Ulta Beauty is one of the biggest beauty department stores in the country. However, like any other Fortune 500 company, it’s had its fair share of scandals. The company was accused of repackaging and reusing bad makeup, and loyal customers went into a frenzy all over social media.
As a fellow customer of Ulta Beauty, I wanted to dig a little deeper and find out what was really going on when backs are turned at the beauty franchise – so I sat down with an Ulta employee (who chose to go unnamed) to see what really goes on behind the scenes.
“I have a really positive opinion about Ulta,” she said. She told me that she’d never witnessed anybody reusing or restocking makeup that’d gone bad or returned. She even broke the returning process down for me step by step.
“You have to destroy the makeup immediately,” she said, noting that employees are in charge of breaking every mirror, scraping out all product from the pans, and breaking all palettes in half. If they’re dealing with a liquid product, they must drain the product and break that container as well.
She said they carry out this tedious process in order to avoid dumpster divers and employees trying to leave the store with free makeup, and in order to ensure that employees of the company aren’t stealing, they’re required to only bring a clear bag to work and everyone (including management) gets patted down before their shift can end.
However, if the employee does buy a makeup product, they’re allowed to get the product marked by management as proof of purchase.
This employee went on to explain how great Ulta Beauty is with their employees, and that they’re taught that the customer is the number one priority.
“We have watched countless videos on how to treat the customer, and to make their visit incredible,” she said.
Overall, the employee I spoke to really believed in the company that she works for, and was really excited about being able to debunk the rumors that have cursed the company for a few years.
“I can’t speak for every store, but I know mine to be honest and friendly. I love working for Ulta, and I love the way they treat their customers and employees.”