A group of teenage girls have been branded “disgraceful” after a Sephora employee called them out for using dark makeup for “black face.”
The three girls were caught painting their faces with darker shades of makeup at a Boston branch of the popular beauty chain.
A video of the incident, which was shared on TikTok and has since gone viral, shows a staff member confronting the group and criticizing the girls' apparent supervisor for her “incredibly offensive” behavior.
Although it can't be heard in the video, the original poster states that the girls made “animal noises” while applying makeup.
Outraged social media users called the shoppers “shameful” and “disgusting” and called for a ban.
The makeup store's parent company said it was “extremely disappointed” by the girls' actions and reiterated that “this type of behavior will not be tolerated at Sephora under any circumstances.”
Three teenage girls were caught painting their faces with darker shades of makeup at a Sephora location in the Prudential Center in Boston, Massachusetts
A staff member confronted the group and criticized the girls' apparent supervisor for her “incredibly offensive” behavior
The footage was captured last weekend at a Sephora location at the Prudential Center in Boston.
It shows a group of three white girls walking through the store after apparently using product samples to apply darker makeup to their faces. It is believed that the girls planned to photograph themselves.
A worker, who social media users claim does not work for Sephora but rather runs a product stand in the store, then confronts the adult accompanying the group, saying, “I walked here and you're about to take a To take a photo of it.”
“You want to document this? Continue. “This is the stuff that ruins jobs…not to mention how incredibly offensive it is.”
The adult supervisor appears to fire the employee and then walks away.
TikTok user @temiojoraa, who was in Boston for a track and field meet when she witnessed the incident, said she was “really so disgusted and disturbed.”
“This group of teenage girls and their mothers come in and go to the makeup department to use the blackface samples while giggling and making animal noises,” she wrote.
She also claims that after the incident, the supervisor confronted her about the recording.
Sephora's parent company, Devries Global, said in a statement to the Atlanta Black Star that the company was “disappointed” by the incident.
A spokesperson said: “Sephora's top priority is to create a welcoming and inclusive shopping experience for everyone.” We are extremely disappointed with the behavior of these shoppers at our Prudential Center location and have been asked to leave our premises. Under no circumstances will this type of behavior be tolerated at Sephora.”
Sephora's parent company said it was “extremely disappointed” by the girls' actions and reiterated that “this type of behavior will not be tolerated under any circumstances” (Sephora store file photo)
But many people expressed outrage online, calling for the girls to be banned from the store and praising the worker for her intervention.
“You have a great collaborator who stepped in when a group of teenagers and their mothers came in and used your samples to create blackface while recording animal sounds of themselves,” wrote X user @RyanShead.
“She deserves a raise.” “The moms and kids should be famous…in a bad way,” said @shanerooks
“This made me very upset,” wrote @mami_xo23
User @DntBurnUrBRIDGE added: “This is just gross.”
“The employee did the right thing,” echoed TikTok user @brandontgendron. “Let’s make sure Sephora knows they have a great employee working with them.”
Another user @mariaisabelabarca responded, “You should be banned from Sephora honestly.”
“Lifetime Sephora ban for girls… Mom should definitely check how she's raising her kids because she's doing so poorly,” @jess__lb26 added.
has contacted Devries Global for comment.
Tweens and teens go wild at Sephora testing expensive skincare products and making a huge mess
It's not just Drunk Elephant products that teens are destroying – Inkey List, Fenty Beauty and Glow Recipe are also popular options
The incident occurred as customers and employees of popular beauty chains, including Sephora, denounced young girls for causing chaos in their stores.
Tweens and teen girls go wild at Sephora testing expensive skin care products and making a huge mess. Many of the teens flock to Drunk Elephant, a beauty brand loved by stars like Alix Earle, Hailey Bieber and Kourtney Kardashian.
Both employees and shoppers called the young women “wild” and begged their parents to supervise them in makeup stores.
Cassandra Bankson, 31, a TikTok content creator and esthetician, investigated the rumor in Los Angeles and was shocked by her findings. She told her 437,000 followers that the Drunk Elephant section was “disgusting” before sharing footage of the destroyed section.
The model found “a lip balm with literally a hair in it” and that “someone put the tanning drops all over one of the moisturizers and didn't even bother to put them back.”
A Sephora employee from Tennessee also criticized the way the teens treat staff, branding them “mean girls.”
“It's not the fact that these are little girls at Sephora, because makeup is subjective, there's no age limit,” Sequoia Cothra told Fox News, adding that her concern was more about what these girls were looking for grab in stores.
“It’s also because of the way they treat the workers,” she added. “You see these mean girl antics with these 10-year-olds.”