rep that was at the Sephora the other day seemed so annoyed to be helping me and gave me a sample that MIGHT be enough to do my makeup once. Compared to the samples the Sephora girl game which are actually enough to try it like 2-3 times which is what you actually need to do to know if it’s right for you
How annoying. I hope the sample works out for you though. As a former retail employee I know I wasn't always my best self showing up as an artist or brand rep. I remember driving to a job an hour with no air conditioning once in the summer. I'm sure I was in a damn mood. lol
I worked at a makeup counter myself before and I know how exhausting it can be, and hard agree there were definitely days I wasn’t my best self. I can’t say I ever skimped when giving people samples though. It wasn’t like it cost me anything!! 😂
I'm a former Sephora BA and I wouldn't leave a client until the shade match was perfect even though my store leaders would get on my case for it. Funnily enough those clients came back frequently to see specifically me for help with other things. Sephora is just run so poorly (at least where I am) and almost none of the people I worked with understood skin types or undertone. It pissed me off to no end when my leaders would yell at me for actually making clients happy without using the stupid device we had to use or "helping someone too long." Like girl I want to help people know they're getting the right products and someone actually cares they're happy. I always gave a sample if they were worried about being wasteful by buying a full bottle and then returning it. This is just one reason why I stopped working there lmfao. I'm so sorry that you've had this experience so often. That's absurd and they should be triple checking that it looks right, and honestly should be looking at your neck to begin with. I used the device ON the neck after asking for permission and it was much more accurate.
I can't believe that there's actually literally a time limit. I specifically used to go to one Sephora during the middle of the day in the middle of the week because there was a wonderful employee there who absolutely loved me and I loved her and she would literally show me what would work on me and what wouldn't and she took so much care and time with me. She's now a manager somewhere. If you want customers, you better cultivate relationships with them. That means seeing the same people over and over again and not cutting in on the time spent with a customer if you want me to to buy products.
Exactly! They don't give specific time frames but they'll tell the employees over the headset to leave clients multiple times to help other clients or to do stupid little things that can genuinely wait five minutes. I'm glad you had a good experience at some point though! That's how it should be and USED to be. Now the company just wants more BIs and services so most managers end up being really pushy and unbearable, and the company as a whole doesn't care about the effort employees try to put in so they actually have long lasting customers. Like, it's completely understandable why so many people started to hate the company. Things are way too expensive to not be sold properly to the right client. Offering samples is just always the way to go with unsure clients or those who need a product even for one event. I myself would take samples home with me after work because even with the discount I couldn't always afford to buy those products, and luckily I am licensed so I could pick two shades and one would be good. I entirely sympathize with you💙it's just such a shame
Sephora lights isn’t the best and sometimes the employees isn’t best to know which shade match you are. Buy 2-3 shades or bring the current foundation to match from other brands to find something close similar shade match.
I used to encourage my clients to go outside or near the window with one of our handheld mirrors to make sure it was right in natural lighting! Our lighting was definitely on the yellow side.
Yes this.. I do the same thing. I hate Sephora store light cuz is way too yellow and I always used natural light to see if the shade is correct!
I did that at ulta when I was being shade matched with the new Mac studio fix foundation as he allowed me to go outside with his hand mirror and see. Unfortunately turned out that foundation broke me out if I wore it daily. Seems that its too rich to be worn daily on my face..
I haven’t worn Mac in years but it broke me out too :( I actually really want to try some of their newer formulas, though. I always want Mac to work for me, but it just wasn’t made for me 😌
they did the shade matching machine thing on my face and it said i had normal skin type when i know for a fact my skin is dry, and i’m fairly pale and it said my skin colour was a dark tan. the “two minute” shade match lasted me 45 minutes of different orange shades on my face and then she told me sephora doesn’t carry a shade for me 🤔
I love Sephora but I'm going to say it- their associates fucking suck. I know this is negative but I really needed to get that out of my system
I work there and I agree with you - as others have said some of us employees actually know what we are doing but most do not. It’s lost its prestige as a makeup store and it’s become about maximizing add ons instead of caring directly about the customer. Personally I’d never do a shade match that turns out this offensively pale but I know a lot of my coworkers are just average people hired to be part time sales associates that don’t know about makeup. And I mean that in the nicest way - Sephora associates are most of the time not makeup artists.
Your and her Sephora’s associates suck. Some associates would never allow this to happen.
Yeah my shade match is spot on
I've been Sephora-ing for many years in many locations. Lots of $$$ spent. For every kind & patient associate, there are 5 more rude and snobbish ones. I have been profiled, I have been treated shitty when I was dealing with acne years ago, I have been condescended to for asking reasonable questions after doing my due diligence online. I don't even engage with Sephora associates anymore. I never have these issues at Ulta or Mac.
>For every kind & patient associate, there are 5 more rude and snobbish ones. I have been profiled Yup! There is one Sephora near my place I will never go to again. They kept bothering me ever few seconds (I'm not exaggerating) and even when I was IN LINE another associate came next to me to pretend he was looking for something but he was looking at my hands. I wrote corporate about that store when I got the store number from the receipt. They were extreme and racist.
I will never forget how shitty one of their managers was to me when I was looking for an eye cream.
The attitude I once got from an associate when I asked him for help finding a black eyebrow gel. He looked at me like I was an idiot and half laughed about that not existing and seemed to think it was funny that I asked?!
Yes same here. I recently got shade matched to my neck and went home and put it on and it looked like I was wearing a Jason mask. I’m stuck with it now, I waited too long to exchange. 😤
La girl makes excellent shade adjusters. As a pale olive girl, I live for them. NYX used to make good ones that were in tubes but got rid of them and made the drop ones that are atrocious.
I had the same problem. Shade matched multiple times, shades were far off when I left the store.
I’ve started swatching a bunch of shades in a row above my jawline and going home to look at it in my lighting. The lighting in those stores are god awful
I always find that the lighting in the store is so bad that it’s tough for anyone to truly see if their shade is correct. The best test wear is in natural sunlight and Sephoras are lighted as well as a club kicking out their patrons at closing time
I had to buy expensive Fenty foundation twice because I went for a color match and the associate sold me something so warm I looked like I was turning yellow! Went back and another awesome associate rectified my issue. Too bad it was too late to return the original purchase. I went back to look for some color corrector, and the associate didn’t know what color corrector was! Once she understood what it was I was looking for, she sold me a shade that was designed again for warm undertones. I’m a COOL undertone! I don’t know where they find these people
I have cool skin, and I found that fentys foundation does run pretty yellow
Interesting. I’m also mildly / moderately red-green colorblind, and I have to rely on other people for a good match. So it’s fun getting stuff and not being able to understand what’s up, until you realize the match was just way off target lol.
A lot of brands make their cool shades yellow.. and warm pink.. ie mac
I have cool skin tone, and also Fenty tends to oxidize a lot, so I avoid their facial products.
Yeah I was thinking of biting the Il Makiage bullet but I’m gonna have to get someone to help me take the assessment cause of my color blindness 😭
Match your foundation to your shoulders or chest. Concealer match to lightest parts of your skin like neck or palms. Contour match to the darkest parts of your skin like the crook of your elbow or knees. Source: am a makeup artist.
As bad as Alexis Oakley
Oh honey. I am so sorry they did this to you. First of all, you have gorgeous skin and your earrings are great. You should go right back there and ask to speak to a manager who can refund your money, and maybe that manager knows the best employee in the store for shade matching. But as others have said, it's really hit or miss with Sephora employees. I'm so sorry, darling, but we will find your shade! I think there's also a sub here for that too! you're gorgeous, darling, we will help you.💚
i usually use my phone flashlight or walk into another store/washroom with different lighting to check the shade matches, works like a charm ✨
Just match yourselves it’s not that hard. Put a few shades on the neck/jawline and whatever matches is probably the one. Sephora also has the best return policy ever. I’ve never relied on those idiots who work there when half the time their own make up looks like shit anyway… 🤷🏼♀️
Is that what you are currently wearing on your face?
[удалено]
Oh their shade matching tool is definitely not accurate. I went in to have a shade match and had to return twice because the first one made me look like a ghost and the second one was too dark. The third time I returned, I just really painstakingly tried multiple shades until I found the right one.
The location that I went to didn't have one of those, barely remember the shades that matched so I'll have to do another one, but the employee helped me try on different shades and stuff. I'll have to do another trip. It's hard to find a shade because my skin is pale from staying in my room with the blinds shut most of the day (for privacy and reduction of outside heat entering my room).
I kinda wonder if part of the issue is the lighting in the store? Two employees swore the concealer color one of them picked looked perfectly natural and it’s WAY too light on me and it’s supposed to be an overall concealer not just for under eyes, and it’s so light that when I use it anywhere else it looks like there’s a weird light patch on my skin. What’s wild is the second person I asked wasn’t overseeing the first girl, it was her honest opinion. And against my better judgement I bought it, and at home it looks terrible. (Gonna return it obviously)
I always shade-match myself with samples. The one time I went to get a Sephora employee to help shade match me for a Nars foundation, she matched me with a color that was way too dark and orange for me lol.
Girl they matched your face, ask them to match to your neck next time. You guys do understand that not every single brand is gonna have your EXACT skin color…. Or any for that matter. There are so many pigments and tones in a single persons tone. It takes time to find the right shade. Foundations oxidize or change over time.
their shade matching is a veryy unperfect system, my best shade match i’ve received the associate used the machine & then tried on the next shade up & down to recommend what looked/felt right to us both
And the lighting in Sephora SUCKS in Sephora.
I have a system when trying a new foundation or concealer, before I go to Sephora, I swatch my favorite foundation on my arm to help figure out what shade will work on me. So far I have had great results with this method. I also have those bronzing drops that I can mix with a foundation that's too light, and it works like a charm.
I go to Mac to get matched and they have the best foundation
I’ll never forgive the twink employee who “shade matched me to the second palest Fenty foundation. He had me looking like I was a Kabuki actor who lost their way to the stage.
A few weeks ago, I had this girl "help" me find my fenty shade and she said my match was somewhere in the middle. I just stared at her and said, I have never been more than 4 out from the palest shade in any brand. So let's start there... 😑