Have you ever accidentally dropped or broken a beauty product in store? Share your mishaps!
One time I was at a Coach outlet, and I accidentally knocked over a small stack of rollerball perfumes, actually. Luckily, we’re talking about a stack of maybe 5-10 of them, so it wasn’t a big deal.
Thanks to Tuss for today’s question! Do you have a question idea? Submit yours here.
We're here to help you make better beauty purchases that you'll enjoy and love! We recommend signing up to take advantage of personalized features like tracking products you own, viewing dupes that you already have, and more!
Here are some useful resources for you:
Curious how two shades compare to each other? Type in the shades below to get instant side-by-side swatches!
Comments that do not adhere to our comment policy may be removed. Discussion and debate are highly encouraged but we expect community members to participate respectfully. Please keep discussion on-topic, and if you have general feedback, a product review request, an off-topic question, or need technical support, please contact us!
Please help us streamline the comments' section and be more efficient: double-check the post above for more basic information like pricing, availability, and so on to make sure your question wasn't answered already. Comments alerting us to typos or small errors in the post are appreciated (!) but will typically be removed after errors are fixed (unless a response is needed).
We appreciate enthusiasm for new releases but ask readers to please hold questions regarding if/when a review will be posted as we can't commit to or guarantee product reviews. We don't want to set expectations and then disappoint readers as even products that are swatched don't always end up being reviewed due to time constraints and changes in priorities! Thank you for understanding!
We try to approve comments within 24 hours (and reply to them within 72 hours) but can sometimes get behind and appreciate your patience! 🙂 If you have general feedback, product review requests, off-topic questions, or need technical support, please contact us directly. Thank you for your patience!
I once spilled the NARS Translucent loose powder tester at Sephora… The whole thing. All the foundations and stuff were covered in powder! I was so embarrassed! To be honest, there shouldn’t be loose powder testers… Lol!
No, they really shouldn’t!
I dropped a UD 24/7 liner at Sephora and it rolled under the display where I couldn’t reach it. Luckily it was the tester so they just pulled another one out of the drawer.
Yes! But I do work at Ulta….
I have to say, though, I hate when someone breaks something, but doesn’t tell us. I don’t know how many times I’ve gone to show blush or something to someone, only to find it shattered in the case. Just a few days ago a women broke a BareMinerals warmth open, but instead of telling me so I could get proper cleaning supplies, she kicked it under the display, ruining her shoes(which she is demanding we pay for) and stained our floor. Just tell us! We’re being paid to do stuff like that!
OMG my head is gonna explode at the nerve!! i had this kinda thing happen in retail, and it is easier to clean it up when its a new mess than after everyone has tracked thru it.
She really wants you to pay for her shoes?? When she herself broke it? That is pretty rude!
At Ulta they had this Calvin Klein eyeshadow quad I couldn’t figure out how to open. I ended up breaking the top off and the quad slipped out of my hand at the same time. Huge mess!
My mum accidentally tipped the contents of a tub of La Prairie cream out onto her shoe. $300 worth of cream just sitting on her shoe lol. Pretty good effort.
Christine, did you have to pay for them then?
Today, I was buying a lipstick at the store and I didn’t drop it but the cashier dropped it twice. Luckily, nothing happened; the Maybelline Vivids are sturdy.
Heck No! Thank God I haven’t and not because of the unecessary price I’d pay but also because seeing a beautiful beauty product break to pieces is heart-breaking!
I do that so often! I usually carry very large bags (so I can have everything with me) and they are such a pain in beauty stores. Last time I “used” my bag to throw some Sephora nail polishes on the floor 🙂 Lucky me, nothing was broken.
I do a similar thing a lot. I drop something into a bag and then realize it didn’t go in the bag… Lost my credit card that way.
I used to work retail (beauty products) and I can tell you it happens a lot. The absolute WORST thing is when customers knock over schampoo, conditioner, body-wash etc and it spills on the floor and they just leave it because they are embarassed. Best thing they can do is tell us so we can get it cleaned off or call the cleaning department. Don’t want anyone to fall and slip…!
For some reason, it’s always nail polish problems with me. I dropped a Nars nail polish on the glass counter at the Nordstroms in the Dallas Galleria. I good amount of gold polish leaked out on the counter and on the display with powder products exposed. The sales lady was very nice, but the deptment manager was an a-hole about it. One of a few reasons why I don’t use the Galleria Nordstroms.
I’ve dropped a point of purchase display in a local department store once. I apologized profusely, but the sales assistant kept insisting it wasn’t my fault. I still feel bad about it to this day, haha.
A couple of years ago I had an eyeshadow in my hand at Sephora and I dropped it and it rolled under a shelf. For all I know it could still be there!
I’ve knocked over an eyeshadow at a MAC kiosk in Nordstrom and had it shatter everywhere. The employees were really nice but my hubby still makes fun of me for it whenever he sees a Mac store. Ha ha.
Heh, the first time I ever stopped by the Bare Minerals counter in Mecca Cosmetica, I was investigating their loose eyeshadows…only I didn’t realise they were loose! So I turned it upside down to see what the shade name was, and dumped half the contents over their open lipstick testers 😀 Fortunately there was still half left in the shadow pot, and the lipsticks could be wiped off, but I felt like a total n00b. The sales assistant was very sweet about it, though. I think she thought it was more funny than anything, LOL!
Luckily that has never happened to me although I tend to be a bit clumsy and walk into things like door frames or corners of tables, that would really be my worst nightmare.
I did! I broke a glass nail file at Sephora when it slipped out of the case and I dropped it on the floor. I told them I’d pay for it, but she was like, “We’ll just damage it out, no big deal!”
I dropped a Buxom lipgloss onto the floor at Sephora and it rolled under another section of products.
Once I dropped a shadow palette on the floor at a Sephora. It was the tester, but anyway half of the shadows broke. I put it back on the shelf, but there was shadow powder left on the floor.
I was in a Sally’s and dropped a polish I was holding, then promptly turned around a knocked a 2nd one off the clearance table. Luckily they were both on clearance and I bought three others.
I did something very similar. Our Sally’s was new, and in transferring my purchases from the basket to the counter, two of them fell on the new , light floor. They both broke and made a terrible mess. They were so sweet and reassured me that acetone takes care of everything. I couldn’t stop apologizing, and of course, I bought lots of polish that day.
I came home and called Corporate to tell them how wonderful their workers are at that store.
Thankfully, i’ve never dropped anything that broke at Sephora but I seem to be more clumsy when it comes to stacked fruit at the market.
Luckily no, but it’s always been a nightmare of mine. Whenever I drop something I feel like my heart flew out of my chest. 🙁
No, thank god! Dropping products in my own home and bathroom is bad enough already 😉
Just recently at MAC checking out the Playland collection. The cap was faulty (didn’t latch shut) on the Ever So Yellow pigment I had just swatched. I went to put it back (holding it by the cap) and the bottom fell. It fell like 3 times (display, counter, floor) in super slow motion twirling all around. It went all over all the [open] lipsticks. I was mortified.
Last time I was at ulta, I was putting a Zoya polish back on the shelf but it fell right off (I saw later that the shelf was broken/crooked). It was from pretty high up so it splattered everywhere. I got dirty looks from the entire staff the rest of the time I shopped around…oops.
One time when I was Ulta I was holding a black/grey shimmer nail polish and dropped it. Lets just say between the glass and the nail polish all over the floor and my feet it was not a pretty sight. The store employees were very understanding and it seemed easy to clean up. I was very embaressed and felt bad, but they claimed it happened all the time! haha, now I can laugh about it! Great Question!
I love reading these answers! I have never dropped anything as a customer. I work in a teeny tiny warehouse that has a cute little make-up counter. I’ve dropped some things while stocking shelves. It’s low budget makeup though! I’ve also cleaned the mess of other costumers many times. Loose powders are hell. Or baked eyeshadow quads shattering all over the place. Today I spent a good fifteen minutes on the floor cleaning up after a lady who knocked over two bottles of red wine. I’m not getting paid enough for that kind of sh*t.
I dropped a nail polish at Walmart on Easter Sunday. I was holding too much stuff, and when it fell it SHATTERED and made a huge mess. Shocking that a bottle with only .5 oz of liquid can create such a giant puddle. I went back to the display before I left the store and of course there were no others, and it was limited edition.
Yes! I was at Ulta with a friend and I accidentally knocked over a glass container filled with nail polishes! One of them broke and splashed all over my new black boots! I was so embarassed. I got someone to help me and they told me that it happens all the time. They brought out a huge bottle of acetone and cleaned the floor while I cleaned my boots.
At least it was a great shopping trip! My friend and i got everything we wanted and the ladies at Ulta couldn’t have been nicer.
i used to manage a Sally Beauty, and ppl ALWAYS knocked the polishes over spilling constantly!!! I had to clean it up every other day lol
I accidentally dumped out half a pigment jar at MAC once. Whoever touched it before me didn’t screw the cap on fully, I removed it from the display by the cap… All over the counter and the floor. I was mortified but the sales rep was happier that I let her know, than being upset over the mess. Phew!
Years ago, I picked up a display pot of the eyecolor Oz at a Bare Escentuals boutique. Somehow I twitched, and the pot tipped, but the loose shadow went flying! My arm and shirt were coated/speckled, as were the display table and floor nearby. Oz was an incredibly pigmented intense bright emerald. I bought stuff just to feel less guilty for the mess I created.
On my Bday i was at a Mac Store and i finger swatched a mac pressed pigment in Rock Candy and i guess i pushed to hard and the whole thing crumbled!!! lesson learned!! there was pink sparkles all over me all that day
No, I never have. LOL Kayla!
I dropped a pre-made eyeshadow quad in MAC! Pretty embarrasing.
All the shadows shattered! Thankfully didn’t have to pay for it or anything
Yup! Dropped and cracked the Hourglass blush at Sephora! Ooops.
Never in the store!
omg I once dropped and broke a bottle of silver nail polish and I was wearing a long, dark skirt. It went into smithereens and splattered all over my skirt, too. The store was very nice about it. They said it happened “all the time”. I bought a bottle of acetone and worked on getting it out of that skirt for a long time. Luckily the fabric didn’t dissolve from the acetone. It was just a lot of elbow grease to get it out. Somehow I never felt as good about silver polish after that.
I once accidentally dropped a bottle of bright turquoise nail polish at Planet Beauty and it shattered as it hit the floor. I didn’t even like the color so I don’t remember why I even picked it up. The sales associate gave me attitude when I told her (I wanted to make sure they knew so that they can clean it up before anyone stepped in it). Mind you, I was a frequent shopper there but after I saw how visibly annoyed the sales associate was and how she was making it seem like she was doing me a favor by not charging me the $8 for the polish, I haven’t bought anything there since. I was already feeling bad enough, no need to make a customer feel worse! The worst part was that some of the polish splashed on my favorite pair of boots and I haven’t been able to get it off since 🙁
I once dropped a barely used MAC limited edition mineralize eyeshadow. It landed on my grey suede boots and the eyeshadow broke into pieces. Luckily the eyeshadow was a grey purple shade and didn’t ruin my boots. The MAC artist said that it was no problem. I made more of a big deal about it then they did.
I was in a Delia’s, checking out some of their nail polishes they have displayed where you wait in line. I picked up this gorgeous, rich blue-green cream polish… and somehow (I still swear I didn’t drop it. Physics just worked against me for a moment.) it ended up on the (tiled) floor and smashed. Nail polish ALL over the floor and on the bottom of some poor lady’s pants. The employees were so nice about it, I even offered to pay for the bottle and they said no! I think the woman whose pants it got on was more than a little peeved, I still feel bad about that.
I haven’t but I was at Ulta and a man knocked over a handful of OPI nail polishes that shattered on the floor and caused a huge mess. He literally ran out the store. I was the other other person standing in that section so it looked like I did it! I told someone right away and left so they didn’t think it was me. 🙁
I dropped a Pixi nail polish in Target and it shattered. Neon pink all over the floor. The person I told ws sort of rude about it but I didn’t do it on purpose.
I also somehow shattered a Sephora brand palette there once and they were nice about it.
Not at stores. Maybe dropped a few things, but nothing ever broke. My house is another story though – broken powders/eyeshadows, shattered nail polish bottles (polish exploding all over the floor/furniture), dropping perfume bottles (dented the sprayer, but at lest the bottle didn’t break), slamming twist-up pencils into mirror, dropping open products into the sink… wow, I sound like such a clutz! It’s because I’m often running late in the moning
Mini heart attack right there hahaha
I was at a MAC once, trying out Up the Amp for the nth time (still thinking about how often can I wear it) and the bullet just fell in my hand. Another instance I was at Clinique trying to open one of their moisturizers and spilled a substantial amount.
Recently I went to The Body Shop, I was looking at the shimmer cubes & accidentally drop it. All three were fine except one, the one shattered but I told the girl. So embarrassed!
not broken thankfully! but yesterday at sephora, i knocked over a dior eye primer and i was happy to see it wasn’t broken…. but that’s what they get for storing the tester in the most unsafe little divet in the display. haha
No, thank God.
I move around Sephora like I’m in a museum.
Once I did drop a container of yogurt in the grocery store, and it exploded. I escaped unscathed somehow, but the woman next to me was not so lucky.
She’s staring at me, and she has yogurt all over her legs and shoes. And there I am, deer in the headlights, completely pristine.
Mortified does not even begin to cover it.
Satan himself could have opened a portal to hell in the store floor, and I would have leapt in gratefully.
Oh man, what haven’t I knocked over in a store? One time, I can’t even remember what I was doing – probably rearranging some eyeshadows because I can’t stand when testers are all in the wrong spots – I knocked all the testers onto the floor. The sales associate was very nice about it and helped me put them back. After that, of course they all went back into their right spots!
Not beauty-related, but recently I was in a Pier 1, and I was going to buy a few of these beautiful decorative balls to put in a bowl. I never think to grab a basket until after I need one, so I’m juggling three of these balls. Well, I dropped one, and it shattered all over the floor which scared me enough that I dropped a second one! I was very embarrassed and apologized profusely. Both sales associates were very nice about and said they do that all the time. One of them did go get me a basket after that, though! 🙂
My friend and I accidentally bumped into perfume at Anthropologie! It broke and we were so nervous! Luckily it wasn’t too expensive and they understood. They saw and said not too worry about it! Although they kind of followed us around the store because they wanted to keep an eye out for us!