Sephora Reacts After Video Of Girls Using Makeup For Blackface Sparks Online Outrage

A video of a group of teenage girls applying darker shades of makeup to their faces to do a "blackface" at a Sephora outlet in the United States has triggered outrage online. The clip, originally shared on TikTok, shows three teenage girls walking around the store and using makeup testers to apply dark foundation shades to their faces while laughing and making inappropriate noises. One teen with dark brown makeup on her face is also seen standing next to a Sephora employee who is confronting someone who appears to be a parent of a chaperone of the group. In the video, Sephora employees are heard saying how "incredibly offensive" the teens' makeup application is. 

According to NBC Boston, the incident took place at the Sephora store in Boston's Prudential Center. Since the incident, the video has surfaced across several social media platforms. "There's no way they thought going into SEPHORA AT A MALL would be the perfect place to put on black face like???" an X user wrote while sharing the clip. 

Take a look at the video below:

There's no way they thought going into SEPHORA AT A MALL would be the perfect place to put on black face like??? pic.twitter.com/Bu5uBJOIU4

— Lil CB (@CallMeCBizzle) February 10, 2024

The incident has also prompted Sephora to issue a statement. "Sephora's top priority is to create a welcoming and inclusive shopping experience for all. We are extremely disappointed by the behavior of these shoppers at our Prudential Center location, and as such, they were asked to leave our premises. Under no circumstance is this type of behavior tolerated at Sephora," the company said, as per the outlet. 

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Meanwhile, on X, many people shared their frustration with the teens' actions. Several users also suggested that they should be banned from Sephora. 

"I hope Sephora identifies this family and bans them from their stores," wrote one user. "To do that in public is insane in 2024," said another. 

"There's no way they thought going into SEPHORA AT A MALL would be the perfect place to put on black face like???" commented a third. "Those girls in Sephora who did black face IN FEBRUARY .... DURING BLACK HISTORY MONTH deserve jail. Idc idc idc," expressed a fourth. 

Notably, as per NBC Boston, blackface is a racist tradition that dates back to American minstrel shows, post-Civil War performances where white actors wore makeup on their skin as they put on songs and skits mocking Black people.