Woman walks into Sephora. Then a worker immediately points out her insecurity to try and make a sale: ‘I know what’s underneath my eyes’

For many people, makeup is a fun way to express themselves, not simply something they use to cover parts of their face they dislike.

According to one Sephora customer, however, that is what one worker seemed to assume she wanted to do when she approached her in the store’s aisles.

TikTok creator Abby (@abbythebadassmom) says the Sephora worker did not just ask if she needed help. Instead, she pointed to a part of Abby’s face she thought “needed help.”

Abby posted a video recounting what happened, reminding her viewers not to comment on other people’s appearance. Her clip has been viewed over 938,400 times.

What Did The Sephora Worker Allegedly Say?

“To the Sephora employee who yesterday came up to me in the store and said, ‘Your under-eyes need a lot of help. Can I show you something for that?’” Abby starts. “Are you freaking serious? No. No, you can’t.”

According to the TikToker, the comment caught her so off guard that she did not fully react in the moment.

“I told my dad about the situation,” she says. “He goes, ‘Did you rip her a new one?’ I said, ‘No, I was so caught off guard.’”

Instead, Abby says she responded calmly.

“All I said was, ‘I know what’s underneath my eyes, but no thank you,’” she recalls.

But according to her, the worker then pivoted to another product.

“Her response back was, ‘Oh, can I show you a moisturizer then?’” Abby says. “Oh, no, you can’t. I am not interested in anything else that’s going to come out of your freaking mouth.”

The customer says the worker should have started the interaction in a much more normal way.

“What you should have said to me was, ‘Hey, are you looking for anything? Can I help you find something?’” she says.

Then she explains why the comment bothered her so much. She says that pointing out someone’s under-eyes is not that different from approaching another customer and calling attention to acne, redness, or any other visible feature.

“Don’t you think we already know what is going on on our faces?” she asks.

She says it felt like dealing with an online troll in real life.

“Think twice before you walk up to someone and call out what you think doesn’t look good on their face,” Abby says.

Abby Says The Approach Was Wrong

In the caption, Abby added more context about why the interaction affected her.

“Oh my experience at Sephora…I might be more sensitive due to my facial difference,” she wrote. “But that wasn’t the way to make a skincare product recommendation. Just stick to asking if we need help – and I can tell you what I’m looking for or a concern I want to tackle”

Commenters Shared Similar Experiences

In the comments, many viewers agreed that the approach was not OK. A few shared beauty store experiences of their own.

“I’m an ulta employee and WE WOULD NEVER DO THIS TO YOU QUEEN,” one commenter wrote.

Another person, who said they previously worked at both Ulta and Sephora, said the person may have been a brand partner rather than a regular store employee.

“As an ex Ulta and Sephora employee: it was a brand partner,” they wrote. “They are notorious for being so rude regarding people’s appearances. I had a brand rep insult me one time not realizing I worked there… it was very awkward when I had to do a bag check at the end of the day.”

For context, some brands sold inside Sephora stores use brand representatives who specifically promote that company’s products. That is different from a Sephora employee on the floor, who is generally there to help customers across multiple brands.

Another viewer said a brand representative once made a comment about their child.

“One of the brand reps in Sephora told me my daughter that she will need Botox (she was 11 at the time),” they wrote.

Someone else recalled a similar experience at a makeup counter.

“I once had a girl at a makeup counter tell me I had a lot of red in my cheeks and that she had a great coverup for it,” they wrote. “It was like 20 degrees and I had just come in from the cold…”

@abbythebadassmom Oh my experience at Sephora…I might be more sensitive due to my facial difference. But that wasn’t the way to make a skincare product recommendation. Just stick to asking if we need help – and I can tell you what I’m looking for or a concern I want to tackle. #sephorashopping #facialdifferences ♬ original sound – Abbythebadassmom

The Mary Sue has reached out to Sephora and Abby via email for comment.

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