Sephora reviews

3.7

65% would recommend to a friend

(9,604 total reviews)
avatar

Guillaume Motte

81% approve of CEO

56% positive business outlook

Sephora has an employee rating of 3.7 out of 5 stars, based on 9,604 company reviews on Glassdoor which indicates that most employees have a good working experience there. The Sephora employee rating is in line with the average (within 1 standard deviation) for employers within the Ventas al mayoreo y al menudeo industry (3.5 stars).

Reviews by job title

10K reviews
2.0
Jun 6, 2016
Recommend
CEO approval
Business Outlook

Pros

The pros are the only reasons that I am still with the company. The gratis is nice, discount is enough and better during the holidays, education is good, and you make excellent connections in the beauty industry.

Cons

They boast that there are career opportunities yet they are few and far between. Current management is atrocious. If your availability isn't enough so that they pretty much dominate your life then you're going to either not be hired or "let go". You have to be there for year otherwise you can't be rehired. They don't care if you are a trained professional whatsoever.

1.0
May 18, 2016

One of the worst employment experiences

Anonymous employee
Recommend
CEO approval
Business Outlook

Pros

Sephora is a big name and having it on your resume can open up some doors for you, but I can't say that the experience of being with such a terrible company is worth that. If you really love the products, the employee discount and the freebies might be an appealing perk.

Cons

The company culture is chaotic, abusive, and cut-throat. Extremely intelligent and motivated individuals with strong morals tend to do poorly at Sephora. Successful Sephora employees tend to shirk responsibility and give off the impression of being extremely busy, while trying to keep their hands clean of everything. This means no one ever really completes long-term tasks or solves difficult problems. Instead, things become more and more chaotic while everyone dramatically points the finger at everyone else. No solution is offered to the old problems, while newly created time-sucks pile on top of them. While Sephora claims to champion innovation, this cyclic system of non-productivity creates an environment in which there is simply no time to implement new ideas. The use of archaic systems and horrendous leadership across all departments compounds these problems. There is no training, support, or guidance given to new employees and a work-life balance is non-existent at Sephora. Employees are expected to work weekends and evenings. I really cannot say enough bad things about this company. I also always thought I would be the last to say that having primarily women run a company is problematic, but in Sephora's case, it was disastrous. I am not saying that women are not capable of running a company smoothly, but the type of women that succeeds at Sephora is profoundly immoral. This type of "success" is never sustainable. I don't think that hiring a few more male employees would fix the problem either. This company needs a major overhaul. I used to love Sephora products, but I am now unable to stomach purchasing anything from their stores. My experience with Sephora was, unfortunately, par for the course. I do not feel right spending my money with a company that has such a terrible reputation for its treatment of employees.

4.0
Oct 18, 2015

A job is a choice--choose wisely

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?

Viewing 91 - 93 of 9,604 Reviews

Glassdoor has 12,215 Sephora reviews submitted anonymously by Sephora employees. Read employee reviews and ratings on Glassdoor to decide if Sephora is right for you.