When it comes to shopping for beauty products, Sephora may be the king (or queen) of them all. Not only is this retailer the place to shop for hair care, skin care, and makeup, but its rewards program is awesome — and you can swatch almost every makeup product in the store to find your perfect shade. But that privilege could land the beauty giant in legal trouble. Sephora is reportedly being sued by a woman who claims she contracted herpes from a lipstick tube in the store.
Update: A Sephora representative issued the following statement to Bustle: "While our policy is not to comment on litigation, the health and safety of our customers is our top priority. We take product hygiene very seriously and are committed to following the best standards in our Practice in the shop.”
According to TMZ, few specific details are known about the incident. The woman claimed in the lawsuit that she had never suffered from cold sores related to the herpes virus before visiting a Sephora store in 2015 to test the lipstick. The lawsuit's author did confirm the herpes outbreak to a medical professional, but questions remain about whether Sephora's "commonly used" test tube was the cause of her contracting the virus.
"[The woman] is suing the cosmetics chain, alleging she suffered 'incurable lifelong pain' from using the cosmetics chain's lipstick samples, an emotional distress she says she must now deal with," TMZ reports.
Regardless of whether the source of the herpes virus is Sephora lip products, the store and others that offer "common" products have long come under fire from dermatologists and doctors. While Sephora does provide individual wands and sanitation materials for testing, it's difficult to be certain that every product in the store is germ-free, especially when you rely on customers to keep your products clean.
As of press time, the retailer has not issued a statement regarding the lawsuit. Bustle has reached out to Sephora for comment.
One in six people is infected with the herpes virus, which is more than the number of people with diabetes, according to Dr. Sheila Loanzon, who previously spoke to Bustle. An estimated 3.7 billion people nationwide are infected with herpes.
All things considered, herpes is not uncommon. But that's not to say you shouldn't sterilize your testers and use them with caution. After all, other common viruses (not just herpes) can be spread through shared products. However, herpes is highly stigmatized, and the virus is often the butt of jokes in popular culture. Because of this unfortunate perception of the herpes virus, this alleged incident is probably more shocking to most people than the tester's flu outbreak.
If you like seeing lipstick shades in real life or testing foundation shades up close, there are some ways to be as safe as possible when using a tester in the store. You can take samples using the cotton pads and swabs provided at the testing station. To prevent bacteria from growing and spreading, doing this with your hands is not an option.
If you really want to stay on the safe side, you can choose to stay away from makeup testers altogether—which includes free samples of commonly used products. Instead, just choose to shop at a store with a good return policy. Sephora happens to have a great return policy, and customers can get a cash refund on all items with a receipt before 30 days, or receive store credit after 30 days.
If you decide to test cosmetics in a store, remember that you should always sterilize the tester and exercise caution. Whether it's a potential cough or a virus that's more serious than the common cold, you need to take as many precautions as possible to prevent any type of illness.
