A video showing a group of girls at Sephora applying darker shades of makeup to their faces to do blackface is leaving many viewers online disgusted by their actions.
The video shows three teenage girls walking around the store, painting their faces with darker makeup shades. One white teen with dark brown makeup on her face is seen standing next to a Sephora employee who is criticizing someone who appears to be a parent or chaperone of the group. Viewers can hear that employee saying how “incredibly offensive” the teens’ makeup application is.
The original video was posted on TikTok over the weekend and reshared and reposted several times, drawing millions of views. Although it can’t be heard in the video, users who first posted the video said the girls were making animal noises while they put on the makeup.
Representatives for the company sent the Atlanta Black Star a statement confirming that the incident took place at a Sephora location inside the Prudential Center in Boston, Massachusetts.
“Sephora’s top priority is to create a welcoming and inclusive shopping experience for all. We are extremely disappointed by the behavior of these shoppers at our Prudential Center location, and as such, they were asked to leave our premises. Under no circumstance is this type of behavior tolerated at Sephora.”
Many people online shared their frustrations with the teens’ actions. Some suggested they should be banned from Sephora.
“Disgusting,” one TikTok user commented. “I hope Sephora identifies this family and bans them from their stores.”
“To do that in public is insane in 2024,” another person wrote.
Letting preteens and teenagers roam around makeup stores like Sephora and Ulta unsupervised or unchecked is an issue several store workers from across the country have posted about online over the last year.
Employees have shared their experiences dealing with rowdy groups of preteen girls who run amok in those stores. On TikTok, videos posted with the hashtags #ultakids and #sephorakids amassed millions of views.
Last month, one Sephora worker based in Tennessee told Fox News that these kids frequently come into the stores disrespecting employees, dirtying sample stations, and hounding their parents to buy them hundreds of dollars worth of makeup. Several other employees posted accounts that resembled her experience.
“It’s more about what these girls are reaching for when they’re in these stores,” 21-year-old Sequoia Cothran told Fox News Digital. “It’s also the way that they’re treating the workers within it. You see these kind of mean girl antics from these 10-year-olds.”
Some workers have even called for the companies to institute an age restriction and ban kids under the age of 18 from coming into the stores unless they’re accompanied by a parent or chaperone.
