SEPHORA — Local services in Portland

I have been a long time customer of Sephora and I spend quite a bit of money buying skincare and makeup. I’ve always been a huge fan of Sephora but today I received the worst customer service in my life by a manager at the downtown Portland location (413 SW Morrison Street Portland, OR 97204).

I had planned to stop by Sephora to make a return and to pick up some new skincare products. I had been researching lots of new skincare products and was set on purchasing them from Sephora today. I thought it would be easier if I made the return first, however, the manager that was doing the return basically blamed me for having a defective product. She was very rude, unprofessional, and was unwilling to give me a return/exchange for the product I had previously purchased.

The product I wanted to return was the OUAI Dry Shampoo (4.6 oz) which I bought in June 2019. The nozzle didn’t spray in a mist like it’s supposed to. It would spray out liquid and much of the product oozed down the bottle every time I attempted to spray it. Essentially, the nozzle on the spray was defective. I also tried to unclog it by running it under hot water but that didn’t work. When I tried to spray the dry shampoo once again, much of the product oozed down the side of the bottle.

I explained all of this to the manager but she still wouldn’t allow me to return/exchange the dry shampoo. She said it was my fault for using up all the product and if the spray didn’t work I should have returned it right away instead of trying to run it under water, doing test sprays, etc. She accused me of using it all up and now trying to make a return which is untrue. I showed her my receipt and explained that I recently bought the dry shampoo in June and there’s no way I could have used up the entire bottle in 1 month. Once again she stated, you used up the entire bottle so if you want a new dry shampoo you are going to have to pay for it. No exchanges/no returns.

I told her that I am telling the truth, however the dry shampoo was a defective product because the nozzle was broken. For her to suggest that I should just buy another one makes it seem like she is blaming the customer for a defective product. The manager tried to speak over me instead of listening to what I had to say. She was argumentative and accusing. Instead of replacing it and providing excellent customer service (which Sephora prides itself on), I felt like I was being penalized for a defective product. It’s not my fault that I bought a dry shampoo that didn’t mist properly. After several minutes of going back and forth (Me trying to explain the situation with the defective dry shampoo and the manager replying back with rude comments, saying things like she refuses to replace it, just buy another one, etc), she finally did an exchange for me. While the manager was ringing me up, she went on to say very unprofessional and condescending comments like, “I don’t agree with you at all, we’re not penalizing our customers. I don’t agree with returning/exchanging this product for you but I’ll do it anyway. I shouldn’t have to replace this for you because you used up all the product. But I’ll do it for you this ONE time if it makes you happy. You really should just buy another dry shampoo.”

After that encounter with the Sephora manager, I decided it’s not worth it to shop at Sephora anymore. This experience has ruined shopping at Sephora for me. From now on I am going elsewhere to buy makeup, skincare, dry shampoo, etc. I left the store and didn’t even buy the skincare products I initially wanted to buy because the manager was so rude. I’ve always thought highly of Sephora but now I will never shop at Sephora again because of my interaction with...

Yesterday I went here to get some makeup for an event I'm attending next week, and since I rarely wear makeup, I needed help. The young lady that first assisted me pointed me in the direction of a foundation brand that was precisely the kind of liquid foundation I was looking for. She matched me, and at the time, I didn't realize it was much too dark...by like several shades(until I got home under more bright lighting) I want to say I don't blame her for the confusion, as my skin is fair, but with olive undertones, and it looks somewhat tan in certain lighting, plus I have freckles. The next thing I needed assistance with was eyeshadow, and I met Cory, a person with curly hair and great wit. They helped me find the perfect color to match my dress, gave me some great advice for putting on the eyeshadow, that I must admit went over my head a bit since I haven't consistently worn makeup in about 10 years. When I went home and realized that that the foundation was extremely dark for my skin... I returned the next day. Cory was there again, and I was super grateful, and showed them the mismatched foundation, and they immediately took me over to the section for the brand I bought, looked at my skin, and then grabbed the correct one right off the bat. We went over to check it under a bright light and mirror, which I wasn't aware was available when I first came in, and they applied it, and you couldn't even tell I was wearing anything. When I went to check out, another person helped me, whom I don't remember their name, just that they had short dark hair and were a Scorpio like me. They were super nice, and even gave me the yearly birthday gift that sephora gives you, and I got a nice setting powder. All in all, the staff at this location is exceptional, kind, fun, and honestly just have a great sense of style as well. I highly recommend this location, as you will not be disappointed! I used to shop at Ulta in the past...and this was my first experience at Sephora, and I can tell you they have a new lifetime customer. Also, I tried the foundation at home, and tbh it was the best match I've ever had for my skin. Ilia is a...

I will never shop here again, and the only reason I made a purchase today was because I had a gift card. There were at least 8 staff members in this tiny store- all standing around and doing absoloutely nothing productive, but instead making me feel absolutely uncomfortable and embarrassed to be there. Eight staff members just standing around and stalking people who dare walk into the store wearing a black hoody, jeans and sneakers... thats what you are paying for with the extra expense of their products. We live in Portland- an incredibly liberal and "weird" city, i.e. my casual appearance should have not been an issue... But alas, all of the useless staff (stank) eyed me like a hawk and followed me around the store the ENTIRE time I was there. Was calling the morbidly obese security officer into your store to announce that "Im only a block away if you need me" neccessary? Seems a bit dramatic and was clearly discrimination, especially considering how polite I was to the employees. Oh, and tell your male make-up artists to say "excuse me" before they start blatantly walking into your customers. This was the most unproffessional and service I have ever had. I have worked in retail for 5 years- I know about proper recovery and loss prevention strategies and I imagine your shrink rates would probably be better if your staff had these skills too.

I suggest taking your business to MAC or Nordstrom- same brands and/or quality, more tolerable...