Sephora Sale: Interesting Finds | Updated 9/21/2020

Thank you for featuring interesting sales items and updating this.

May I bring up something that happened the other day at my local JCP Sephora? I had been avoiding it since our retail stores reopened because the JCP Sephora had been roped off and required special access to get inside. A few days ago, I saw there was no line or even people inside so I decided to go inside.

I was allowed inside after being told about all the controls, but it was so dismal in there! The thing that really got me, and wasn’t a policy mentioned or enforced when I visited a freestanding Sephora store several weeks ago, is that I was told by the JCP Sephora gatekeeper that anything I touched would be set aside (so basically, no touching). It’s bad enough that there are no testers to even look at (let alone touch), but not being able to touch boxes to see colors available or ingredients, etc. is a bridge too far for me. WTH?

I’m probably in the minority here but if there are no issues with touching clothing right outside the JCP Sephora bubble, I find this JCP Sephora policy to be serious overreach, Corona theater at its most extreme. I don’t think the policy is supported by science. Yes, I could be infected and sneeze my virus droplets all over surfaces, but for the most part, I think much of this is so overblown. And don’t get me started on the store policies of not trying on any clothing (although my local American Eagle and Nordstrom apparently have figured out that many people refuse to buy wrong sizing and go through a return process to buy clothing). I think if these stores, especially those like makeup stores but also clothing stores, don’t figure out a way to allow for the customer to see and engage with their products, these stores won’t survive much longer.