Sephora

I wandered in, around, then out without being greeted or offered help.
I was looking for a specific fragrance and did not find it. I found it Tysons, with an attentive clerk’s help.

I give 2 stars now because I’ve gone to this Sephora for years and their service and employees are really sub par. I’ve actually felt that employees are sometimes avoiding helping customers. They should address that. They have a good selection. Not crazy busy and chaotic. The place looks great and of course it’s so convenient.
I also compare this to my experience at Tysons. And as busy as they are the employees have a really good energy there. Maybe they have more of a selection of employees because they’re in tysons.

Amazing selection of all the brands you want and quality generic (Sephora) store brand alternatives.
This store is huge – one of the bigger collections I’ve seen in the area.
Conveniently located in the Reston Town Center by my favorite happy hour spot, the lights, colors and the lingering pleasant floral scent of Sephora draws me in from the street more often than not.
Once inside, I am treated to a huge array of try before you buy products that meet all my beauty needs (and help me discover some I didn’t even know I had!!). I sample every shade of lip color before I buy so I am not disappointed with my purchase after I get home. At almost $ 30 for a tube of lipstick, I almost can’t afford not to do so!
One great thing about this shop is their generosity with samples. If I try a new perfume and am not sure whether it’s for me or not, I can ask for take home samples from the bottle and try again a different day before I commit to buy. The sales staff is friendly and helpful without being officious or pushy.
I recommend the VIB club (you register with an email) through which you gain points for every product you buy. When you reach at least 100 points, you get to trade them in for a deluxe sample – for 500 points, you get a nice collection of samples. Oh and you receive a free beauty birthday sample or full-​sized gift.

I’m a VIB Rouge member so let’s just say that I shop at Sephora. A lot. I thought my experience at the Reston location was unique and for some reason the people there didn’t like me but after reading the other reviews on this site and witnessing how the sales people treated my boyfriend the other day, I have learned it’s not me, it’s them. I sincerely hope the store manager takes the time to read these reviews and talk to their employees about what constitutes customer service.
I’ve lived in Reston/​Herndon for over 10 years and shop at RTC consistently. I go into Sephora almost every time I’m at RTC because, well, it’s Sephora. In all that time I’ve had exactly one positive experience where the sales person was actually helpful, listened to what I was looking for, and recommended a product that fit the bill. ALL of the other times I’m lucky if the sales people can stop talking amongst themselves long enough to even acknowledge there are customers in the store. If I am lucky enough to get their attention and ask them where a product is or to recommend something, their usual response is to wave towards a general direction in the store instead of talking to me and showing me where it is. It’s not like they’re busy. Usually they’re just standing around talking.
This past Sunday we made a special trip because my boyfriend wanted a new moisturizer. When he asked for advice, the sales person acted huffy that he was interrupting her talking to another employee and immediately took him to the Jack Black display. I guess because he’s a guy, he should only use products marketed to males? When he asked about Murad or Clinique, her response was «don’t use those.» No explanation, no reasons given. He hated the interaction with her so he left without buying anything. I was annoyed at how he was treated so I put back the $ 30 lip gloss I was going to get and left too. Might I add no one offered to help me in the 20 minutes we were there but as we were leaving and passing by a group of 5 – 6 employees applying their own makeup in the big mirrored area at the front of the store, one of them told us to have a nice day. Seriously? That just infuriated me more.
From now on I’ll only shop here if it’s an emergency and I need something immediately that Ulta doesn’t carry OR I’ll buy it online. That way I don’t have to look at the sour faces of the employees who work in this particular store.

I was shopping yesterday (10/​23/​2015) with my daughter when we were approached by a very well made up skin care rep who asked us to try her new product. I looked and my daughter and said «not for me, but you can» after which my daughter said no thank you. The saleswoman then turned to me and asked me very bluntly «when did you decide to go natural?» I was a bit caught of guard and then figured she was talking about my blonde hair, which is mixed with my more mature white hair. I spend a lot of money on my hair and my response was «it’s not natural. I do a lot to get it this way.» She then talked a bit about her color (she was brunette with and olive complexion), smiled coyly and then walked off. I tried to reconcile that she was complimenting me on my color but after going through it with my daughter and my stylist, I think she was intentionally being hurtful because of my response to her sales pitch. I won’t be back to this Sephora. We all go there for help from «experts» in the field. Not to be made fun of or a mean girls dialogue.

DO NOT WASTE YOUR TIME HERE. Customer service is awful and the manager Brittany will tell you shell get back with you and never will if you call for something. Girls give you dirty looks there too for no reason. Id rather shop online and will never go to that location again.

I like this store because it tends to be stocked with shades that go out of stock fast at other locations, but I always have weird interaction with the staff here. I was checking out lip glosses and I tested it out in my hand– this woman brings a handful of lipgloss wands, but them in my face and tells me «we don’t want to contaminate the lipgloss.» While I get that, everyone else was putting the make up directly on their faces– their mouths. There were two preteen girls putting mascara from the tube to their eye (can we say pink eye). I just got called out in the rudest manner in a loud, harsh tone, and I have a handful of products that I was buying. I was just taken back by the interaction. Maybe the girl is just super uptight (she had multi colored hair).
My biggest pet peeve – THE DISPLAY ITEMS ARE OLD AND DISCOLORED. They don’t swap out the testers so they are exposed to the light. There have been times where Ive purchased lip gloss and whats in the package is so different.
At the cashier: I have a sephora card but I have no idea what it is for, and when the cashier asked me if I want to redeem my points I asked what do I get (never redeemed them before so I have no idea). Her response was «your points just go down.» DUH. Just such a weird response. I had to probe further that the points don’t go toward my purchase they go towards sample «gifts.»
I don’t know– Ill probably come back because its so conveniently close to me, but Im just over the staff here.

It was a beautiful day to wander the town center, I needed new moisturizer, and my friend had been needing to schedule a makeup session for her wedding at SOME point, so we made our way to this Sephora. They were really helpful about booking appointments for us (we figured this location would be less chaotic than Tyson’s) without pushing us (maybe that’ll come after the makeup session?).
We then proceeded to wander the store, comparing what brands we use and of course lamenting whether or not any of this stuff actually works to make it worth the cost. Eventually I bought the moisturizer I initially went in there for while waiting for a coworker to finish painting her nails.
All in all, a fun place to stop in and spend some time browsing everything and trying samples. You can easily get sucked into buying a ton of stuff.

I absolutely love Sephora. I love going there, I love trying the products, I love the products they carry, and I love talking to the consultants there to get advice and help with what products fit my needs. I am currently VIB Rouge status, which basically means that I shop at Sephora A LOT.
This Sephora location is great in that it is always well stocked and have exactly what I’m looking for. Unfortunately, where this location is truly lacking is in the customer service. There are a few select consultants who are amazing and friendly and always helpful, however they are the minority. My last experience there was with a very unpleasant sales associate, who told me about 4 – 5 times that my return of used products (I believe there were 3 – 5 products) that I did not like was a waste of revenue for them since they could not resell it after I used it. The first time she mentioned the wastefulness I apologized, as I understand that they have to discard a product after it’s been used and returned. However, by the grace of God and because of Sephora’s amazing return policy, I don’t have to feel guilty about it – until a disgruntled employee tries to lecture me. So, after her first comment and my apology, I did not engage following her repeated comments. However, after she walked away from me and to a couple of her coworkers nearby, I actually ended up in the same area of the store to try to find some products I needed, and I heard her complaining about me and my returns to her coworkers, which I found very unprofessional and rude. Of course they stopped talking as soon as they saw me, but the fact of the matter is that this behavior should not be happening at all. I spoke to the manager regarding this issue, but at that point the damage was already done.
Yesterday, I sent my husband to this location with some returns of (unused!) products that I bought from a JC Penney Sephora. I’m not sure what the Sephora policy is on returns from JC Penney locations, but I will say that the Tysons Sephora location has processed my JC Penney returns multiple times without an issue. However, my husband was told that they could not process the return and would only get store credit. He called me and I told him that the Tysons location had done it before, but when he told this to the cashier, they still did not allow it. I have observed that it’s a little more work and little more complicated to process a JC Penney return in a freestanding Sephora store, but to tell your customers that it’s not possible is a blatant lie. Maybe they don’t know or they just didn’t feel like doing the work, but regardless, after these two incidents, I definitely will not be returning to this location unless it is absolutely necessary.

Horrible customer service! I went there to buy foundation and concealer. I asked a lady for help with picking up the right color. She then put a bunch of other stuff on my face like moisturizer, bronzer, blush, etc. I dont know much about make up, thought I looked good so bought all of the stuff (about $ 400). I asked them repeatedly about return policy and they assured me there will not be any problem returning any of the stuff. «We are pretty lenient about return, just dont bring the bottles half empty «, they said. After I went home I tried to use the make up items myself and realized it was too much for me, all I needed was the foundation and concealer. So just after two weeks (I only used the makeup once) I went back to return all the other stuff and never in my life did I feel so humiliated! I was asked 3 times by 3 different associates why I was returning. They kept me standing there for 30 mins and kept on whispering among themselves «she is return almost everything». One of them was particularly rude, she said to me «you got a free makeover, for that at least you have to make a $ 50 purchase». WTF! I never asked for a make over, THEY decided to help me pick up all those stuff ! Also, the foundation and the concealer cost more than $ 70. Then when I asked is there a problem she gave me attitude, she seemed annoyed and said that she wasn’t judging me, she was just curious why I was returning! How many times do I have to explain my reason for return? I did not expect such horrible customer service from a stor like Sephora. I am never going back there again.
Sephora, please, when you help a customer pick up makeup, let them know that they will be charged for the help and also chnage your return policy, make it something like «you can only return X number of products, if more than that please be warned that you will be judged and humiliated».

I would love to say I love this place because I have loved the other locations. It’s downfall is the service, it is hit or miss. I have never been to a store where each time the service is either really good or really bad never in between.
I like some of the lines they carry but I never want to try anything on my hand because it’s all so dirty. A little sanitation goes a long way in make up.
Sorry I do like other locations.

Never shopped in a Sephora before. I came in to pick up a gift card as a Christmas present.
No line when I walked in, the young lady working the register was friendly and efficient and had me on my way in very little time!

I’m afraid I have to echo the sentiments of a few other reviewers here — service is really this place’s downfall.
The store is clean and there are tons of products and it’s well-​stocked, so those would be the good points.
I was there on a Wednesday about 5:15. The store perhaps had about 5 patrons in it, but many more salespeople. Some were helping customers and interacting with them, but many more were not. I was in search of a good dry shampoo and there were a lot of choices. I needed help figuring them out. Salespeople just flitted past me as if I wasn’t there. For 30 MINUTES. 30 minutes! I finally had enough and decided to leave the store. On my way out was when I was asked what I needed help finding. I said to the young lady, «Are you kidding me? I was in here for 30 minutes and you said nothing at all to me. And now that I’m leaving, you’d like to talk? No. No thank you. I’ll take my business elsewhere.» With that, I was out the door.
This has all the makings of a great store, but service will be the reason I don’t shop here.

I love Sephora. It’s glitter, glitz and glam in all the right places! You can pretty much find any beauty product under the sun in this one store. Plus, who doesn’t love a store that specializes in fabulously girly happiness? This store is well stocked and always has enough employees available to help ensure that everyone is having the best experience. Moreover, the store’s associates are always friendly, even during the crazy holiday rushes they do a good job maintaining their composure.
A+

One of the best cutomer service experiences I’ve had in a long time. Jill took care of me, seek her out.
I had bought some foundation from the Georgetown store back jn late June (it is now the end of September). While they had used their new fangled color matcher on me there, the color they picked out was way too pale for me. Thing is, I didn’t know this till recently because I was using up some old makeup first. But I did keep the receipt, so when I brought it to the Reston store since that’s where I work.
I walked in girding my loins for battle. Instead of a fight, I was told that even though I had bought the makeup months ago, they’d be happy to help me out. Jill used the color picker again, called in a manager for an assist, and found a much better shade for me in no time. She also taught me to use bronzer, and I got some.
This store is well stocked, with aisles that are easy to navigate. Definitely recommend it!

I wrestled back and forth between giving this shop three or four stars, simply because I’ve had some odd experiences with getting advice on colors and products. But I’ve just learned to come back later and try again, and since this store is centrally located in busy Reston Town Center, it’s a convenient stop.
Four stars for the immense selection in the store. From brand names to the Sephora brand, there are products available at all price-​points. For example, I don’t like to spend a lot on make-​up brushes and would rather replace them more often, so the Sephora brand brushes are perfect. Instead of $ 30 a brush, they sell for around $ 10.
Good customer service experience: a facial cream separated weeks after I’d bought and had been using it, and a replacement was handled with no question.

Joni is very helpful — I went in specifically for some Bare Minerals and left with some lip moisturizer, lip gloss, mascara, rollerball, and makeup setting spray. Yeah, I have a problem… It’s the main reason why I try to avoid makeup and office supply stores. I like to buy things that I think I may need, but they end up taking space instead. Personal problems aside, Sephora is like a museum to me, I have to look at everything. The store is clean/​neat and the sales reps were helpful. They were able to help me find all the things I ‘needed,’ and then some.
The only thing that I would like Sephora to do is alphabetize the different makeup brands. They do that for the perfume, why not the makeup?

This is great location. Was helped by Jackie and she helped me find just colors and tools I needed and didn’t push me into anything extra.
Clean store and adequate parking. Great choice of brands. Store is along the lines of other local stores in size, but really nice folks that work there.
The MUA were all tastefully made up and not too heavy in makeup (good sign).

I came here to finally use the gift card I got months ago, and had a pleasant shopping experience. As soon as I walked in I was greeted and handed a small basket to put my items in. The lady at the soap and glory station was very nice and even tried some items on me. The flake away body scrub has become one of my faves.
The store wasn’t super busy; I’m guessing the weather had a hand in that. The lines moved fast and the staff was very helpful and nice.

They have plenty of brands and you will definitely find what you are searching for. BUT as some has reviewed before me — this is the store where no one offers their help without you asking for it. They were all gathered around the cashier.
For me personally this is not a problem, I am Swedish and used to Swedish store staff and I prefer browsing the shelves by myself, being left alone and asking for help when I need it. But compared to other stores in the USA this lack of American service mindedness.