SO MANY CHANGES. Big ones too. The nearest Ulta store in San Rafael is/was a few miles south of me, and we were just driving down Highway 101 last weekend when I saw that the store was shut down, looks like permanently. There were big “closed” signs in the windows. Cue glittery tears. ?
I’m so bummed because I used to spend hours wandering around that place pre-COVID. They had a great variety of hair conditioners and styling products from higher end to budget. One of my favorite things to do was read the labels on the hair products…
Oh, and the other day I got an email from SpaceNK saying that my nearby store in Larkspur is closing as well.
I did an event with them a few years back, and I have a soft spot for that store and the endlessly kind and knowledgeable makeup artists who work there. Really sad to see them go!
My favorite thing to do there was to play with their Byredo perfume display. I’d go in and spray every scent they had on each and every available square inch of skin on my body, hoping I’d discover a new perfume to love more than Gypsy Water (but, in the end, I’ve always loved Gypsy Water the most; go figure).
As for Sephora, the closest one to me at Vintage Oaks here in Novato has been shut down for months. Like, literally boarded up so you can’t even peek through the windows. I think the last time I was in that store was either January or February. I have ordered a few things from Sephora since then, but I haven’t stepped into a physical Sephora store in a long while… I wonder what they look like now without the testers. Would I be afraid to touch anything? It’s crazy to me to think of all the times I sat in a chair in Sephora while a makeup artist showed me a new product or taught me a new technique.
Like I said, lots of big beauty (and other) store changes out this way.
How about in your neck of the woods? How has beauty (and non-beauty) retail store shopping changed so far this year where you are?
Your friendly neighborhood beauty addict,
Karen
Oh no that is so sad!!!! ☹️ Far as I know our ULTA is still there. I went last week to take my makeup virgin friend on her first haul! It was a blast. I want to go again to see if our location is one of the ones to carry KVDBeauty. They just started selling in Ulta as of Sunday I believe. I wonder if that’s one reason why KVD left, so the company could eventually expand past Sephora.
A few MAC stores have closed in the Chicago suburbs. How sad that so many people have lost their jobs..
We have very limited beauty options in my town, if I want something specific I usually get it online. We don’t have an Ulta, and our only Sephora is the one inside JCPenney in the mall, which is looking quite sad lately as many retailers have left.
The Sephora locations here in New York are open but no testers. They also limit how many people can be in the store at one time. The department store makeup counters too, no testers, no trying on, and the makeup artists can’t do your makeup.
I’m so sorry to hear that. 🙁 As you know, we don’t have much retail in these parts but we do have an Ulta and it’s open. I just asked the Hubs to pick up a bottle of Bi-Facil there last week and he didn’t mention any weirdness. Of course, he does most of the grocery shopping so he’s used to the new procedures. But he would never notice anything like testers, etc. It’s all about efficiency, which I support because I’m the same way. And, yes, I do know that I’m incredibly lucky to be married to someone who has no store limits. He’ll go wherever and pick up whatever. I just have to text a pic so there’s no confusion. 🙂
Kim-That’s so cool. My Dear Husband is the same way. Text him a pic and he’ll go to any store and pick up anything for me. Before this all started he would shop for makeup for me when he was on business trips in Japan.
We’re very lucky!! Some of my friends remind me of that regularly. HAHA! That’s awesome about the makeup shopping in Japan. They have some of the coolest stuff, I’m told! 🙂
I’ve been to both a Sephora inside JCP and an Ulta (inside a mall) within the last month, and it was interesting to see the differences between the two stores.
In the Sephora in JCP, all testers were taken away, which I was expecting… yet I realized it made it super difficult to even know what type of product was being displayed. It was helpful in that it cut down on what I purchased, but I couldn’t help but think that the lack of testers will seriously hurt their business for this very reason.
At Ulta, testers were displayed with the shades showing but were taped to the gondolas with clear packing tape so they couldn’t be touched. I found this was much preferred to having nothing at all to go by, so I hope that more beauty stores will consider this approach.
I hate to say it, but even before the virus there were too many retail stores here in the U.S. to be sustained. Covid-19 just put a lot of closings into fast forward.
Not sure how well Space NK is doing in the U.S. Which breaks my heart because the SA there were knowledgeable and not too pushy. The local one near me closed at the end of February, so well before the dirt hit the fan in this area. I’m bummed because they carried Radical Skincare and it was an easy place to pick up one of my favorite under makeup sunscreens.
There are no Ultas near me. The closest Sephora in the mall 5 minutes from my house is open. I haven’t gone in since they reopened. I went in the weekend before the shelter in place was imposed and the SAs were busy pulling all the testers and wiping down all the surfaces.
Dear Husband did go in and do a return for me. He said the store was basically empty of any shoppers. As for testers and other visual cues, I doubt he could tell the difference since that was probably the first time EVER he set foot in a Sephora.
The Nordstrom near me has some testers out. But the SA hand you cotton swabs for single dip use only. That doesn’t really bother me. What bothers me was the SA’s mask kept slipping down because she didn’t bend the wire to fit and she kept touching it and pulling it back up.
Without testers, I wonder how long it will be before Nordstrom and Sephora stop accepting returns on beauty products.
How sweet that your hubs returned your item for you. Mine would do the same. Get thee partner who will take your beauty products back to Sephora! (And make you an omelet.)
Ok, mine will return everything for me. He’s been to Sephora, Athleta and Nordstrom doing returns for me. In Athleta the woman behind him in line said she wished her husband would do returns for her.
But I have to admit, Dear Husband would never make me an omelet, because he CANNOT cook. Unless you consider burnt toast cooking.
When I lived in Boulder, CO, the MAC store closed. I remember many a morning lining up at the door waiting for one of their unique launches . . . the thrill of the chase! And ironically, it was right next to Sephora, which probably didn’t help in the long run.
Here on a Texas island, I have to order online or scrounge at CVS, Walgreens, or Walmart. I looove getting packages!
Stay safe, y’all!
You stay safe too, Leigh!
All the Ulta stores in my area have tape over everything so you can’t touch a tester even tho they taped some of the lipstick testers butt end up so you can only see the name label but not the color. They also had taped the eyeshadow palettes closed so you couldn’t see anything but the case. To me this makes absolutely less than no sense so why put “testers” out in the first place if you can’t even look at them? I’ve done very little browsing or shopping because I like to see colors IRL before buying them and like to know what the textures are like as well. These decisions were made when people thought covid ? was transmitted off surfaces which isn’t as likely as air transmission, but whatever. It has certainly saved me money because it’s not as interesting or entertaining an experience as it used to be. ?
How weird that they taped the palettes shut! Why even bother to have them out at all? It’s been ages since I’ve actually been into a store so this is kind of shocking to me.
I am so sorry to hear about all the store closings in your area. Especially Sephora, because free-standing stores are so rare – at least they are where I live. Every time I venture out to any store in our neighborhood, I get the feeling that they have all just given up. Target, my fav, looks worse every time I go in there – I finally asked an employee if they were getting ready to close or remodel because the shelves are so empty, and everything is so messy, which is not like them at all. She told me it is because of so many manufacturers being shut down due to sick employees. Ulta near me has pulled all testers, and they only let so many people in at a time – and they are out of alot of things. I used to love to go down the street to Barnes and Noble and look at magazines, and I checked to see if the Fall issues are in – their magazine racks are tossed, and they still have issues from April and May. No idea if they will even get fall issues. Stores are all messy, dirty, and disorganized – maybe they just don’t have enough staff to restock and tidy up. It is depressing, and I see why so many people just give up and order online. Many stores in the open-air shopping center down the street from my house have closed, and I expect many more will follow. So depressing!
Such a bummer. I hope that your favorite stores stick around! I miss going to Barnes, too. We’d go there to buy books for Connor and magazines for me. Then afterwards we’d grab a snack at the Starbucks and enjoy our new reading material. We used to do that almost every other weekend!
I still don’t know how it’s going to work for beauty stores here, and I also haven’t been to the mall just to see how they’re faring ( I still feel uncomfortable going there just to window shopping, and even if I buy something I still feel it isn’t safe enough).
What I’ve seen is how online shopping had a real boost here because of the pandemic and many brands started to sell online.
About SpaceNK I read that they decided to close all US stores and instead focus on their wholesale activity.
Hi Efrain,
I know how you feel! I haven’t been to an indoor — or even outdoor! — mall in ages. I miss the simple pleasure of window shopping in person.
Sorry to hear about the stores closing in your area. I have Ulta and Sephora stores nearby, and as far as I know they are open. I haven’t been to the malls or the Ulta or Sephora stores since the pandemic started. The only in person shopping I have done is at CVS, Target, Walgreens, and Rite Aid. I’ve done online shopping on the Ulta website but it’s not the same. I always like seeing things in person.
It’s hard to tell what a lipstick shade looks like from the computer screen. So I think I saved money.
So far none of my beauty stores are announcing closures. The Bay has less staff and it takes forever to track someone down now to buy something from a counter that isn’t MAC. Sephora is open but you have to stand in line and going in to “just look” isn’t recommended. I want to test some perfume. Can I even do that anymore? The lack of makeup testers doesn’t bother me since I was wary of them prior to this and rarely touched them… but I’d love to spritz on a perfume. All those perfume testers are gone now at The Bay. The experience is ruined for me as I don’t really like online shopping… but I suspect my shopping visits are going to be rare in the near future with the direction my province is heading. We’re racking up cases like crazy! And right before the schools are supposed to open. This fall and winter are going to be truly awful, I fear.
I’m also in California, and since quarantine started all the malls and non-essential shops have been closed. I can’t remember the last time I went to Sephora or Ulta. Moreover, I can’t remember the last time I wore makeup since I wear a mask whenever I go anywhere!
With regards to shopping I’ve pretty much done everything online. This includes ordering from Amazon, Macy’s, and Rothy’s. I also have a few subscription services such as CAUSEBOX which have kept the shopping bug away until things get better.
Stay safe out there!
My Sephora at Santana Row here in San Jose, ca is open. It’s a weird experience. They have the testers out but you can touch. Just kinda walk by them and look. If was quite strange and I lost interest and left. I went there to return something and they tried to sell me something by saying that they were offering 10% off to exchange for something The salesperson kept saying Ate you sure you don’t need anything?
I mean you can’t touch the testers
I am up here in Alaska and as far as I know, our Ulta Beauty is still open. So sad, I really loveeeeee Ulta beauty. Not sure about any other spots because I too have been doing all my shopping online and staying indoors as much as possible. So sorry to hear that. Stay safe!
I never realized how important those testers were until we were without! Think about it…
I have tried to match my skin color for foundation from a cardboard poster or an app, as I’ve gone from winter skin to a tan. Ended up buying my best choice only to return after one tiny squirt of it proved to be the wrong color! Several times! What a waste! They should give us a little tester to take home!
I tried going to Sephora after receiving a “welcome back, stores are open” promo email. I waited in a socially distanced line, and when it was my turn, there were tables blocking the entry and associates there to wait on each customer individually. In other words we just got to go in the entryway and had a personal shopper do everything for us. when I asked about samples for foundation, I was told the CDC doesn’t allow it anymore(? I think that is a stretch. but I guess corporate won’t allow it). If you purchase a color that doesn’t work for you, just return it, I was told. All the fun of wandering in Sephora is gone.
I thought of taking advantage of the Space NK sale, but I’ve been pretty committed to staying at home and not spending any $$. It’s too bad! It was a really great store with super friendly staff!