Disclaimer: This post is based on one personal experience I had at one Sephora store. This post is not reflective of all Sephora stores of their staff)

Hey y’all

This month I celebrated my birthday and all my makeup geeks out there know that If you have a beauty insider card from Sephora, each year you receive a birthday gift. Well naturally, I ventured to my local Sephora to receive my birthday gift. While I was there, I decided to consult with one of their beauty experts about some products I wanted to try.

Side note: when I entered the store, the lady at the door greeting customers was very friendly . I walked in expecting to have the same old Sephora experiment I have always had. Wrong!

I approached one consultant that we will call “Jill”. ( not her real name of course.) From the moment I approached her, I could see her attitude and demeanor towards me was not pleasant. Mind you, I had on my sweats, hair all in a bun and no makeup on so I guess I didn’t look like the type of customer that “should” be in there or that would be a viable customer.  I must add I am a black girl of Jamaican descent and my skin is a rich deep cocoa brown,. Jill is Caucasian,The conversation that ensued went a little like this:

Scene One: I approach Jill and for help.
Me: “Hi! I was wondering if you could help me with something?”
Jill: “Yes?” ( as she looked me up and down)
Me: ” Ok, I have noticed recently that my skin has changed drastically. I used to have combination skin and now my skin leans more to the oily side. Do you have any products that you could suggest that could combat this problem?”
Jill: “Well, what have you been using?” ( appearing not interested at all)
Me: ” I use a number of products but I’m looking for something that will take away steps from my everyday makeup routine. Simplify it.” I most recently have been using umm the Bare Minerals loose powder..”
Jill: (looks at me blankly) “Loose powder….”
Me: ” Oh here, I snapped a picture of it,.. here it is ( hands Jill the phone)
Jill : ( still looking uninterested)

Let me pause the conversation right here for a moment. At NO POINT did she offer to show me some products, ask if I had skin sensitivities or exactly which products I had tried in the past. What she did next made my blood boil….

Scene Two: The disrespect ensues…

Jill: ( sees a consultant who is black passing by) ” Adanya? Can you help this,,, ( she paused) customer here, She is looking for a product to combat oily skin. You might be better suited to discuss your guys type of skin. I just don’t know what she’s looking for ,..”

At this point my head did a little snap and a little swivel and I glared at the woman so hard I’m sure her life passed before her. ( she did flinch) I mean its okay if you are really not versed in a certain ethnic groups skin type and you call for assistance.. but to just dismiss someone like that???  Where they do that at???? lol Now it’s not what you say sometimes, its how you say it. The way she said it was in such a derogatory tone that it certainly got my attention in a negative way. What if I was a person with low self-esteem? I would be feeling pretty low right about now…

Now, anybody who knows me ( and knows me well) knows that I would have loved to cuss her out ( not swearing) really tell her about herself. But instead, I just bit my tongue and remembered the journey I’m on to “just love them anyway” 🙂

Jill: ( walks off without even a second glance back)
Adanya:” Sorry about that. ( shakes her head)  Now lets start at the beginning. What exactly are you looking for?”
End Scene

Adanya took her time and listen to all my skin concerns. She suggested a number of products that she knows firsthand have worked for others and herself. She brought me over to a makeup stand and tried a few products on me, did side by side comparisons and asked my opinion along the way! She was patient and kind and overall she turned what could have been a really bad experience and situation into a really positive one.

After Adanya finished with me, I left feeling successful and spent all my dough( well birthday gift cards 🙂 )  on every product she suggested! ( I will do a beauty blog in the future about my oily skin make up products) Now, they don’t work on commission at Sephora but I made sure to ask to speak to a manager after I made my purchase, I explained the whole ” Jill ” situation to her and how pleased I was with Adanya and how she really turned my horrible visit into a good one! She then in return comped me for one of the products I purchased and gave me a coupon for 20 percent off of my next purchase ( Look at God!! Lol)  She also told me that it was Adanya’s first day on the job independently! Bonus points for Adanya!

I really I had to write this to prove that God really can change a person. The old me would’ve caused a scene and made a real stink! I thank Him for instilling peace and grace in me to just brush nonsense like “Jill” to the side. It’s so not worth it!

The tagline scripture of this blog is Luke 6:27-28 and it reads”

27“But I say to you who hear, love your enemies, do good to those who hate you,28bless those who curse you, pray for those who mistreat you.

So no matter how insulted I felt in that moment, I just have to love her ( and others) anyway! So many people are made to feel unpretty and not worthy by ignorant people! Please don’t let people dictate how you feel about yourself. The group TLC has a song called “Unpretty” that really touches on this topic.

You can buy your hair if it won’t grow
You can fix your nose if he says so
You can buy all the make up
That M.A.C. can make
But if you can’t look inside you
Find out who am I too
Be in the position to make me feel
So damn unpretty
I’ll make you feel unpretty too

Never let anyone make you feel unpretty! You’re BEAUTIFUL!

xoxo