Ulta Fires Back After Ex-Employees Allege the Store Cleans and Resells Used Makeup

Ulta Beauty is under fire after several former and current employees came forward with allegations that the store cleans and resells used makeup. The employees, who worked at Ultas across the country, allege that they were ordered to repackage and reshelve unsanitized, returned merchandise, such as lipsticks, foundations, and eye shadows, for new customers to buy.

Former Ulta employee, @fatinamxo, led the charge on Twitter with a viral thread on how she was asked to resell everything from makeup to skin care to hair tools. To prove her case, Fatina shared two pictures of alleged resold products. One picture featured a used foundation stick with residue on the rim, which Fatina claimed was touched up with a Q-Tip before it was reshelved. Another photo showed a used lip palette, which Fatina claimed was lightly cleaned with alcohol before it was resold.

https://twitter.com/fatinamxo/status/950931112007741440 https://twitter.com/fatinamxo/status/950931125282705411 https://twitter.com/fatinamxo/status/950931144610066433

Fatina also claimed that she was instructed on how to clean used eyeshadow so it could dry overnight and be sold the next day. She claimed that when she tossed “damaged” products, her managers would become angry at her for throwing away something that could be resold. When she contacted corporate to report the situation, Fatina was allegedly met with a disappointing response.

https://twitter.com/fatinamxo/status/950931147558653952 https://twitter.com/fatinamxo/status/950931149626408961 https://twitter.com/fatinamxo/status/950931150830292992 https://twitter.com/fatinamxo/status/950931152226930689

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After her Twitter thread went viral, Fatina was flooded with DMs from other employees who echoed her claims. One employee claimed that her manager used a blow dryer to smooth a used brow pomade so it could be resold, while others said they resorted to destroying returned products beyond repair so they couldn’t be resold.

https://twitter.com/fatinamxo/status/950931171885699072 https://twitter.com/fatinamxo/status/951018199222546434 https://twitter.com/fatinamxo/status/951015787820716038 https://twitter.com/emmabahi/status/951032269837422592

Another employee, who worked as a makeup artist at Ulta’s salon, also claimed that the store used testers and unsanitized products on clients. Others compared ULTA to beauty retailers like Sephora and MAC, which reportedly sends back and throw away all used and returned merchandise

https://twitter.com/maddimays/status/950989811610918912 https://twitter.com/camimarfizo/status/951122387524763648 https://twitter.com/fatinamxo/status/951052717111365632

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After Fatina’s thread went viral, Ulta began replying to Twitter users and customers who chimed in with their Ulta horror experiences. Ulta denied any wrongdoing and assured that it does not sell used products. Ulta also issued a statement to Revelist, denying the resale of any used and opened merchandise

“The health and safety of our guests is a top priority for Ulta Beauty and we take these matters very seriously. Ulta Beauty’s practices do not allow the resale of any items that have been opened and/or used. The actions described appear to be inconsistent with our practices and we are currently looking into this matter,” the statement read.

Though there is no official word on whether the claims are true, we’re sure the allegations will sway many from shopping at Ulta in the future.