Sephora Friends & Family Sale 2012 Information & Update
Sephora has confirmed there is no public Friends and Family sale this year. Sephora has confirmed to expect exciting offers/promotions to-be-announced for the holiday season. They made this decision so they could focus on special offers/promotions for BIs (Beauty Insiders) and VIBs (Very Important Beauty Insiders). These are all the official details I have at this time–we’ll be sure to share details as soon as we do know!
The present Friends & Family sale is limited to literal friends and family of Sephora employees and require an associate to send you a special one-time use coupon.
Update: The following response was given to a Facebook user by Sephora (on Sephora’s Facebook page here and here): “We will be having a VIB 20% off sale. Keep an eye out on your email!”
I really hope they still give the VIB 20% off sale! I passed on Urban Decay’s sale because I was waiting on the Sephora one. Eek O_o
I was in the store today and a SA who seemed to be in charge of fielding all the FF questions told me unless you have a card given to you by Sephora employee (includeds corporate or JCPenney Sephora employee) you can’t get the discount. She did say if I could give her a name (first, last) of an employee then she could look it up for me…too bad I don’t know anyone!
She confirmed the VIB sale will be 20% in early Nov.
Yes, it’s true. Sephora will have VIB 20% sale in November.
They will also have something for BI and VIB but I don’t think that starts until early DEC.
Anyone else is broken-hearted??
Yes! Thank goodnes I took advantage of UD F&F. I put a list of items together throughout the year and was holding off until Sephora’s F&F. Now, I have to reassess this beauty situation…lol
Bummer!
I hope the VIB/Beauty Insider sale is the same 20%. I passed on the Urban Decay AND Ulta sale because I was so excited for this one -____-
ULTA hasn’t started yet!! It starts Saturday and goes until the 28th!!
They had an online one this past weekend, the mailers are for this upcoming week. I’m not a huge fan of Ulta’s website, so I was going to shop at the store, anyway.
So does that mean there’s not going to be a 20% off sale this year?
yes that is exactly what it means 🙁
No it doesn’t. It just means that the public isn’t invited to the October F&F sale. There is still supposed to be a holiday sale in November which, by the way, is the only one that the public has traditionally been invited to. The general public’s participation in last year’s F&F sale was a mistake 🙁
How could it be a mistake? They sent emails to every Beauty Insider, that would be a very large “mistake.” Up until this year customers were included…but each year seems to have gotten more and more secretive, and less included(ie, last year you only got one code per email, used once online, not in-store, while year before, you had an ability to go in store, etc). Too many bloggers have posted about it each year for it to have been a mistake.
Okay, you really need to stop saying this. The only time I have shopped any Sephora Friends & Family Sale was in 2009, when the codes were NOT accidentally leaked. Last year was not a one time thing, so please stop claiming it to be true.
Personally, I’m not broken hearted about this situation. I’m disappointed that I don’t get a discount and I won’t qualify for a VIB Sale, but plenty of stores offer sales throughout the year and Sephora does not have a monopoly on any product I’d like to buy. I feel bad for the shoppers who skipped other sales in anticipation of this one (as they have in previous years…again, last year was not some fluke) and hope they have luck getting discounts in the future.
That’s actually rather shitty of them knowing a fair number of people here passed on the UD sale in expectation of this one.
That is so sad for the people who passed up UD because they wanted to get their Sephora points. I wonder if this will be like last year where they kept saying this then suddenly the code appeared online?
yes! i did that, cuz i always buy from sephora! and now..! grr
I’m so disappointed right now. I have been waiting for MONTHS, stretching out all my go-to products and going without some altogether because I was waiting for the F&F sale to repurchase. Grrrr!
I don’t know anyone who works at Sephora, therefore nobody is going to give me a friends and family one time use discount. Even though I spend truckloads of money in that store. If they don’t find a way to reward loyal customers, those loyal customers (like me) will go elsewhere. And there are many many places to buy cosmetic brands.
Agreed! So many other brands and online stores offer a 20% public friends and family sale at least once a year (sometimes more often), so I would have no problem bringing my business elsewhere. There are no products that are found at Sephora that I could not find from an alternate seller that offers a 20% discount now and again. Some online stores even have a 25% discount occasionally.
I intentionally buy from Sephora more often than not to earn more “points,” but if those points are basically meaningless except to redeem a sample size that many beauty counter would give away for free, there really is no reason for me to buy from Sephora. They really need to treat their loyal customers better, or we will buy elsewhere.
I hope Sephora will communicate to its VIBs what promotions/offers it will be offering. I am not about to hold off restocking my essentials or buying holiday gifts in the hope that Sephora will offer some sort of “exciting” promotion (only to find that instead of a discount, the VIB promotion is a sample size of some product that I don’t want). Waiting for F&F was a mistake; if Sephora does not explain the details or the dates of the VIB discount, I am buying elsewhere.
Oops, I meant to hit this as a reply to someone else. My apologies that it doesn’t make sense in this thread!
I think I am very fortunate to live in Canada and have shoppers drug mart and murale to shop at. They know how to treat their customers right! At 95k bonus points I get 170$ worth of Free FULLSIZED products I choose. If I only shop at 20x the points events I earn that after 500$. Some bonus redption sales gets me 250$! I did the math and it’s like getting 33% off every purchase. I can buy essential and earn free high end makeup like Dior and guerlain and Chanel. I stopped shipping at sephora a long time ago. As a Canadian you don’t even get to use the majority of the free sample codes. Oh, and every time I go to shoppers or murale they give me a truck load of samples. And when they have sample bags, I get a full size bottle of Deborah Lippmann polish and 10-20 sephora style “delux samples” that come in a nice purse or wickedly functional cosmetics bags. Even the bay sends me the occasional 20% off cosmetics which I can use on Mac. The only thing sephora has going for them is their monopoly on makeup forever. I’ll take my money elsewhere thank you very much! Btw murale has 20x the points this weekend! Happy shopping.
I live in Canada as well! Both my sister and my close friend actually work at SDM, one as a pharmacist technician and the other at a beauty boutique. They get 30% off every purchase so whenever I run out of beauty products, I always get it at Shoppers instead cause the prices are the same as sephora before the 30% off…unless they don’t carry that brand (like tarte and laura mercier) The Friends and Family sales never work well with canadians anyway cause we’re never allowed to use the codes online so not too bummed about it this year. instead going to wait for the vib discount to stock up on stuff SDM doesn’t have 🙂
I totally agree with you! I rarely shop at Sephora (unless they have the F&F) as I MUCH prefer shopping at Shoppers Drug Mart and Murale because of the Shoppers Optimum Points program. Cha-ching, you can get a whole lot of stuff for free, and yes, they’re always stuffing your shopping bag with great samples!
Curious how you are getting a 20% off at the bay to use on cosmetics? their promotions almost always exclude cosmetics, even their friends and family.
I agree with you thought, shoppers drug mart is great if you can work the system and get a lot of points that you can redeem on anything you want, urban decay, guerlain, lancome etc. 🙂
@Karen Have you considered asking one of the SAs at the store you go to for a discount pass? I go to one particular location regularly, and the SAs are very familiar with me, and how much I spend there, so I would actually be comfortable enough to ask one of them. It can’t hurt; just remind them how much you spend there. I’ve been pretty loyal to one particular store for about 5 years, and the SAs actually know what brands I shop, and let me know if anything new came in.
I hope at the least VIBs get 20%, though if it’s not just complete blowing smoke, it should be better than 20%. I want a good sale through Sephora in a bad way.
This is exactly why I stopped shopping at Sephora and buy from Ulta. The rewards are better and they have frequent sales even on high end makeup. The Sephora samples are useless to me after spending that much money for a tiny product.
But ultra discounts don’t include premium brands
All the sales I see at ulta exclude the “prestige” cosmetics. Am I missing something?
Yes you are, the more you spend there the more promotional discounts you receive. I am in there constantly spending money and receive 20% off everything coupons about every 2-3 months. This includes prestige cosmetics. My mother who is just an occasional shopper there does not receive the same coupons I do.
I agree. I get the 20% your total coupons, too. Usually, the only exclusions are the Benefit Brow bar and clearance items. Sometimes perfumes are excluded, sometimes no. I have purchased a perfume twice with these coupons. I buy all my philosophy there, and my urban decay. Their rewards are $ off your next purchase, which I like a lot.
They are going to lose many customers by doing this.
I agree. I don’t go to their site anymore. It’s a shame
This is just another let down from Sephora in a long line of problems. I’ve stopped purchasing from them and have been buying from places like Nordstrom, Macy’s, and Ulta instead. For the amount of money I spend there, I should get some good rewards, instead of tiny .05 fl oz samples of products that I will never use. These upcoming promotions for VIBs better be good, cause I’m getting tired of their lack of care for their customers.
They don’t even send catalogs anymore! I used to enjoy getting those and then they just stopped coming.
Their samples are horrible too. How many vials of bad, generic-smelling fragrances can one collect? The only decent samples you can get is if you stumble across a good coupon code. Even their 500 point rewards are typically subpar.
I FORGOT ABOUT THOSE CATALOGS!! I loved those. It was the highlight of my week getting one of them!
I actually got a sample of mascara that was completely dried out. The wand actually broke off in the bottle. I was upset because I used a promotional code to get that sample.
This happened to me with the MUFE mascara and I told them I was not happy about it and they were like welp sorry you’re not getting another one.
Personally for me, if I reach (and somehow I did) reach the 500 points reward…I want it well worth it. Tiny little samples for something so huge. The first time (and only) reached it, I was disappointed to know that the tiny boxes up front were the ones they were talking about.
Does, say, a place like Nordstrom give something nice when you buy makeup? Particularly I’m wanting some Bobbi brown, and I don’t know what to do. :/
I don’t know about in person, but Bobbibrown.com was giving away 3 delux sized samples. I think the promotion ends tonight.
No, I do not receive samples from Nordstrom although maybe people with their credit card do? Bobbibrown is always sending codes & info on purchases with deluxe samples so definitely sign up and shop!
Nordstroms does give out really good GWP. like usually if you spend 100 you get a huge goodie bag of deluxe samples like every 3 or 4 months!
Ugh, this is ridiculous! If they’re not doing F&F, then they better bump up the percentage of the VIB sale to make up for it! I was planning to utilize both sales so that I wouldn’t have to drop a ton of money all at once.
Knowing Sephora, “exciting offers/promotions” will probably be a crappy sample bag or free shipping. I’m so upset, because I thought I was finally going to get my Tom Ford Black Orchid perfume 🙁
What a bunch of BS. If pressed about it, they’ll probably use that tired, age-old line “in this economy”.
They are a successful business and can’t even throw their loyal customers a crummy bone for holiday shopping. If a place like Skinstore carries something Sephora also carries, I always go with them because they have discounts year-round. Bah.
I’m so disappointed 🙁
Aw man Sephora 🙁
Here a code for the sephora vib for 10% off, if anyone is interested. Here is the code: V436CB thought i share:)Just wanted to clear this up, I am not in anyway work for sephora. I’ve just happen to come across a code and wanted to share with your reader!
Well goodbye Sephora, then. Their rewards suck anyway.
what? NOOOO! i wait for this sale every year! I LOVE it. it is always so amazing and i end up spending over $300.. They should not cancel it!!! it is always the best!
Wow I am really shocked & angry at Sephora for doing this. They know that many people hold off buying just for this sale in particular. Especially since a lot of the holiday collections are out too.
They rarely ever hold discounts or sales at it is & to exclude their customers from this one is downright ugly. They are most definitely going to lose a lot of customers not to mention respect & trust as a business.
Seriously, Sephora? @#$@# you. You just lost out on my business for the rest of this year.
Well…If VIBs don’t get 20% off I’ll be taking my business to Beauty.com or Ulta. I understand that Sephora’s sale was supposed to be “friends and family” but why the change after so many years of having it be a free for all? They’re losing money by not giving people the sale.
This is a big bummer guess I will have to find better deals at other places. As for the special stuff for VIBs that’s great if you have that money to spend in a year but I can’t so I’m just a regular insider which honestly means nothing but a tiny birthday “gift” once a year. Way to go Sephora to let down so many customers. Thank you Christine for sharing this information gives me time to take what little money I can spend on this stuff some where else.
I was planning on quite a few sephora purchases online today, but when I found out that there would be no f&f I went to Ulta to catch the last day of 10x points. I seem to be shopping at Ulta more and more because of their rewards.
All Im saying is Sephora better have something good to make up for this ridiculousness especially for the VIB’s!!
For as much money as I spend there, I should be considered a friend.
A-freakin’-men.
I can definitely agree with this.
That is ridiculous. I am definitely going to take my holiday spending elsewhere. I’m not going to support a company that can’t even spare a f**king 20% to alleviate customers’ holiday burden.
I hope the VIB sale is good because not having a F&F sale stinks. I don’t like shopping at my Ulta because they never have anything decent in stock and when you ask the SAs about anything..all you get is a blank look. I enjoy shopping at my Sephora more than Ulta.
What the hell?!! I’m so mad because I had a list of things I wanted to purchase but was waiting for this sale. They can’t spare their loyal customers 20% savings? I’m a VIB they better be giving me a 20% bonus because this is ridiculous!
Add me to the livid list. It’s such BS. I have spent a ton of money there as a VIB for years now, and it’s just insulting that their customers aren’t important enough to be considered friends of Sephora. I’m sure the “exciting” VIB promotion isn’t going to be as exciting a my 20% off would have been.
I think it’s wonderfully ironic that my 20% off customer loyalty coupon from Ulta came in today’s mail. Looks like I’ll be taking my business over there from now on.
arghhh! i had such a list going. fingers crossed the beauty insider one is at least 20%…snce the screwed me outta VIB this year too (an order made on dec 31st to make VIB wasn’t “processed” until January.) so frustrated with them!
This sucks. I’ve actually found myself gravitating towards department stores unless I have a gift card for Sephora. I realized that their selection for some brands can be limited. Right now I’m heavy into Bobbi Brown makeup. I’d much rather go to the counter than to pick through Sephora’s limited selection.
comments from sephora rep on facebook says there will be a VIB 20% event. I know people will throw rocks at me… but I feel kinda neutral about F&F being cancelled. VIBs don’t really get anything amazing throughout the year, so this is one of the big perks. But most other people could get it through Friends & Family till now. So I felt like a big VIB perk wasn’t really that special.
I tried to get it confirmed, but they couldn’t confirm any specific deals earlier today, though I saw the comment you’re referring to now – and I know that store associates/managers are telling customers the same story as well.
For what it’s worth, I was just at Sephora a few hours ago, and the SA told me that there *will* be a F&F sale the last week of October.
That’s silly, but OK SEPHORA. SMH
It sounds like they’re going to have more smaller-scale sales that are comperable in quality… which might mean greater savings on a smaller number of items! I’ll take that over a little bit off of everything any day.
I’m guessing it has something to do with their liberal return policy. If you think about it, there will be people who buy a bunch of stuff at 20% off, then “lose” their receipt, and return it for full retail price. Also, think about how much money they lose on average returns the rest of the year, again, due to the liberal policy. Perhaps people will think twice about returning things just because they have buyer’s remorse. Again, Sephora happily gives ample samples, so you can try it *before* buying.
I don’t think so. Plenty of stores have generous return policies and still offer discounts frequently.
I don’t think they lose money on returns, most retailers themselves return the returned merchandise to the manufacturer. I actually just returned something to Ulta the other day and was talking to the girl about it, she said everything returned goes back to the manufacturer. I’m not sure if they physically return it or just are issued credit by the manufacturer. There’s a huge margin on cosmetics so the manufacturer is not hurt by this.
@Liz Yes, but many stores also put “barcodes” on each item indicating the *exact* price that was paid. If a coupon, discount, etc was used, it is prorated for each item, and you only get back the amount that’s paid. Also, if I buy a friend a gift at Sephora at a discount, and they decide to return it, Sephora has no way of knowing how much was actually spent on the item, thus giving a credit on the full amount. Of course if a few people do this, no big loss; however, if hundreds of thousands do it, it all adds up.
@Sama Yes, the items do get returned to the manufacturer, but the store/company only gets back what they paid, losing any profit. For example, if I buy a LORAC palette at Sephora, then just decide I don’t like it, I return it. I decide I want a UD palette, instead, but it’s not in stock, so I go to Macy’s. Sephora then loses any possible profit.
I just don’t believe in returning anything that I can swatch, or get a sample of. Unless it causes an adverse reaction, then I suck it up to a bad decision. I personally don’t use any “exposed” products anywhere near my face, but things like foundations can easily be made into a sample, and I know whether or not a color aappeals to me, or not.
I work at Ulta and everything that gets returned is thrown directly in the trash. Unless it wasn’t touched, swatched or used, then it gets put back on the shelf. The reason why prices of cosmetics and fragrance inflates so much each year is because these companies are losing money due to items being stolen, or returned.
They’ve recently changed their policy so that you -must- have a receipt now.
That’s not true. You can still return any item to Sephora with or without a receipt. You do, however, need a valid driver’s license.
A complete bummer! I’ve been waiting for f&f sale for so long! I’ve even made a shopping list on their website. Can’t believe they’re breaking the tradition of this sale. Well sephora will not earn my money no more. Thats for sure! Theres so much more beauty stores. I just enjoy their return policy. Their samples and the insider deals arent that good anyway. Macys, nordstorm, bloomingdales, and ulta..here i come:)
Hi Kiana,
The 20% holiday sale that usually occurs in November is still slated to happen. The F&F sale that was unintentially opened to the public last October was a mistake, but Sephora chose to honor all customer orders at 20% off anyway. I think that shows pretty good concern for their customers. By restricting their F&F sale to bonafide friends and family, they aren’t breaking with tradition. The public at large will still have their chance during the holiday sale.
Eileen, do you work for Sephora? That sounded like quite the official answer.
If Sephora can’t show appreciation for their customers, I’m gonna go somewhere else. The spin the wheel thing is crappy and doesn’t replace friends and family.
I completely agree with you. There are better stores out there. I went into a Sephora the other day, and I asked about a discontinued foundation. The sales lady said that the brand only discontinued things that were crappy… I didn’t think it was crappy 🙁
Wow! How rude! Yea, I’ve been spending much more time at Ulta lately than my local Sephora for just such reasons.
The sales associates are crappy…not the products and that has been MY experience.
Bummer! I did take advantage of the UD sale this time (and so glad I did!), but there’re still items on my list that I plan to buy from Sephora F&F! 🙁
Welp, definitely won’t have any second thoughts using my 20% Ulta coupon next week.
Same here! I was on the fence of where to go, since I wanted the Cinderalla perfume at Sephora but I do prefer ULTA rewards. I am not a VIB, not sure how you get there, but I am a platinum member at ULTA. They get a lot of my money during the year.
Off to use my coupon! Love me some Cargo which you can only find at ULTA.
To be a VIB you have to be a beauty insider (free card) and spend $300 in Sephora in a year. Every time you achieve VIB status you also get a 10% of coupon.
Actually, I just looked at it’s $350 to be a VIB.
Whew!
Christine, good thing I grabbed the Ocho Loco set!
Well, now I’m glad that I bought Ocho Loco from the UD sale, but I’m still annoyed. There were a few things I was planning on buying during the F&F sale that now I may go elsewhere for – Nordstrom’s doesn’t have sales on cosmetics usually, but if I use my fashion rewards card I earn points that give me tangible dollars back (I just got my first $20 rewards check). Plus Nordstrom’s has a great return policy and better customer service. The VIB deal better be worth it, because this Spin to Win crap really isn’t.
This is very disappointing. I doubt the VIB sale will be greater then 20%, like some people are posting. I wouldn’t count on that. I have a feeling since they are cutting back on discounts the VIB sale will only be 10%. I will continue to shop at Ulta and beauty.com with their consistent discounts
For 12 years I’ve silently watched the Sephora F&F sale…never being in the financial position to make a purchase. This year, I saved my money, placed items on my wish list and was ready to buy. It figures….
Me too Marian. This year’s budget was blown on a new radiator for my car. Oh well.. At least I know I won’t blow my engine.
I went to Sephora recently and asked in two different occasions if there will be F&F sale this year, and both times was confirmed “YES, there will be…but for in store discount you would need a special card, for online discount you would only need a code. ” I don’t think they meant to lie to a customer, but they certainly weren’t informed by the decision making people. What’s the point of making such important information secret? It’s making things more complicated and misleading.
Guess what Sephora, we’ll just take our money elsewhere and spend them. The selection in Sephora is very limited and they offer samples which I don’t want. Other dept stores like Nordies and NM have better Gifts with Purchase! Or any brand’s official site will have F&F once per year at least – I guess we could start from there.
Well this does suck balls. However, I confirmed with my friend who works at Sephora that the VIB sale will begin around Nov. 11th tentatively, and WILL be 20% off.
First, I’d like to thank Christine for waiting for THE OFFICIAL WORD from Sephora before posting speculation and unnecessarily exciting beauty enthusiasts. I kept looking for a post from her on it, because I know she’s going to report directly from the Company regarding THIS year and not on past promotions. There are no guarantees. Very smart and business savvy, Christine, and thank you for taking the time to get this information to us.
My perspective on Sephora:
– Their in-store customer service is often lacking in responsiveness, understanding of the customers’ needs, sanitary practices when doing makeovers, guiding new (and young customers — one of the most important segments of the demographic they should be marketing to) and knowledge of existing product and new releases.
– CSR’s tend to be unapologetic when a mistake is made unless the problem has been brought to the attention of Management, and even then there are instances where Management’s response lacks appropriate respect for the customer, especially when egregious errors in judgment and good business practices have been made.
– Sephora’s “specials”, VIB gifts and samples have decreased in quality over the past few years (in my experience). Conversely, other wide-scale cosmetic vendors such as beauty.com, Ulta and direct-from-manufacturer specials have increased in quality, percentages off, good customer service and an obvious interest in continuing to grow their business.
– The aforementioned vendors and direct-from-manufacturers have compelled me to take my holiday business elsewhere. Once I have drained the thousands of VIB points by getting free products that interest me, I will close my account. Shame on me if I continue to give hard-earned dollars to a business that cares little or nothing about the very individuals who keep them employed.
I hope you are listening, Sephora. The well-being of your long-term business plan is in jeopardy.
Again, thank you, Christine. Please never lose that high sense of integrity and passion that keeps me coming back to you, who has her finger on the pulse of the beauty world and community at large.
<3
Melissa
Thanks, Melissa! There are always SO. MANY. rumors regarding Sephora’s F&F sale every year, and I saw Sephora reiterating over and over again there would be no F&F sale this year since they launched the spin-the-win wheel on their Facebook (for the past few weeks), so I thought it was even more important to wait to get official word! Thank you for your kind words 🙂
I have also experienced poor, and even downright rude, service from in-store and the hotline employees. If they don’t improve their customer service they will soon have a terrible reputation like MAC, a brand known for being rude to customers. There’s so much makeup out there, people will not patronize a company they do not feel wants their business.
Oh I totally agree with this. The Sephora in Braintree MA is just horrible. The SA’s on the floor seem clueless (10 minutes of looking for foundation and giving me the wrong one, not knowing why it was wrong and then sort of like “oh well!”. I think they are rude at the register, very dismissive and would it KILL them to smile? They never open an additional register no matter how long the line gets. I could go on and on but I will spare everyone more ranting. I am actually glad to see that my experience is NOT unique. This is why I shop mainly online (that and the free offers). I am a VIB so I will be getting the discount I guess but really everyone should. I don’t agree with the term “Very Important Person”. What does that even mean? Aren’t we all important? Elitist crap to make people feel special I say. I have been finding myself shopping there less and less. Nordstrom is fabulous each and every time and are the epitome of customer service. I am also loving our new ULTA. I think Sephora better pay attention…wake up and smell the coffee!!!
Your post makes a lot of sense. On past occasions, I have made a few mistakes and have returned things that have been used but did not work out for me. Although I apologize and work retail, I felt very degraded by the way I was treated when I wanted to return some things. It was subtle but you could tell they looked down on you. Not all of the people, true, but for that to happen and no one called out on it sucks.
I go sometimes without any make-up in case I would like to be matched to something and just browse. I wear a hoodie and not look “polished”. Now that I think about it, I supposed I have been followed because I had many people kept asking if I needed help. Even if they were close to hear my answer to another person.
Terri-
Try the Sephora in Dedham at Legacy Place. It seems to be staffed with more knowledgable, friendlier ‘cast members’ than Braintree SSP. Not sure why.
Thanks Shrona, I wil do that. I love Legacy Place!!!
I know Sephora has its problems but in its defense there do seem to be some good stores. I’ve been in multiple Sephoras where they have all registers on and still full lines and they walk around apologizing for the long waits and giving out samples to everyone waiting. I’ve met very pleasant cashiers and friendly associates walking around (not that there aren’t snooty ones too who I feel like reminding that they’re in Sephora – or MAC – not Neiman’s!).
Some of course are more sanitary than others but I think that’s one of the biggest things Sephora needs to push to improve on. An aside – I don’t get how people just grab applicators and put on eye shadow and lipstick from the samples. It’s unsanitary for you and also for the next person with the germs you’ve left behind! That’s more a being considerate of the next person than solely a Sephora problem.
Yes they do follow people around and whatnot but I realize that at least in NYC there’s a pretty high theft rate and I actually did see someone trying to make a return of something she claimed she bought there but didn’t have the receipt. They actually had a record on her b/c she returned so many items without receipts.
Yes we’re all important but BI & VIBs frequent more and spend more money at Sephora and that’s why they created those categories so they can encourage those customers to spend even more. If you owned a business you’d encourage your big spenders to spend more too, no? The only thing I’d say as a VIB is that I’d like better sample perks or rewards for my points.
Evelyn,
I see what you are saying here but following your logic, Sephora should treat their “best customers” well, yes?
I am a VIB and when I shop at the store they STILL treat me dismissively. I really think their service is slipping and they should do something about it (if I owned a business I would encourage my employees to treat ALL customers as VIB’s!!). I do agree with you about the perks though, those could absolutely be better. In fact, I feel like they used to be….anyway.
I agree and am going to do the same thing! First of all, some of the sales associates are so rude it’s difficult to strike a rapport with them and even if that wasn’t the case, why do I have to rely on them to give me a code or a discount card so that I can get 20% off?? I don’t have to rely on them to give me a code when I am spending my money at Sephora!! I’m done with them.
The folks at Ulta must be celebrating…. All that business coming their way:)
I agree! Glad I didn’t wait for sephora and went ahead and used my 20% off at ulta. They definitely got all my business this year and their point system is great too.
I think a lot of you are confusing the F&F 20% off sale last October with the Holiday 20% off sale in November. The October F&F sale was the one that was never intended to be opened up to the public. There was a snafu, though, and the code got out and into general circulation and the orders poured in. I actually think Sephora was a good sport by honoring all the orders they received even though most of the customers were not entitled to the discount. Then, in November, Sephora still had it’s regularly scheduled holiday sale. Rather than complain, we should just be happy we got TWO 20% off sales that year instead of the usual one.
all the years besides last, the code for FF was a generic FRIENDS2010 or something like that and was even widely circulated and advertised by sephora. soooo yea people who have a longer memory of sephora sales pretty much expect the F&F.
I think you are confusing the fact that the F&F sale has been open to everyone for at least the past 6-7 years. It’s always the same code (FF) followed by that year (2007 or so).
I’m extremely disappointed. I always look forward to the sale and do a lot of shopping. It’s not like the 20% off is even that big of a deal – almost every other store does this. Guess I’m shopping there now, no sephora for this girl. I think this is a big mistake on their part.
That’s so messed up! People were counting on that discount!
Sephora has really upset their customers by closing the sale. Many people are planning to buy from other retailers. I think they are going to take a hit in sales, not just from people not shopping the FF, but from a loss of previously loyal customers.
I’ve officially had it with Sephora! I HATED their spin the wheel crap. I’m going to be shopping at Nordstrom, Macy’s and Ulta from now on.They actually care about their customers.
You and me both…I made that vow…several months ago…I thought Neiman Marcus would be too snooty, but they had been extradordinary nice to me…so you may also want to check Neiman’s out also. Good bye to the snarky sales associates and poor handling of customer service at Sephora. BTW, Sephora was not like that when it began…I could go in for an hour and not realize it…and there would be NO sales associate following me around as if would steal…
Thank you for keeping us updated, Christine. I felt really deflated about the F&F sale being off-limits, but am hopeful the VIB sale does happen . It’s still a major disappointment to those who aren’t VIB customers, though, and I wouldn’t be surprised if this results Sephora losing some customers.
As upset as I am by this, I guess it really doesn’t affect me since I kind of made a major dent in my savings from Urban Decay’s recent sale. I’ll maybe do a little shopping close to Christmas time but for the most part I think I’m spent.
This IS ridiculous though. Sephora should treat their customers better than this.
I was told by a Sephora rep today that the 20% off sale for VIB’s will be in November.
Thank you Christine for giving us an official notice. I am upset that Sephora is suddenly treating this once “public” sale to literal friends and family. They should made an announcement that there was going to be an employee appreciation week now instead of a friends and family sale. The term friends and family to me means that the “code” could be shared amongst friends and family of the shoppers and employees. If Sephora truly wanted it to be exclusive they could have came up with a better way to show appreciation for their employees and still keep the friends and family sale. Urban Decay friends and family is a generic code to everyone, Ulta has a slightly higher discount for reward members and a smaller one for non reward members (from what I saw last time), even Bloomingdales has a generic code that can be used online for their friends and family sale (I know cosmetics and certain items are excluded but still). It was poor advertising on their part. It has been the end of one business day and they have yet made a public announcement concerning this issue and the mishap. Their Facebook page only chooses to answer some posts regarding the sale by saying the same thing over and over. Wouldn’t it be easier to make an announcement and answer the questions your once loyal customers are asking? I’m also sad because only VIB gets access to the sale which is still the same percentage off. What about people who can only afford to splurge once a year? Will they have to go find someone they know who is a VIB and have them place the order?
I’m honestly disappointed the way Sephora chose to handle this situation moreso than anything. Sorry for my rant.
I agree with this wholeheartedly — answering Facebook posts with the same generic response is in no way an official statement regarding the company’s decisions and/or actions.
Also, as a BI who was planning on using the 20% to bump me up to VIB status, this lack of information on a BI event tells me that VIB probably isn’t happening for me. <.< I've held off on buying things at Sephora/Ulta and the like for months because I wanted to wait for this, so I'm pretty peeved.
I saved money for f and f. I wanted to buy a lot of stuff. I haven’t spent money really the past two months cos of f and f. And I can’t afford to spend enough money to be vib. I still just spend my money on makeup. That’s fine. More money in my bank. I’d been eagerly waiting for this. Jackasses!
I’m rather disappointed, tbh. I know it’s makeup and not the end of the world, but I was looking forward to this sale. While 20% isn’t a huge discount, it’s still a discount (and considering Sephora doesn’t have all-over sales…) — and 20% off really comes in handy if you’re going to splurge.
I think what’s even worse is the fact that Sephora is playing coy about these “future promotions” for VIB/BI that are apparently “coming soon.” I highly doubt that disgruntled customers really appreciate these extremely vague answers on their Facebook page. How soon is soon? Will these promotions be for VIBs only, or will BIs be included? Do said promotions offer any sort of discount that will at least appease the masses?
Why not be upfront, especially in the wake of such a ground-breaking reveal? This is what irritates me. Honestly, people aren’t going to keep waiting around for something they know nothing about.
Like others I am disappointed, but it’s a stretch to say that I’ll “never shop there again.” BUT what really gets me is that they decided to confirm this SO last minute. Their responses to questions about the F&F sale on the Facebook page for the last few weeks were extremely ambiguous; they never confirmed nor denied having the sale, they simply offered the Spin to Win wheel as an answer. I had asked many associates in different Sephora stores about the sale and they had confirmed that it was open to the public online in October. It would be more professional if corporate had made up their mind about the sale instead of passing on the false information to their customers..
The true last minute nature is what bugs me as well. I’ve been trying to confirm this for 2 months now what was happening as their is NO online offers for Canadians and it’s a PITA to get to a physical store so to take advantage of this I have to plan a trip around them to travel to Toronto. 🙁
I sucks are people plan in advance on yearly sales and alot of people have missing out on brand sales like UD’s waiting to shop at Sephora for the F&F one. The lack of communication is frustrating and even posts on their facebook wall are removed asking about the F&F sale the past week.
I’m not impressed and being a VIB has not been beneficial at all the past year and a half because again all offers are in store only.
But their are a lot a brands (like 80% of them)I can only get through Sephora (like UD) so I really don’t have a choice but order online at full price + Canadian inflation (which ranges from 20% to 50% on the item randomly by brand) + Duty(which is another price that is through online only) + Taxes.
You wonder why I don’t shop with them that often. 🙁
They have UD at some shoppers drug mart beauty boutiques
This really is a bummer for a lot of people and Sephora shouldn’t have been so secretive about it, when people asked they should have been upfront, I only bought one item from UD’s sale thinking F&F was coming. I hope for every shoppers sake that the VIB sale includes BI’s and VIB’s. I was lucky enough to have a Sephora employee add me to their list, so I got a code…but all this bad PR makes me want to shop elsewhere. And don’t employees already get a discount…so what’s the big deal…you know they buy stuff for friends and family whenever they want, so this “employee appreciation” thing is just ridiculous. What happened to Sephora’s good customer service?
I’m just a regular BI)…will they only have 20% off for VIBs in November? I’m wondering if I should just settle for 10% off now or wait…
I honestly wasn’t going to be buying anything until the VIB sale, anyway (lack of funds right now). HOWEVER, given the amount of money people spend at Sephora all throughout the year, you would think they’d be a little more, uh, generous with their sales.
While I do understand that they’re still having the 20% off VIB sale next month (for which I am also grateful for), it’s not exactly fair to the people who DON’T have VIB status. What about the moms who want to shop for their daughters? Or the people who only buy an item or two throughout the year? Or the boyfriends shopping for their girlfriends (like it helped my fiance last year shopping for me)? People who don’t necessarily shop often enough to have VIB status, or hell, an account altogether. NOT having a Friends & Family sale is alienating THOSE people more than anybody, in my opinion. Those are the people who will more than likely take their shopping lists elsewhere, and for good reason.
I’m disappointed. I did have a tentative list of things to get during their sale, sadly I don’t have the budget to be a VIB so I guess I’m just SOL.
I’m certainly not going to boycott them, but I do think that when and if I do decide to get the things on my wishlist I’ll just get it at Nordstroms and get the free shipping (not to mention that I like supporting Nordstroms because their customer service is pretty flawless in my experience).
Ugh, my mom had been planning on buying gifts starting the 18th so this is kind of annoying. I’m upset that the Holiday 20% off will be just for VIB’s from what I’ve heard. Not everyone had $350 to spends yearly…even though I wish I did. The sale brings in a lot of service for them so they are jsut losing their sales
I guess maybe I’ll just go to Ulta and use their Friends and Family discount. Does it apply for everything though? Last time I got a coupon for there that on the back had NO restrictions except for CLarisonic, they told me I could not use it on things like Tarte and Urban Decay. Is this true for their Friends and Family 20% off? Or can I truly use that for anything? This is kind of frustrating. The sales associate also denied me my free gift with purchase for spending more the $25 on Tarte produtcs. Maybe she just didn’t know what she was doing.
Hi Hannah, I just used my 20% coupon today at Ulta and bought the urban decay vice palette. You can use it on tarte and urban decay.
Thanks for the info Christine. Sephora should have addressed this much earlier! They created this beast so of course we are going to look for & expect the usual F&F sale as well as the VIB sale! Really, WHO restricts a F&F sale to employees only these days!?! I have been a loyal Friend & Family to Sephora via my shopping. They need to create a different sale for their employees only (hmmm, let’s call it the “Employee Discount Sale”!) and keep it restrictive from the beginning!
I hope & ask that everyone who commented will email Sephora with your complaints! Do not simply post here & on FB, email Sephora with your complaints – maybe they will get the message!
I guess spending my money at Sephora and making them my first source for beauty product purchases doesn’t make me their friend. So I will be taking my friendship somewhere else. After I use up my points, of course.
I’m not upset in the least. Disappointed that I won’t get my stuff on sale, maybe. I’m not disappointed at them as a company though. To expect something out of a company that they don’t HAVE to do and then get mad at them for NOT doing it is not the company’s fault. While they may have originally set the expectation by having one annually, things change.
I was lucky enough to have a friend who sent me an invite to this sale, but i think this is a VERY poor move on sephora’s part… especially since my 20% coupon for EVERYTHING at ulta just came in the mail. The Lord and Taylor FF sale is on now too with 10% off cosmetics (They carry NARS) Sephora just seems to be making bad decisions…. A year ago i spent MUCH more there than Ulta… Now I’m much more interested in spending my money at Ulta.
I always look so forward to F&F!! I’m surprised but not upset by it. I have no issues with Sephora. They have always been very nice to me and I’ll continue to shop with them.
I’m pretty ballsy … I’m going to ask my SA (or another SA) for the code. The worst thing she will say is that she can’t do it.
I wonder if BI will get the same 20% as VIBs in the november sale. I would like to wait for the sephora sale but maybe I should just buy from beauty .com?
I heard from sephora on facebook and thought I would post the reply here in case anyone else was wondering
“Our VIB Sale will be for only for our VIB clients however, we recommend checking your emails for new and exciting promotional offers that will be coming soon! Thank you, we appreciate it. ”
So i guess I will just order from beauty.com and tarte instead of waititng to see what sephora will do.
Hi Katie,
Hopefully we’ll get more information, but if it is like last year’s, then BIs received 15% I do believe.
Thanks for the reply! I am a new reader but I loooove your site!!
Aw, welcome, Katie!! 🙂
I skipped the UD F&F sale for the Sephora F&F sale.Because I thought I preferred to shop Sephora over UD because of the points. I had a whole cart filled with stuff on UD’s website. Closed the page because I decided to get everything from Sephora instead! Now they both lost my business. Last year I spent 400+ on the Sephora F&F sale, they realllly missed out.
Looks like i’m passing on all the items now, i’m over it!
Plus the brush I wanted is now sold out and on back order I guess,
the Good Karma brush.
Oh Cool Christine you changed the comment system back to the old system! So much easier, thankyou 🙂
Well, I’m not a VIB so I guess I’m just screwed… I’m now looking at other places to buy the items I wanted, using Ebates to have some discount at least.
For the “spin & win” joke, I made a little experiment: I spinned with my regular email address, the one I use for my BI account, and got a mini Murad product. I decided to spin again using another email address, and surprisingly… I won exactly the same thing.
I used completely random, made up emails addresses and got 10% off a few times. Getting the free shipping for $25 is the more difficult one.
The thing that always annoys me is that I HAVE a sephora in my town, so why can’t they ship for free to my local store, and I’ll pick up? They don’t carry a lot of the brands they offer.
That stinks. I specifically skipped the UD 20% off sale to shop the Sephora one so I could buy several brands at once. Ugh. Oh well. I’m not a VIB, as I buy from a variety of sources, not just Sephora. I’ll just spend my money elsewhere.
wow, that’s my story 100%. Wish UD had waited a bit with their sale 🙁
Sephora keeps getting worse and worse with their policies. This used to be the only sale I’d mark in my calendar. Oh well, their choice. Plenty of other stores out there
If anyone really needs a code, I suggest going to twitter and searching for sephora code in the search box. Then you will find Sephora Associates that will email you a code if you give them your email.
Eeek. Well, that’s a shame, but I can understand that they want to appear exclusive and focus on a particular customer base. I just hope it isn’t all done via online since the original email I used for my Sephora account is now defunct. 🙁
I wholeheartedly agree with all the frustration down below. I spend a lot of my money there, and maybe this is just a reminder to stop! ( at least there:) )
Sephora is definitely a business that has the right to set policies as they wish to, and we as customers are not entitled to discounts.
We’re also definitely the consumers that keep them going! and we also have the right to spend our money elsewhere. They can keep their Cinderella palette I was planning on buying with the discount. I’m with some of yall, here I come beauty.com and Nordies!
Thank you for your post, it was like a whoa wake up call that this company does not care that this apparently unworthy “public” member throws a lot of my paycheck at them, I needed it, seriously 🙂
I just wanted to share…I spent all day yesterday frustrated and crying in my froot loops over not being able to get the friends and family discount along with everyone else. So tonight after work I took a chance and went to my local Sephora. I had decided to pick up some items that were on clearence and two Tarte holiday sets that I was concerned would sell out. When an associate approached me I asked about the friends and family sale and was given the same canned response we have all seen on their website. However when I was ringing out I asked the gal behind the counter and because I was spending $200.00 I mentioned how bummed I was that I was missing out on a $40 discount. She told me to wait and went in the back and came back with a coupon. I was so excited and ended up doubling what I originally intended to spend. I am sharing this story because I think it is worth your time to go into a store and ask. If they say no, you are no more worse off than before. I am so happy the associate went above and beyond to please a customer. Thats why I shop at Sephora and will continue to do so.
I would go to a store if I didn’t live 2 1/2 hours away from the nearest Sephora 🙁
All online, all the time. But also never get notice of any sales or coupon codes. I didn’t even get a birthday email this year…booo.
Sephora is the SCROOGE of christmas!!
You hit the nail on the head. I was going to get a Clarisonic but now, NOPE. Sephora has ruined my Christmas, I had so many things I was planning on buying. Now I’m not even going to Sephora for my usual stuff, I’ll just get it online cheaper. I loved getting beauty points so that’s why I shopped at Sephora, this just removes any impetus I had to shop there. Poor customer service.
So upsetting I was going to do some christmas shopping and I really cut back on buying makeup just to save up for the friends and family sale… well I guess I’m glad I am a VIB… but now I have to wait until November to do christmas shopping, I’m going to pick up a stila palette in In the garden that she’s being lusting after since I gave her a sample of it that I got in a sephora order. I was also thinking of picking her up a makeup forever lipstick. She loves the formula… and I might also pick her up a blush set. Anyway I had big plans for that sale 🙁
Ugh I was planning on using the code to buy the Vice Pallette, and I didn’t take advantage of Urban Decay’s because I wanted the beauty insider points. Oh well. If there aren’t any more good deals for Beauty Insiders this year like the 20% off $50 last December I’ll be so disappointed.
Christine, Thank you so much for your continued hard work and keeping us all informed on this issue. I know this is a very premature question, but I’m wondering if the $25 GC I received around the holidays last year may still happen? That along with a generous return policy is about the only thing that set this program apart from some of the other companies. It concerns me that so many people try to attain VIB status, but Sephora doesn’t really feel compelled to specify what the actual perks are…. they only have very ambiguous language, such as “exclusive in store events” and “advance notice”…. Would love some “advance notice” on the GC issue, but based on their “verbage” they really have the upper hand on us. I don’t expect you to have an answer on my question any time soon, but I figure you will probably know before I do…..
I won’t reiterate what other saddened LONG-time VIB’s have so eloquently stated. My suggestion to those who are not VIB’s would be to not bother “trying” to reach that $350/year level unless you can easily do so (perhaps shopping for a lot of friends/family). Trust those of us who have been in the program a long time, it isn’t what it once was and there are many comparable options out there. For those who feel they must get to VIB status, try to “share” a membership with a sister, daughter, mother, friend, etc. and combine your purchases for those 20% bi-annual sales.
Hi Susanne,
I don’t have much information on the upcoming sales at Sephora – unfortunately, they haven’t confirmed much at this time! Any sales/deals are always posted in the Monday sales/deals’ wrap-up post, so check for it there! 🙂
Thanks Christine. It appears many are “cracking” these coveted codes which can only mean that some poor, unhappy shoppers are going back to their Sephora rep for a new code. Since I am a VIB I won’t even attempt to do this and just wait my turn ’till Nov. Note, I am not blaming anyone for trying to “crack” the code. Personally, I believe Sephora could’ve avoided this whole PR/Marketing nightmare by being upfront and honest. As one other commenter said, they could’ve changed the name and maybe even done this employee appreciation thing at another time of year. This F&F program should have been discontinued publicly after last year’s fiasco in a public and timely manner (maybe last year). The spin the wheel thingy is just plain insulting to most of us VIB’s! Just my personal rant! Sephora will get exactly what they deserve. Wish I had spent less money there over the years and bought Ulta stock instead!
Canadian girls-Shoppers drug mart (out here in BC, it could be pharmaprix out east) is by far a better place to spend your cosmetic dollars. If they have the brand you are better off since you get points, which you can use to buy whatever you want. Not “samples”, actual stuff. They carry Dior, Smashbox, Guerlain, Stila, Anna Sui (personal fav) Lancome, Clarins, L’Occitane depending on location. I redeemed 200 bucks last year by waiting for the 20x the points events. They aren’t as fast in getting some of the newer products in but if you can wait you’re in good hands
I am always confused about what exactly VIB status really means. I shop in Sephora at least once a week and tend to achieve the status several times over throughout the year, yet I am never notified about ‘special vib events’ or whatever. IF I get the email for the sale, I will shop it but I’m not really expecting it.
I am not an employee of Sephora or VIB and still got my 20% discount with a code that I got on websites lol. Just purchase the Naked 1 and new Tarte blushes =)
Can you please share where or how u found the coupon code? 🙂
I’d just like to know why everyone is so upset about not having the sale in October vs. November? BIs and VIBs are still going to get to shop with their discount in the coming months and lucky for everyone lots of “newness” is coming out in Nov/Dec and AMAZING door busters are going to be in store during that time also. Plus has anyone considered that there should be more stock available for everyone to purchase? We know how the holiday season runs in retail…you have early buyers and late buyers…EVERY year…the early buyers come in buy up all of the “goods stuff” and then cashiers and staff (at any retail location, not just Sephora) have to figure out a way to “spread holiday cheer” to disgruntled late comers who can’t find the ideal gift because they waited so late to shop…by pushing back the October sale I’m sure we’ll be better prepared for the Nov and Dec months… I hate to sound like a grinch about it, but I think sometimes people forget that stores have other things to consider when the holiday season rolls around…staffing…inventory…the people who work their little brushes to the ferrule…I do agree that it was lame that Sephora didn’t just tell people the friends and family sale wasn’t extended friends and family this year, but is it really a reason to boycott/bash them during the season of joy and love? just my two cents and please don’t be offended :o/
Guys, if you frequent a particular Sephora a lot, mention it to someone who you see a lot there. A lot of times if you are nice and come in a lot and are a frequent buyer they will surprise you! I work there and Sephora is all about CLIENTS–their repeat customers. They WILL be rolling out stuff for Beauty Insiders and VIBs so please don’t get upset over this! Patience and a good attitude will go a long way 🙂
I dont’ know why everyone is so upset. The friends and family coupon is for the employees to give out to their intimate circle of family and friends. IT is not fair that everyone is getting upset when the VIB is coming up. November 8th to be exact. The friends and family coupon is just that. It allows the employees to give their discount to their moms, dads, cousins and so on. Shame on everyone for getting so upset. Don’t be selfish.
Rumor has it that the VIB sale is Nov 8-12th. Has anyone gotten an email yet?
No, I really need to stock up on some essentials.
Hi Everyone! I just the card in the mail… VIB sale is indeed 8th – 12th! Hooray!
Cool, I haven’t gotten mine yet hopefully its on the way soon.Happy hauling!
Has anyone received a VIB offer by email? or a code they can share? Have any of you ever checked out skinstore.com or dermstore.com -they also have specials almost every week..
Hello, Im a makeup artist and iIwill love the VIB. I am so addiction with makeup. I am looking forward for this discount to go crazy in the Sephora store. i spend our $500 a month on makeup.
Because Sephora had their sale this way I chose not to purchase anything. I normally spend about 500.00.-600.00 during the sale this year notta, zilch, nothing. Sephora can kick rocks this year!