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Lala27 on 12/16/2012 7:00:00 AM more reviews by Lala27

Age: 30-35   Skin: Other   Hair: Brunette   Eyes: Brown    

I saw this review last week and wanted to test this out for myself, so I left a few reviews of products I have tried. The reviews ranged from bad to great, and a week later they are still there. Maybe they were erasing posts when these reviews were written, but that doesn't seem to be the case anymore.

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sara85 on 8/22/2011 12:49:00 AM more reviews by sara85

Age: 30-35   Skin: Sensitive, Fair-Medium   Hair: Brunette   Eyes: Brown    

Sephora deletes most negative reviews. It is very sad, but true. I spend a lot of money every year, in Sephora & I am a VIB (very important beauty insider). I was waiting for Urban Decay Naked palette to be back in stock & ordered it as soon as it was available. When I received it, it had finger prints on most colors. I wrote a review & mentioned the issue. There were several reviews mentioning the same problem as well. The following day, they were all gone! My review was never posted. I got an email from Sephora, apologizing for the inconvenience & asking me to contact the VIB hotline, so they could help me & solve the issue. I called them, and the solution was to return the product!
It was sad, but I was happy that it happened, because now I know I should never trust the reviews on Sephora online. I check MUA. I don't know why Sephora does this, but this is not the right way to do business.

5 out of 5 people found this review helpful.     Was this review helpful to you? Yes   No

hesperia on 3/15/2011 7:45:00 PM more reviews by hesperia

Age: 56 & Over   Skin: Oily, Fair-Medium, Neutral   Hair: Brown, Wavy, Fine   Eyes: Brown    

I'm surprised at the comments here. I read some pretty forceful comments on the Sephora review section ("Don't waste your money!" "Don't buy this!"). I wonder if it has to do vocabulary. No, this is not a criticism. Believe me, I can be very colorful when I'm POd. But some places are pretty touchy about it.

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*TOP REVIEWER* ImYourFavoriteDrug on 3/15/2011 4:50:00 PM more reviews by ImYourFavoriteDrug

Age: 25-29   Skin: Combination, Fair, Cool   Hair: Blond, Medium   Eyes: Green    

What a joke...........what's the point of having a review section if they're going to filter out the bad ones?

1 out of 1 people found this review helpful.     Was this review helpful to you? Yes   No

*TOP REVIEWER* missvox2 on 1/21/2011 4:50:00 PM more reviews by missvox2

Age: 36-43   Skin: Combination, Medium, Warm   Hair: Brunette, Straight   Eyes: Brown    

I had rated and reviewed a number of products after purchasing from Sephora.com and have yet to see some of my reviews show up. What is the point of having rating system when its fixed? I though my reviews were helpful and provided fair and honest feedback. I hate having to go in their stores anymore and only go online to check the ingredients listings--at lease they are accurate.

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*TOP REVIEWER* reihasama on 12/13/2010 3:23:00 PM more reviews by reihasama

Age: 25-29   Skin: Combination   Hair: Black   Eyes: Black    

It seems to me that the reviews on Sephora are overwhelmingly positive for just about any product, whether beloved or vilified by those on MakeupAlley. As such, they make it difficult to judge a product's true usefulness to those who want to try it. It's a fairly high possibility that the negative reviews are being heavily screened out.

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biogrrl on 12/13/2010 2:57:00 PM more reviews by biogrrl

Age: 30-35   Skin: Combination   Hair: Blond   Eyes: Hazel    

They absolutely refuse to post any negative reviews. I have found this with several major bloggers as well. God forbid you try to have an honest conversation.

Case in point: the Tweezerman ProCurl lash curler. It costs more than the Shu curler and within 3 weeks of owning it, the welded metal cross bar that curls the lashes against the silicon actually popped off and into my eyeball.

That's right! Metal shards in my eye.

I wanted to let people know that not only does it not work well (compared to Shu), it is also extremely poorly made and potentially very dangerous.

But alas.... nobody will ever know since Sephora.com never posted it even with repeated submissions.

Utterly useless and borderline criminal.

5 out of 5 people found this review helpful.     Was this review helpful to you? Yes   No

*TOP REVIEWER* girrl65 on 12/13/2010 1:53:00 PM more reviews by girrl65

Age: 19-24   Skin: Combination, Olive, Warm   Hair: Black, Curly, Medium   Eyes: Green    

I glance at the reviews on Sephora, but I never write any. I think that if people want a definitive source for objective ratings MUA is the place to come....not a business. Usually the reviews for most items are about what they are here, but they usually are always a little higher. I have seen where others have written that Sephora deletes their reviews. I would not doubt that. They are a business and they don't want "bad" reviews hurting sales. I think that is BS. They use the review section not as an objective source of information like MUA, but another tool to sell their products.

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*TOP REVIEWER* sallysellsseashells on 12/13/2010 1:18:00 PM more reviews by sallysellsseashells

Age: 30-35   Skin: Combination, Medium, Neutral   Hair: Brunette, Straight, Medium   Eyes: Brown    

I'm very concerned with Sephora's reviews. How can something be rated a 2.6 here and a 4.5 there (Sephora Blockbuster Palette)? We are paying a lot of money at Sephora and we rely on reviews in order for us not to spend our money foolishly. Sephora is a great store to shop for makeup and wish they would just fess up and be honest that yes, some of their products, rather it be the Sephora brand or other brands, do suck. I can't tell you how many rating discrepancies I come across between here and there with the Sephora reviews always being the highest. Overall, I do trust MUA reviews over Sephora because we don't sell makeup and we care about each other and not about the year end sales figures.
***UPDATE*** HA HA HA The mean smiley face is gone! I'm sure Sephora had something to say about that.

3 out of 4 people found this review helpful.     Was this review helpful to you? Yes   No

*TOP REVIEWER* Miaoudeminou on 9/20/2010 1:30:00 AM more reviews by Miaoudeminou

Age: 19-24   Skin: Acne-prone, Fair-Medium, Cool   Hair: Black, Wavy, Medium   Eyes: Hazel    

This is a fun store to go into once in a while. The employees however don't really seem to know much about make-up. I do have to say this is better than Ulta. At Ulta the employees treat you horribly.
7/18/12 update: Went into a Sephora looking for a concealer & foundation that'd work (tired of spending money on drugstore products that don't work). First of all I wanted a MUA who know what they were doing. Oh boy did they give me the wrong person. I didn't find out, until she was giving me samples, that she was a SKIN CONSULTANT not a MUA. Yet here they had her doing my make-up the entire time...clueless. Yep she had no idea where to start with me. When I had even recommended trying out MUFE HD concealer she went somewhere else first. I had the MUFE HD foundation caked on my skin because I told her I wanted coverage. I never knew that when a woman wanted coverage she wanted her face looked like it was dipped in the foundation. I wanted natural so she moved on to the Laura Mercier TM. As for concealer she tried the NARS concealer stick first and caked that on. Then when I said that didn't work she finally listened to me and tried the MUFE HD concealer on me. None of it worked. When I looked in the mirror I could see I was wearing make-up but my flaws were showing right through. I didn't know I had two choices with make-up: 1) being a cakey mess but having coverage or 2) looking very natural & glowy but all my flaws showing through. I was disappointed and thought a MUA at Sephora could help me. Then when I had told her I was unsure she badgered me to buy something. I was going to buy the TM but saw it was $45. So I went with the HD concealer but I still hate it. I shouldn't have bought it and it's going asap. Then I'm heading over to the Bobbi Brown counter to see if their corrector can help my under eye area. For the mean time I'm using NYX Stay Matte Not Flat as a foundation but there are spots it doesn't fully cover.

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*TOP REVIEWER* Brunettegirl on 9/16/2010 7:56:00 AM more reviews by Brunettegirl

Age: 36-43   Skin: Combination, Fair-Medium   Hair: Brunette   Eyes: Hazel    

I am utterly disgusted at Sephora for deleteing my very professional, yet very honest review for BARE ESCENTUALS MMU...I saw my review posted and the very first day several customers had tagged my review as helpful...I was merely sharing my personal experice about the breakouts that the make up caused, in hopes others will not have to go through what I went through. I wanted to give people a heads up to the ever so famous Bismuth inclusion that many people can not tolerate. I wrote nothing vulgar or bashing in a any way and and can not believe they deleted my review...This renders their reviews pointless and useless, as NOT EVERYONE is going to have glowing comments about a product. I can't believe a businees that recieves BILLIONS of dollars annually can't afford to have a few honest comments every now and again...Ridiculous.... Iwish their was a -0 rating, that's what they deserve...
I'd also like to add that I am only speaking in regards to the reviews and ratings on Sephora, not my shopping or purchasing experiences....I give credit where credit is do, and like others on here I enjoy spending a fortune at Sephora as they carry wonderful products and the customer ser is overall very gracious.....

42 out of 43 people found this review helpful.     Was this review helpful to you? Yes   No

Kikisexy83 on 2/20/2010 1:51:00 PM more reviews by Kikisexy83

Age: 19-24   Skin: Sensitive, Dark   Hair: Black   Eyes: Brown    

1. Sephora do allow negative reviews. Their rating n reviews section helped me alot. It help me find out if the product is worth buying it or NOT. 2. It's not sephora fault if the person does not specify want color they bought. 3. If u are not satisfy with what u bought u can always return it. Sephora has the BEST customer service. If u have your receipt they will refund u the money without any hassle. If u don't they will issue u a store credit.

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*TOP REVIEWER* ayngemac on 2/10/2010 1:53:00 AM more reviews by ayngemac

Age: 30-35   Skin: Oily, Olive   Hair: Black   Eyes: Brown    

Yes, it's pointless to review products on Sephora. I only check MUA for reviews. But if you think about it, it makes sense. Sephora must weed out negative reviews. What are they going to say? "Yeah, we sell crappy products!" Of course not. It's more cost effective to just take back products from unsatisfied customers than it is to warn them beforehand via negative reviews. I know so many chicks who just toss products they hate instead of taking the time to return them.

4 out of 4 people found this review helpful.     Was this review helpful to you? Yes   No

*TOP REVIEWER* RavenBeauty on 11/21/2009 5:39:00 AM more reviews by RavenBeauty

Age: 36-43   Skin: Oily, Fair, Cool   Hair: Brunette   Eyes: Brown    

I must agree with many of the reviews here regarding this problem with Sephora. I love Sephora and have been spent a small fortune there. Like many, I have noticed that almost none of my honest reviews are accepted. If they are riddled with pure praise, they are put out right away. If they are telling it like it is, but staying within guidelines, they are mysteriously never put out. It sends a very powerful message and makes me feel that I can't trust the reviews there anymore. I could understand if they were downright nasty, offensive or crossed a line in some way, but when they are well written, concise and honest and are not put out, it certainly makes one wonder.



Another thing I have noticed that is even more offensive is how certain companies that manufacture the product (and its so obvious it is them or their interns) will come around to your reviews and say they are purely helpful if you do nothing but sing their praises, but if you even remotely hint at something negative, suddenly your review was not helpful. It does not matter how well written or helpful it actually was because it did not state what they want to hear.



There is one new company in particular who does this and they make it very obvious. If you read the reviews, representatives from many companies will chime in and make comments and let you know they are out there, so you know they pad the reviews that put them in a good light and pad the reviews appropriately that put them in a bad light. Politics and childish behavior like this should never enter into a consumer putting out an honest review. It either helped you or it didn't. Its not about whether you like that user or not personally. It should not be about whether they said something honest that doesn't help sell your product or not. We are not here or at Sephora to sell products. We are asked to write reviews and if they are honest and forthright, they should be put out without hesitation. The companies that sell their products at Sephora need to realize that this goes with the territory. Its the cost of doing business. Its even more irritating when they keep sending you all those emails asking you to write a review and then wonder why so many have stopped putting forth the effort.

20 out of 20 people found this review helpful.     Was this review helpful to you? Yes   No

kngdiana1 on 8/7/2009 4:25:00 PM more reviews by kngdiana1

Age: 30-35   Skin: Combination   Hair: Brunette   Eyes: Black    

I was the first person to review Kat Von D's new tattoo liner on sephora.com and wrote that the liner made my lash line itchy, red, bumpy....and that the ingredients were not the most wholesome....and to beware if you are allergic to the chemicals and pigments used in the product. Fair enough...

The review was never posted, and today I noticed 5 glowing reviews were posted for that liner. I feel like the capitalistic world we live in is really BIG BROTHER. Scary.

I will never review again on sephora.com

17 out of 18 people found this review helpful.     Was this review helpful to you? Yes   No

*TOP REVIEWER* Violet912 on 6/7/2009 4:54:00 PM more reviews by Violet912

Age: 25-29   Skin: Dry, Fair, Cool   Hair: Black, Straight, Medium   Eyes: Other    

I'm not a fan of the Sephora ratings and reviews, but I haven't had the atrocious time everyone else has.


I have definitely written negative reviews for Sephora and seen them posted after a day or two. It does, however, annoy me that I have to go through so many screens, as well as a separate screening process, to post them. I no longer write any Sephora reviews - I post everything right here on MUA.


For me, though, the biggest flaw in the Sephora ratings and reviews is that it doesn't separate different shades of the same product as is done on MUA. For example, I spend a lot of time drooling over Urban Decay eyeshadow... and there are shades (Uzi, Midnight Cowboy) that consistently receive very mixed reviews while there are shades (Flash, Roach) that receive glowing reviews. Sephora lumps these all together and averages them out, plus half the people reviewing don't seem to realize that nobody knows what shade they bought and don't think to mention it in their review. So the review becomes something unhelpful such as "This color was so ugly!!!" that not only doesn't describe why they thought the color was ugly, but doesn't even tell me which one! For this reason, I avoid reading as well as writing Sephora reviews.

6 out of 6 people found this review helpful.     Was this review helpful to you? Yes   No

*TOP REVIEWER* Tamathy on 10/24/2008 5:24:00 PM more reviews by Tamathy

Age: 36-43   Skin: Very Oily, Fair   Hair: Red   Eyes: Blue    

I submitted a very positive review for the Thermaclear and it never posted. It was mostly the same as what I posted here on MUA, and the only reason I can think of is that I mention in the review that I am on the autism spectrum. I don't have time to chase Sephora via email over product reviews or to resubmit 3 or 4 times to meet "standards" that they never clearly define. I refuse to waste any more time or effort on their rigged system, and the next time they spam me with an email begging me to review something I've bought, I'm going to tell them just that. As for getting off my high horse and not complaining here-- that's what Makeup Alley is all about. If by posting this I can save someone the aggravation of writing a review for Sephora, I consider it time well-spent. If no one on MUA ever complained, we'd all still be getting stuck with shoddy products and service.

One more note: The review section on Sephora.com is really the only problem I have with the store. The SA's are always very nice to me (especially in the JCPenney stores for some reason) and I love the ease of returns, the BI program, etc. It's a shame that they had to make their review section the only black mark on an otherwise spectacular company.

10 out of 10 people found this review helpful.     Was this review helpful to you? Yes   No

spiffytiffi912 on 10/19/2008 1:04:00 AM more reviews by spiffytiffi912

Age: Unknown   Skin: Oily, Fair-Medium   Hair: Black   Eyes: Brown    

I'm seeing a lot more negative (they're not extremely negative though) reviews on the site now, but the positives far outweigh them. I doubt their claim of "we're experiencing a huge traffic of reviews and are trying to keep up" because I doubt the initial flow of reviews were all positive and only NOW, when things are getting busy, there are negative ones.

I'll continue watching to site to see how Sephora handles all the reviews because I DO like shopping there, both online and in the store, and really want the best for them. But for now, the only reviews I trust are here on MUA!!

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*TOP REVIEWER* msdi2u on 10/18/2008 11:13:00 PM more reviews by msdi2u

Age: 44-55   Skin: Sensitive, Fair-Medium, Warm   Hair: Brunette, Wavy, Fine   Eyes: Hazel    

I was a little confused by the review before mine who seems to be unhinged by the people bashing the Sephora rewards program. I thought I got off the elevator on the wrong floor, but turns out I didn't. {phew} ANYWAY... [tee hee]


I understand this thread is about Sephora's online ratings and review option, which is similar to MUA- yet not quite. I, like earlier reviewers here, also noticed that most negative reviews are not allowed to be shown or are subsequently deleted on the Sephora site. I wrote a few reviews over a month ago, but have yet to see one posted online. (NO, they were not all negative reviews, either. Some were positively glowing reviews on the products!)


I don't know the reason why some reviews make it and others don't. What I DO know is... I won't waste my time rating and reviewing any more products on Sephora's website. TWOT!!! (Total Waste of Time) I also won't bother reading the ones that are already there, because they obviously are not a fair & balanced sample of the general consumers' opinions- unlike here on Makeup Alley.


As for those previous reviews here by Sephora employees and others upset about people giving this category a low rating... well, I don't think they quite understood the topic. I LOVE Sephora (the store)♥, as I'm sure the earlier reviewers do, too! It is strictly the "ratings and review" option on the Sephora website that we are perturbed by, and with good reason.

4 out of 4 people found this review helpful.     Was this review helpful to you? Yes   No

FabulousNikki on 10/12/2008 12:57:00 AM more reviews by FabulousNikki

Age: 30-35   Skin: Normal, Fair   Hair: Red   Eyes: Blue    

First of all, people are bashing the Beauty Insider program at Sephora. You get more than just a shower gel on your birthday...you get points for deluxe samples...you get invitations to Beauty Insider-only events, and there are products (special kits, etc.) that only the Beauty Insiders are allowed to buy. In addition, the BI's are the first to know about events in store, etc.

Also, someone referred to Cosmedicine as the "in-house" skincare brand. They may have the same parent company as Sephora (I'm not sure), but the in-house skincare brand is the SEPHORA brand. They have their own skincare line as well as cosmetics, bath, etc.

The return policy is generous--too generous if you ask me. You can get a sample of ANYthing you want, almost--so why would you return stuff? Get a sample and try before you buy.

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