Interesting on the education aspect, I worked for Sephora for two years and once a month we had someone come in to educate us on new products, demo them and we got use them on each other and our selves. That was the only way we got our free product which was always great in my opinion. I will say the last year or so I worked for the company the freebies I got were not so great and always tint versions or little packets.

@@ohaiitskrissy Must depend on where you live and which Sephora you work at. The pay as a director is also less than impressive, coming up to a measly and ridiculous 2000$. You have Bernard to thank for that I guess lol I hope it's better where you are.

Their innovation team is very strong, more than most companies. They seem to constantly want to change and adapt the business model and their plans, I would imagine all of this came from that team. In the Sephora Story book that I reference in the video, they have dedicated about half the book to all of their different Possible changes coming, because of things that they’ve been working on behind the scenes, it’s quite impressive.

@@underskinYT They know they have competition and have to keep up with it. Because the internet exists and is bigger than ever and more influencial than ever, they simply cannot rely on "selling you shit you don't end up liking or isn't your shade but you will come back anyway because we have the monopoly." Nowadays I can find all the brands they carry online so nothing entices me to go there, especially not the employees lol and I feel like they want to go back to a proper, bespoke shopping experience (are we coming full circle ?). Glad they're changing their ways, I don't know if that will make the idea of shopping there less daunting for me but hey lol

@@mimoleta Yes, for sure this is a huge reason, but because it is baked in since the beginning, their experiments with retail feel very genuine, which I think helps them try out so many things. In my head either they will find the next retail breakthrough or some totally unknown company will reinvent and Sephora will buy them out for that idea

Even the fact they call it a stage is interesting, very Disney fs, but actually I felt like after all the mystery of the opening of Sephora it just didnt fit too well into the narrative unless mentioned as briefly as it was in this. Perhaps Ill revisit Sephora as a brand in the future bcs I do think its really interesting how theyve evolved and looks like they will go on to evolve

I remember the really nice big plaza Sephora in Seattle was a bit like that …scraped back hair and black smock coats or something with the red accents I liked the ‘idea’ of it -very 2001 Space Odyssey-Robert Palmer Music Video-but the truth was they never trained their staff to live up to the visage …The staff was not ‘classy’ In England ‘shop girls’ were expected to be of a certain class so that they were not offensive to upper class shoppers, so that even though they were service industry, they were expected to be service industry with class -like Eliza Doolittle in the movie “My Fair Lady” having to take elocution lessons to upgrade from gutter snipe flower girl to potential shop girl I understand that they have to deal with diversity in employment and ‘theft reduction’ practices but the staff were more like snobby ghetto policemen … they didn’t sell with class …they were rude, unhelpful, ‘eyeing you’ etc I stopped shopping in the store and shop their online app …I used to go in store only if the birthday gift was sold out on line But all the Sephora’s in my area have become ghetto Sign of the times I guess

What does that even mean - become ghetto?

​@@searchindex3438This is weird. Complaining about diversity and then crying because people are "ghetto". Just say what you wanna say. It's pretty clear. Also, when retail workers are paid trash they aren't going to act like the chick from My Fair Lady. What a fantasy lmao.

That started with Kylie, it made a lot of money, guess they havent looked back since

It's the only local shop that I can get my favourite Dior mascara at. I love having a in-store option if I want high end cosmetics.

Agreed. I recall a time when it was luxurious. Now you have makeup from “influencers” which cheapen the brand. Also, before you could get help from a knowledgeable sales person, now you get “let me ask my coworker about this product” response.

I wonder why they changed it

@@underskinYT I don’t know …I could make various guesses but probably to cover overhead of ‘free shipping’ Different localities have different cultural sensitivity to ‘buyers remorse’, and therefore different localized laws as to how an item can be sold or returned or not …it’s been killing chain stores in pockets all over the US

@@underskinYT I don’t know. My guess is the current state of economic affairs

​@@underskinYT Because of 10 year olds causing them to lose so many products and Handing out so much the influencers cutting into budgets

The hard sell has been long thought to be a bad idea because it makes forming long term relationships harder, so you 100% could be right. If thats what theyre doing, itll cost them

I'm a browser who takes a long time and has to shop around for the few products I buy because I have limited funds. I also have chronic pain and fatigue, so I sometimes have to sit on the floor to either reach products or just to rest. I don't try hair products because of fragrances, and I obviously don't wear fragrance. Add that I worked retail, some high end, for about 35 years. I want to be greeted, left to do my thing, maybe checked up on once (are you finding blah?), and that's all. I like seeing and feeling products in person because I have very reactive skin and a hard to match skin tone. So I'm your nightmare, but if you treat me right and I find something, I will buy.

She was really famous for having that little chair, where she would overlook customers, yes. I studied the brand quite extensively when I was in school, but I don’t think that they did testers of make up products until after it was established technique? I could be wrong of course but I really want to cover Biba in the future actually, but I will do that on my fashion channel.

There are some great photos online of the cosmetic counters at Big Biba, and the whole range is laid in especially made units for open access. I don't think it was done at Kensington High St or the other previous stores, just Big Biba for the 2 years or so it was open. (Big time Biba obsessive here)@@underskinYT

I wouldn’t put it past them, it’s definitely something that made money in those days, and was seeing a lot of movement in terms of retail because of brands like Sephora, so it makes sense that they were trying to bring that innovation to England given how innovative they were

Biba! How I wish I could time travel back to 60’s-70’s London and go to the Big Biba store! I’m too young to have been there, but my mom would have been just the right age, and even did a bike tour through England & Wales around that time. Have you seen the Bohemian Rhapsody movie where they recreated Biba for a scene towards the beginning? It looked amazing! Oh, and I first learned about Biba makeup from Lisa Eldridge, who has a couple of videos dedicated to it. Really cool in depth stuff if you want to check it out!

There was a dept store called “Gayfers” in the South and was way too expensive for me to shop at, but my friend was in the art community and knew ‘drag queens’ who worked the make up counter by day and did floor shows in the underground gay clubs by night They did our make up at the counter for our graduation picture

They have tried to enter the UK so many times, they’ve clearly put a lot of money into it this time, and you’re right, it doesn’t seem to be working, they don’t seem to understand the English consumer very well

@@underskinYTwhat do you think they fail to understand about the British market and consumer? What aspects of their strategy are ineffective or successful and how do you think they will fare against their competition in the near future? Also I love your videos they’re so interesting, there’s no one on this site who makes videos like yours and if they do they don’t even have 1% of the research, insight, and intellectual commentary that you provide so please continue making these!

O and in Germany is weird. They have or had this Douglas and Müller (this one I love it is not make up store, it is like grocery store too, and toys, I used to love their chocolate selections) and in Spain they had their big make uo selection in Mercadona and El corte inglés, then some stores like Druni that have some really good price point, and then online pages like Corazona and Maquillalia. It was hard for Sephora to come to European market, also some brands they can't offer in some shopping centers because they have their offer, like european luxury brands like Dior, Givenchy, Lancome, .. and well, may fave would be Italy. But averall, me too, I also prefer buying from Cult beauty, I am more into skincare and I find better deals and offers there and on the iherb then Sephora. Also, we don't have a lot of brands, like Haus Labs, Melt cosmetics, Merit, I think Milk have arrived recently, etc.. and also, we do 't have good stocks, nor a big selections in store, at least here in Spain. It is getting better, before it was worse. I guess it depends on the market, local warlords nd competition. But myself, I just love Cult Beauty just wished they have better Dyson selection and some special editions that some brands are launching for Sephora. Recently I bumped into one page that have some brands that others don't niche beauty and they claim they are the second biggest retailer in Europe. Also, I can't find Tom Ford, not the perfums but make up, like there is one german online store, that ships this only to Germany (they ship other stuff to EU normal). I think is mosty local competition that tries to monopolize.

I don't know about other countries, but Sephora's big stores are very far from each other in my area. They have mini stores only at larger Kohl's stores, which is a weird match because Kohl's has awful women's clothing 😅😅

Im so glad you enjoy the videos, tysm for watching

Im so glad to fill your questions 😇

Wow thats quite early! Before the big yt beauty boom

Theres quite a few, but youre right that you never hear about it. I guess its just those that dont have a clear history never tout it like the ones that say ‘established 47BC’ do 😂

That’s really interesting, I hadn’t heard that before, do they not understand the Australian consumer? Also, whats an Oppo phone?

@@underskinYT Oppo is a Chinese brand of mobile. Huge in parts of Asia. It means many things cannot be accessed as a result.

@@underskinYT Oppo is a Chinese brand of mobile. Huge in parts of Asia. It means many things cannot be accessed as a result.

@@kateaye3506 thats so interesting, are Sephora on WeChat? I know theyre on Kakao (and on Line too I think) so I'd assume theyre on We Chat

I tried very very hard to find more images of everything (without being overwhelming ofc) and it was much more tricky than youd think

I would actually love to do this, I think theyre really interesting, but itll definitely be on my fashion channel because they really turned into this huge version of themselves after their dior acquisition

Oh, that would be so interesting

Charlotte Tillbury is failing?

No baby it's the Rise and Rise of Charlotte Tilbury

@@ninamartine7105 it depends on the perspective for sure, some people love the direction theyre going in, but it is much more corporate now and thats not always seen as a positive

​@@kei6113People are starting to complain about the repetitive names of the products, since most of them contain a combination of Magic Hollywood Flawless Perfection. They also exaggerate with the Pillow Talk theme, it was never that interesting of a shade, just a mauvy pink, and it isn't even identical between different products called Pillow Talk. (Hannah Louise Poston did a video called something like "What even is Pillow Talk") Moreover, the website has an unintentionally dated look, like an infomercial brand catalog

Thank you 🥰

@@underskinYT 🙂

I’m so glad you’re enjoying my content, I really enjoy researching them and getting to spread the things that I’ve known and I’ve learnt, esp with the historic brands, super interesting 💖

Its austin powers, how did you know 😂😂😂 (this is a joke, its not him)

Ah yes, makes sense, they made even more money then 😂

Id have to think long and hard about other topics that interest me 😂

@@underskinYT 😆 having two topics that you love is already more than enough TBH!

I think that Nouvelle proved that selling cosmetics in that location was profitable and that was the reason Boots changed it into being named Sephora, but it certainly wasnt what made Sephora Sephora. Its a grey beginning for sure, maybe it was Nouvelle, maybe Boots, maybe Shop 8. I guess it just depends on what you want to believe

It will definitely be after fashion week, because I will want them at the same time

Thank you so much, it takes a varying amount of time, though, the majority of the video usually takes the least time and then the small facts I add in can take the longest to find because I try to read EVERYTHING I can on a brand to find them. So those small facts often come from one line in a single book, an interview with the people behind the brand or from reaching out to the brand directly or an expert on the topic, which depending on the brand/person can take a really long time (especially when they dont reply because I do wait a while and follow up several times if I need them for the information). Luckily I have long been very interested in the business side of fashion, that spilled over to business in general and because of the influence, then to beauty, so Ive been reading about this for years and years at this point, so for the most part I remember what happened and I use that to connect the dots and fill in the gaps. I think if I was to go into a brand totally blind it would take me quite a lot longer, though, I have done that and thats equally as enjoyable 🥰 P.s. I love amsterdam, the rembrandt museum is phenomenal and the vintage shopping is brilliant. It used to rain on me every time we went though 💀 (so we went to Slagharen and Efterling more back in the day, which I still adore)

@@underskinYT Thanks for ur great response!

Theres fully 150 sources minimum, its too much to cite them all (I mean they literally wont fit as well as being a lot of work) if you can be more specific I can help. Most of this is annual reports, the sephora book I mentioned and looking a business listings

@@underskinYT Where can I find business listings and annual reports (some look ancient) online? Thanks for your help.

Glad you liked it!

I mean in fairness to them its quite complicated, it was a real puzzle

benvenuto in sephora ✨✨✨

@@underskinYT Ciao ragazze, sono ritornata 💁🏼‍♀️🤣

It wasnt only a beauty line! It was a huegely influential store in the centre of London and ANNA WINTOUR WORKED THERE!! It got reintroduced as a sleeping beauty a few years ago, but it was once a hugely iconic fashion store

@@underskinYT omg. I loved the designs and they had a huge section in Harrods of London in 1971. First time I saw the leopard prints used in their window displays. 😊😊😊🙏🏼🙏🏼🙏🏼

As you mentioned, it could have been their own store. Not Harrods 😊🙏🏼

Thank you so much

In my head, I see it as a consumer going to an expert and directly being recommended what the expert thought as the only option, or the best option for them, like you were going to a pharmacist and say you’ve got a headache they would give you ibuprofen that was specific for your level of headache instead of generic. This was also back in the day, when there was an idea of the perfect woman, there was less freedom to be experimental with make up at all, so for consumers, they just had less of an idea that they could get something different, or even have confidence in their own opinion

I think thatd be so interesting

I mean, they were having financial trouble, we’re bought by Estée Lauder, and then unceremoniously dumped. Same story as a lot of beauty brands.

Oh my gooooddddd understudios is GENIUS! I shouldve thought of that for the patreon 😂

Yeah it was certainly incredibly risky for exactly that reason, but actually I think the idea came from America as it cropped up not too long after the invention of the supermarket (which is an incredible history as it is)

@@underskinYT Not just supermarket but the American suburban MALL concept itself that came to France in a 60s. Another Jewish family brought that idea to France and made a fortune. RIP, Robert de Balkany who was the owner of the company & had an incredible posthumous auction of his art and antiques at Christie's. It was the most spectacular collection I have ever seen. I highly recommend to google it for eye candy.

Lots of rumours, none true unfortunately, wouldve made for much easier research haah

Ah yes I guess youre right there 🩵

💖💖💖

🩵🩵🩵

Why do you think it’s AI generated? This isn’t the first comment I’ve had like this, but I don’t understand what it is about me that makes people think that I’m not real 🥹

@@underskinYT 1. There is no info about you online as far as I can tell other than this youtube channel. 2. These videos are anonymized, meaning you as the speaker are not identified personally. 3. The content of the videos. It's interesting, intriguing but not so much so that I would go out of my way to research it myself. This one of the style of video that are being written or even completely performed by AI. 4. The cadence of your delivery. Either you're a toast master or an amazing editor! I don't hear uhs or ums like I do in even some of the larger youtube producers. 5. Your reply rate. I don't seem most people with that many subscribers replying to so many comments.

@@underskinYT PS in the about section on your underskin, channel the link on you YT channel doesn't link to your other page @underskinYT it just links back to your underskin, page.

Thats a lot of compliments I think, so thank you. I do try to remove my own opinion from videos where I can because I think its more reliable and less biased (which is also why I like to keep my anonymity because I dont want to detract from that). Also, I reply a lot to comments because I love them so much, Im so grateful that anyone would watch my videos let alone thousands, especially over both my channels, though I have to admit, the no pause thing is because I script the videos and practice them over several days before I film, so theyre really rehearsed, maybe thats why, also someone once commented that I had an accent that they think is AI-y, so maybe its a combo of both of those things, the accent and the rehearsed sound idk But yeah, all to say that its only me, one person, behind the channel, I just have a genuine interest in fashion/beauty business and want to learn more and share that Also, tysm for the tip about the link, I had no idea it wasnt working (though the link was correct actually, I guess it was just glitching, but I used a full URL this time and it seems to have worked 🥰)

Wow I was going to comment how eloquent you speak and how thoroughly you research your videos. This takes the cake! 😂

I wonder if thats where the name came from

Im so glad you liked it! 💖