Former employee accuses Ulta of reselling used products 

A former Ulta employee has blasted the beauty retailer in a damning series of tweets, accusing the company of reselling used products that had been returned to stores.   

Twitter user Fatinamxo claimed in her posts that she used to work at Ulta, saying that during her time there, employees were told by managers to reseal and repackage items that had been returned by customers, and then put it back on the shelf as though they were brand new. 

After posting her tweets, Fatina was then inundated with replies from shocked Ulta customers, as well as other former employees of the store, who chimed in to share their own, less than positive, experiences of working for company.

Ulta: A former employee accused beauty brand, Ulta, of reselling products that had been used and returned to the store, where they would be repackaged to sell

Employee: Twitter user Fatinamxo, (pictured) claims that employees were told by managers to repackage used products that were returned to the store and put them back on the shelf

Employee: Twitter user Fatinamxo, (pictured) claims that employees were told by managers to repackage used products that were returned to the store and put them back on the shelf

Palettes: Fatinamxo said that mangers 'even taught us how to clean eyeshadow palettes and let it dry overnight so it can be repackaged and sold the next day' 

Palettes: Fatinamxo said that mangers ‘even taught us how to clean eyeshadow palettes and let it dry overnight so it can be repackaged and sold the next day’ 

Resell: Claiming the brand would resell everything, Fatina's tweet has a ton of replies from other Ulta employees saying they experienced the same things while working for the chain

Resell: Claiming the brand would resell everything, Fatina’s tweet has a ton of replies from other Ulta employees saying they experienced the same things while working for the chain

In her original tweet, posted on January 9, Fatinamxo said, ‘So I’m going to start a thread about a serious matter because I feel like make-up lovers should know what’s going on behind closed doors.’

The post, which racked up more than 45,000 likes, prompted a flurry of replies from people eagerly asking Fatina – who now makes beauty-based videos on YouTube – to share her story.   

She then wrote, ‘So I was a former employee at Ulta and whenever a customer would return a product, we were told by managers to repackage and reseal the item and put it back on the shelf.

‘They would resell everything – make-up, hair care, skincare, fragrance, hair tools, etc.

‘They even taught us how to clean eyeshadow palettes and let it dry over night so it can be repackaged and sold the next day. 

‘Managers would get pissed if they saw items in the damage bin that looked resellable.’

The former employee even gave examples of the type of used products that would be deemed resellable and shared that foundation, including sticks that people literally rub all over their faces, were resold. 

Gross: She shared that when it came to foundations, even sticks, they would clean the tops with a q-tip to make it look new but would not sanitize them

Gross: She shared that when it came to foundations, even sticks, they would clean the tops with a q-tip to make it look new but would not sanitize them

New vs. old: Fatina shared a photo of a new foundation (left) vs. the one they repackaged and put back on the shelf (right), claiming that the used one was 'not sanitized'

New vs. old: Fatina shared a photo of a new foundation (left) vs. the one they repackaged and put back on the shelf (right), claiming that the used one was ‘not sanitized’

Disclaimer: 'I have nothing against Ulta as I mentioned earlier this should be a warning to all beauty lovers to check your makeup before purchasing it,' she shared

Disclaimer: ‘I have nothing against Ulta as I mentioned earlier this should be a warning to all beauty lovers to check your makeup before purchasing it,’ she shared

She shared that when it came to reselling foundations, ‘they would clean it with a q-tip to make it look new,’ and it was ‘not sanitized.’ Aside from foundations, the store even ‘put back a used liquid lipstick.’

Fatina admitted that once her manager said she would clean the lipstick with alcohol it was ‘the last straw’ for her because it was ‘clearly not sanitized.’

Taking matters into her own hands, the beauty vlogger reached out to corporate and said she was ‘surprised’ to hear the woman say, ‘Well when it comes to mascaras we definitely want to be hygienic.’

Once she heard that, she said she ‘immediately cut her off’ and said ‘what about lipsticks and foundation? They are reselling everything that they can clean up and make ‘new’ again.’ 

The woman on the other line was reportedly ‘speechless’ and told Fatina she would ‘look into the situation.’

As for resealing, Fatina shared that she ‘was told by a former employee they do that to fragrances only,’ and that the managers took care of that. 

Unsanitized: She shared that even used lipsticks that have been on other people's mouths were put back on shelves without being cleaned or checked

Unsanitized: She shared that even used lipsticks that have been on other people’s mouths were put back on shelves without being cleaned or checked

Lips: Fatina shared a photo of a lip palette that was exclusively online only and was returned used, but mangers put it back on the shelf to resell without even sanitizing it

Lips: Fatina shared a photo of a lip palette that was exclusively online only and was returned used, but mangers put it back on the shelf to resell without even sanitizing it

Packaging: In regards to resealing, she confessed that she 'was told by a former employee' that they 'reseal fragrances only' and managers were in charge of resealing

Packaging: In regards to resealing, she confessed that she ‘was told by a former employee’ that they ‘reseal fragrances only’ and managers were in charge of resealing

‘I personally have never resealed a fragrance. As for make-up, people returned it if they had the box. We were told to sanitize it and put it back in the box. I would stick to online only,’ Fatina admitted.

The former employee’s tweet sparked a lot of comments from other people that used to work for Ulta as well as regular costumers who shopped for products at stores, only to find out that what they bought was indeed used and repackaged.

In an attempt to prove that it wasn’t just her store that did this, Fatina shared several screenshots of other Ulta employees from different stores saying they went through the same thing, in a variety of locations, including Florida, Texas, and California.

One person shared, ‘My store too girl. I remember someone returned Anastasia Beverly Hills Brow Pomade ad it was clearly used a lot. So, they said they’re going to use a blow dryer to make it look smooth and unused.’

While another wrote, ‘I work at Ulta too. They do the same thing so I would just destroy the make-up once the customer returned it so they had no choice but to damage it.’

In reply to Fatina’s tweet, a user shared, ‘I returned foundation to Ulta because it broke out my skin and the cashier asked if they were supposed to damage it out due to an allergy and the person she asked said “no” right in front of me and said “it can go back on the shelf.” This is in Bel Air Maryland.’

A customer that has experienced buying used products confessed, ‘Thank you for posting this! I thought I was nuts a few years back when I got a Urban Decay eyeshadow palette and it looked like it was used repeatedly. 

Viral: Fatina's original tweet has already amassed over 45,000 likes, 35,000 retweets and 1,500 replies, as current and former Ulta employees keep speaking out

Viral: Fatina’s original tweet has already amassed over 45,000 likes, 35,000 retweets and 1,500 replies, as current and former Ulta employees keep speaking out

Stores: Apparently it’s not just Fatina’s store that does this as she shared that girls she doesn’t know ‘from completely different states have told me their stores are doing the same’

Other employees: Since posting her tweet and sharing the accusations on her Snapchat, other employees have reached out with their own stories of reselling used products

Other employees: Since posting her tweet and sharing the accusations on her Snapchat, other employees have reached out with their own stories of reselling used products

‘I returned it after I opened it and saw the condition of it. The manager was like, “There’s no way it was used before, but we’ll replace it.”‘ 

Another customer wrote, ‘I bought a foundation in-store and the foil seal was missing. Someone in a Facebook beauty group I’m in ordered a highlighter palette online and it was damaged and had a fingerprint in the product. I was hoping online orders would be safe.’ 

Someone who works at Ulta admitted she has never experienced this, sharing, ‘That’s terrible! I work at Ulta but my manager literally damages everything, even if it’s like a setting spray or foundation bottle because we never know what customers could’ve done to it. 

Former Ulta employee claims the brand resells used products

Twitter user, Fatinamxo, a former Ulta employee, claims the store resells used products and gave examples in multiple tweets. 

‘Whenever a customer would return a product, we were told by managers to repackage and reseal used products that were returned to the store and put them back on the shelf.’

‘They would resell everything – makeup, hair care, skincare, fragrance, hair tools, etc.’ 

‘They even taught us how to clean eyeshadow palettes and let it dry overnight so it can be repackaged and sold the next day.’

‘Managers would get pissed if they saw items in the damage bin that looked resellable.’

‘For example, for foundations, even sticks, they would clean it with a q-tip to make it look new.’

‘They even put back a used liquid lipstick and the manager said she would clean it with alcohol. That was the last straw for me. A used lip palette, clearly not sanitized was returned and mangers put it back on the shelf to resell.’

‘I contacted corporate and I was surprised to hear her say, “well when it comes to mascaras we definitely want to be hygienic.” I immediately cut her off and said what about lipsticks and foundation? They are reselling everything that they can clean up and make “new” again.’

‘She was speechless and told me along the lines of “I’ll look into the situation.”‘

‘Disclaimer: I have nothing against Ulta as I mentioned earlier this should be a warning to all beauty lovers! Check your makeup before purchasing it.’

‘For the girls saying it might just be my store, I can’t speak for every store but that’s why I posted screenshots of other girls sharing their experience as well. Girls I don’t even know from completely different states have told me their stores are doing the same.’

‘But since working there I’ve realized how important it is to check your make-up before you buy it because it could’ve been used and tons of people swatch stuff in store.’ 

While the discussion was mostly about make-up products, one Ulta employee chimed in saying, ‘Don’t forget not taking expired products off shelves. That might’ve just been my store but I’ve seen my share of old product sit on the shelf and then somebody purchase it.’

An Ulta spokesperson responded to the claims, saying: ‘Every day, we aim to offer the best guest experience. 

‘This includes efforts to safeguard the integrity of products we sell. We take seriously our responsibility to provide safe, high quality products.

‘The actions described are inconsistent with our practices and while we continue to investigate, we want to emphasize that we do not allow the resale of any opened or used items in our stores.’



Read more at DailyMail.co.uk