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Viral video appears to show teens using makeup for blackface in Boston Sephora

Social media has become saturated with horror stories of “Sephora kids” running amok, occasionally dueling other customers and making a mess of store testers.

February 13, 2024

2 minutes to read

A Boston Sephora found itself at the center of online outrage and debate this week after a viral TikTok video purportedly showed a group of teens using the store’s makeup testers for blackface.

The video shows three young girls huddled together in the beauty chain’s Prudential Center store, at least two of whom appear to have painted their faces with products intended for darker skin tones.

“Genuinely so disgusted and disturbed,” the original TikTok description read.

University of Southern California athlete Temi Ojora shot the since-removed video while in Boston last weekend for a track meet, she explained in the caption.

“These group of teenage girls and their mothers come in and go to the make up section to use the samples for black face whilst giggling and making animal sounds,” Ojora wrote.

The clip allegedly shows part of a subsequent confrontation between a staff member and an adult chaperone, with one of the girls looking on.

“Do you want to document this? Go ahead,” the staff member tells the chaperone in the clip. “This is the stuff that ruins jobs, college acceptances, let alone how incredibly offensive this is.”

Comments on the original video and subsequent iterations largely skewed toward shock and outrage, though a few commenters suggested the teens could have been using a face mask, rather than makeup intended for darker skin.

Sephora condemned the incident in a statement, explaining that its “top priority is to create a welcoming and inclusive shopping experience for all.”

The company added: “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.”

Social media has become saturated with horror stories of so-called “Sephora kids” running amok, occasionally dueling other customers for well-loved products and making a mess of store testers.

The trend coincides with a spike in skincare obsession among teens and tweens. A recent story in The Boston Globe featured a series of snapshots highlighting the craze: A 12-year-old locked in a battle with her perceived dark circles, an 11-year-old with a multi-step skincare routine, and middle schoolers obsessed with wrinkles and anti-aging potions.