Sephora, without a doubt, is the best company in the cosmetic industry. Founded by LVMH (Moët Hennessy Louis Vuitton, who also owns Sephora), a luxury goods trader, it’s no surprise. Who doesn’t love shopping for cosmetics? Even if you never wear makeup, it’s fun to pick up crazy lip colors and a tablet or two full of bright eyeshadows that you’ll never use. Getting new makeup is fun, but when you order online, sometimes there can be mistakes. We know that no one is perfect (at least in my experience), and even those at the top of their game, make mistakes.  When big companies like Sephora make mistakes, it can be a real hassle for you, as the paying customer, to make stuff right again. That’s why we have put together this article on Sephora’s return policy, to help ease the pain of a bad screw up. Â
Items You Can Return
You can return any item that is new or gently used that originates from Sephora. Returns include gifts, whether they are fragrance or makeup, however, you can not return anything that came in your Sephora Play! Box, unless it was affected by an error of the company. You also can’t return online freebies. Freebies are usually earned by purchasing things online. For example, you can currently get a curling gel by Curl boss if you spend more than $25.
How Long Do I Have To Return Items?
Online Purchases
So here’s the deal, the longer you wait to return your item, the less valuable your return items can become. It stinks, but it’s the rules.
If you return your item by mail within 60 days of your purchase, you will get a full refund to your debit card, credit card, or Paypal account.
If you return your item by mail from 61 to 90 days after purchase, or you paid with a Sephora gift card or online store credit, you will be fully refunded with an online store credit.
After the 90 day mark, Sephora is no longer able to refund your product.
If you would like to return an online order in-store, it must be before the 60-day mark.  Items bought online and returned in store before the 60-day mark can be fully refunded to your debit or credit card, or can turn into a gift card or online credit. The online credit is least valuable because it means you can only buy products from Sephora instead of just getting your money back. This is a slight inconvenience, but in all honesty, we’ll get over it as soon as we see the new hottest lip color (though nothing beats Laura Mercier’s blue ovarian cancer awareness lipstick).
In Store Purchases
Purchases made at any Sephora location (this includes JCPenney pavilions and independent stores) should be returned within 60 days
Gift returns
Sephora recommends you return any gifts by mail. Gift returns can be very tricky though, so if you have any questions, we suggest calling Sephora. Better safe than out of a new lipstick!
How Do I Return Items
How you return items depends very much on how you got them. In-store returns work differently than online returns.
Bought Online
If you ordered your product online, then your package should have come with a return label. This label is there so that if you decide to return your product, you don’t have to pay shipping fees. If you purchased your product online, all expenses would be refunded. At this point, Sephora only refunds the shipping costs if the reason for the return is a mistake on the company’s behalf.  You should get a tracking number when you ship your package. This way you can track your package (on any one of your electronics) and ensure that it doesn’t get lost.
You can also return online orders to any Sephora location, just bring your order summary and return form. The form can easily be found on the Sephora website. You’ll also want to bring along your payment information, either your PayPal info or your card. Â
Bought in Store
Purchases made at a Sephora location must be returned to a Sephora location. They CAN NOT be shipped.  If you bought items in a Sephora pavilion in a JC Penney’s with a JCP card, it is recommended that you return items to a Sephora in a JC Penney’s. This way the credit can go back onto your card. You must have a receipt to return anything in-store.
Received As Gift
Returning a product that you received as a gift can be tricky – usually, you don’t have receipts or payment methods.You may have received a gift from Sephora and wish to return it.  If this is the case, you probably don’t want the return going to the original purchaser.  If this is the case, call 1-877-SEPHORA (1-877-737-4672).
Fill out a return form (it only takes a minute) with all the proper information, and you will receive an online store credit.
How Do Returns Work If I Purchased With Points?
Memberships
Sephora has several different levels of member opportunities that allow you to earn points and rewards. The various clubs all have a different cost and different perks. Prices range from free to $1000 a year. Each club offers a point system and several different services. When you earn a certain number of points, you can redeem them for something from the Rewards Bazar. The Sephora website, www.sephora.com, has all the information you might need about the various memberships, tips and tricks, and a daily quiz you can take to see what product is best for you. If you can’t find the information you want on the Sephora site you can always stop by any Sephora store and ask someone in uniform (or costume as they call it) your questions.  Here is a quick summary to give you an idea of what each club can do for you.
Beauty Insider
The Beauty Insider club is the least expensive of the three. It is free unless you decide to invest in two-day flash shipping for $10 a year. The Beauty Insider membership also includes a birthday gift, and free beauty classes (they can help you learn how to do a mean cat eye).  The beauty classes are a big help if you are trying to improve your makeup skills, or you are working on a particular skill. You can ask questions as you go, which you can’t do in youtube tutorials and videos. Â
VIB
The next level of membership is VIB.  This membership costs $350 a year unless you decide to get two-day flash shipping which is an extra $10 a year.  This club has all the perks of the Beauty Insider club and more, including seasonal savings (including the big black Friday sale) and handpicked gifts.  The handpicked gifts can include a sample or some testers of all sorts of products, ranging from a perfume or fragrance to brushes to skin care products to the newest primer to lipstick, and foundation.  The VIB club also offers one free custom makeover, which can come in handy for special events and occasions. You can also use your makeover as a kind of one on one tutorial if you’d like.
VIB Rouge
The VIB Rouge, the highest level membership offered by Sephora, is $1000 a year. It includes all the benefits of the Beauty Insider membership and a few other things. You can receive seasonal savings, and handpicked gifts.  The gifts are usually a tester item or two. Tester items could be a new brand of makeup or something you’re already using. VIB Rouge also offers unlimited free custom makeovers, free two-day shipping on all orders, a private hotline which you can use for consultations or set up an appointment, and invitations to private events.
All of these plans have pros and cons, and you need to decide what works for you. Some girls can live off of GNC or Duane Reade drug store makeup (Revlon for the win), others live, speak, and breath Sephora. Â Is it worth it to you? It all depends on your spending and makeup using habits. If you like to test out new makeup then maybe the VIB plan is better for you than the Beauty Insider. We all know that Sephora does not come cheap, so make an educated decision for you, measure the risk vs. the reward. Just remember that the essentials for some people may not be the same as for you, so make your own informed decision.
Returns With Points
If you make a purchase with your points and then return the purchase, points are deducted from your Beauty Bank. The number of points deducted depends on the product. Â Having negative points in your bank is possible. Your points will never ever expire. There is no limit to the number of points you have.
International Returns:
Sephora, like Outnet and several other companies, can only ship to so many locations.  Sephora USA currently ships to Germany, Japan, Netherlands, Norway, South Korea, The UK, and all 50 US states. It has been rumored that Sephora USA will be expanding their enterprises from America to more of Europe and Asia to include France, India, and Singapore.
To place an international order, you’ll want to shop on the Sephora USA website and select the proper country at checkout.  All shipping costs are calculated into your price. Orders will be calculated in the destination’s currency, with the exchange rate at the time of your order. Sephora will accept Visa, MasterCard, and American Express except for debit cards and American Express Corporate cards. Sephora can not accept a check from any country at this time, but they are working on it so you may be able to pay with checks soon.. Tracking your package is simple, you’ll just get an email, and you can look and see where your package is every step of the way.
SephoraCanada is a little different than Sephora U.S.A. The items that Sephora Canada sells are a bit more limited. If you would like to return a purchase from Sephora Canada, complete your return form, print your free return label, and ship the return using your free return label.
Special Returns
There are no returns or refunds for any products you may have obtained as a result of Gratis. Gratis is one of the incentives of working for Sephora. Gratis is free samples of a variety of products. The idea of Gratis is that employees can try different products, free of charge so that they can better advise clients. Â Gratis most commonly is in full size and is paid monthly to each employee.
If you received an item that had destroyed packaging, products that have seemingly seen abuse, or had seemingly been opened, call 1-877-SEPHORA (1-877-737-4672).
Products from your Sephora Play! Box also can’t be returned, unless items were broken or have imperfections for which the company is at fault.  The Sephora Play box was hand picked for you, and hopefully, you like everything inside.
Know where you got your products! Sephora can’t refund you for a NARS palette you bought at Ulta Beauty or Clarisonic or Becca or Laura Mercier! Different stores carry similar brands and products, for example, both Ulta and Sephora carry big brands like NARS, Smashbox, and Bare Minerals. Sephora is also not like other companies. Zappos.com may offer free shipping and returns, but different products have different requirements.  Don’t get upset that Sephora doesn’t mimic the ‘zappo way,’ not every company can afford free shipping and free returns.
Additional Help
Remember, if you have questions about your Sephora returns or anything Sephora related, you can ask the staff, or cast as they refer to themselves.  Sefora service is excellent, and each employee knows about the products.  You can ask them what make-ups have mercury or iron in them, or if any Sephora sells jewelry, or how to avoid buying fake and or fraud products, or even if there are specific makeups on a blacklist. Â
They are happy to help. Many employees can also give you personal reviews for products, or an overall review of the company. Most Sephora employees can also tell the juicy secrets like what the sales schedule might look like across the next few months (fingers crossed for a Halloween sale!), or what brush makes for the best application of the Too Faced Natural Love Ultimate Eye Pallet, or even how to get complimentary gifts. Â
Employees will also be able to answer broader questions, like when does Sephora open and close, who is Sephora owned by, can I change my shipping address if I accidentally spelled my road name wrong, or does Sephora have an app I can use on my phone? Even if the particular employee doesn’t know all the answers, they will get you in the information you want to know. If you’re fortunate, you’ll be able to ask about Sephora history and how the logo (which is pretty cool as far as images go) came to be. The employees get no commission, so when they give you their opinion, they’re not trying to sell you anything, they just want to help you out. Depending on the status and or rank of the employee, they can tell you different facts about the specific store.
Find more information here:
https://www.sephora.com/profile/beautyInsider/oaks?ca.tab=vib
https://www.sephora.com/loyalty.ocm-program
https://www.sephora.com.did/returns-exchanges
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