A job is a choice--choose wisely - Anonymous employee Sephora Employee Review

4.0
Oct 18, 2015
Anonymous employee
Recommend
CEO approval
Business outlook

Pros

There are lots of jobs in retail--so be sure you love working with people before you apply to Sephora. Because of the nature of the beauty industry you are one-on-one with clients. So--if your genuinely love helping people, are comfortable touching their skin and going above and beyond to make them feel great about themselves, then apply to Sephora. The open idea of beauty extended to women, men and transgender is my favorite aspect about my workplace. My managers have completely respected my work/life balance (which is a major juggling act). I've been acknowledged for my strengths and get opportunities to work on my weaknesses with no judgments. Even if you aren't a trained make-up artist or aesthetician, the way Sephora encourages you to "Beauty Together" with your client allows you assist and learn in the process or call on a color expert to partner with you or take over the client. Great potential for growth if that is what you seek. I've watched seasonal become full-time, so don't hesitate to start seasonally to see if you like it.

Cons

Pay is only slightly better than Walmart and in an expensive market like Los Angeles that's really a shame for a company run by MHLV. Gratis is unfairly distributed at my workplace. You see managers and full-timers going home with multiples of the same product while seasonal and part-timers get nothing. That must be one of the areas of favoritism that Sephora has no way to control. But Brands come in and tell you exactly what you're going to receive from them so you can experience their line first-hand, but it doesn't show up in your gratis box. And with such low pay, gratis could make the difference between loving your chosen job or resentment. With hours, they can cut you whenever they need to make their payroll budget, so you can't really budget what your income will be and if you're depending on income, you're out of luck. If management doesn't like you, they can definitely make your day wretched which goes against the Sephora values of leadership and teamwork--but who's going to address it?

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Pros

Good pay flexible customer experience

Cons

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3.0
Jun 10, 2026
Recommend
CEO approval
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Pros

fun getting gratis and hosting in-store events, meeting brand ambassadors/managers, socializing with clients

Cons

manager created a weird environment -- coaching moments were sometimes extremely aggressive for a retail environment; strict on not applying makeup to clients unless they purchase a service. once made me move from a disabled client quickly because I was "spending too much time with them" and to further boost the store sales. felt extremely unethical.

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