When shopping at your favorite makeup counter or beauty store, there are a few things you expect — a chance to sample the products you plan to spend your money on, good customer service and clean (new) products. But one former Ulta employee is alleging that the major beauty brand doesn't properly handle their product returns.
One beauty blogger, @fatinamxo on Twitter (you should also check out her Instagram and YouTube) made her statements on Twitter yesterday, detailing her experience with discovering that returns at her store weren't being properly handled and then bringing that information to the attention of higher-ups within the company.
So I’m gonna start a thread about a serious matter because I feel like makeup lovers should know what’s going on behind closed doors.
— fatinamxo (@fatinamxo) January 10, 2018
So I was a former employee at ULTA and whenever a customer would return a product, we were told by managers to repackage / reseal the item and put it back on the shelf.
— fatinamxo (@fatinamxo) January 10, 2018
They would resell EVERYTHING. ( makeup , hair care , skincare, fragrance ,hair tools, etc. )
— fatinamxo (@fatinamxo) January 10, 2018
For example this foundation ( even sticks) they would clean it with a q-tip to make it look new. I’ll attach a photo of a NEW foundation vs. the one they repackaged and put back on the shelf. ( NOT SANITIZED ) pic.twitter.com/opCq6Uovj1
— fatinamxo (@fatinamxo) January 10, 2018
They even put back a USED liquid lipstick, the manager said she would “clean it with alcohol” ( that was the last straw for me ) here is a photo of a lip palette ( exclusive online only ) that was returned and mangers put it back on the shelf to resell ( CLEARLY NOT SANITIZED ) pic.twitter.com/V6TRPOKAHk
— fatinamxo (@fatinamxo) January 10, 2018
They even taught us how to clean eyeshadow palettes and let it dry over night so it can be repackaged and sold the next day.
— fatinamxo (@fatinamxo) January 10, 2018
Managers would get pissed if they saw items in the damage bin that looked resell able.
— fatinamxo (@fatinamxo) January 10, 2018
I contacted corporate and I was surprised to hear her say “ well when it comes to mascaras we definitely want to be hygienic “ I immediately cut her off and said what about lipsticks ? And foundation ? They are reselling everything that they can clean up and make “new” again.
— fatinamxo (@fatinamxo) January 10, 2018
She was speechless and told me along the lines of “ I’ll look into the situation “.
— fatinamxo (@fatinamxo) January 10, 2018
But after sharing her story, she opened up the opportunity for others to share any similar experiences. And since then she's had people reach out alleging that their stores have similar (problematic) practices.
I thought it was only my store but looks like it’s most of them. pic.twitter.com/vw6bT1cL6j
— fatinamxo (@fatinamxo) January 10, 2018
So what can you do about this? If true, this is a major issue when it comes to health and safety.
With the beauty community on the rise, we should all be aware of what we are buying and putting on our face!
— fatinamxo (@fatinamxo) January 10, 2018
And moving forward this should be a lesson to us all to check our makeup just in case.
This should be a warning to everyone. Always check your makeup before you leave.
— fatinamxo (@fatinamxo) January 10, 2018
Don't be afraid to look at your products. Look for signs of tampering such as loose pigments, smears along the edges of the container, missing safety seals, removed mirror-protecting adhesives, missing product, broken boxes and more.
It's not safe to always assume that these things happened while shipping or storing the products, and you deserve to be sure that your products are new — not just new to you.
And if you're still nervous, consider this strategy from one member of the beauty community:
If you do want high end makeup, to guarantee your makeup is new & clean I would recommend that you go in-store to swatch, then order online. That guarantees your product is coming directly from the company’s stock warehouse
— maddie woodard 🌵 (@mwoodxrd) January 10, 2018
Disclaimer: I have nothing against ulta as I mentioned earlier this should be a warning to all beauty lovers! Check your makeup before purchasing it 💕
— fatinamxo (@fatinamxo) January 10, 2018