Sephora

The customer service at the willow grove mall location, not the one inside of JC Penny, is terrible. I was not greeted by any of the half dozen employees in the store and was not offered help when trying to find a specific item. The cashier was rude and snatched my rewards card out of my hand. I prefer the newer location inside the JC Penny store.

Expensive but some things are worth the price. Can’t get better makeup for brows, lashes and lips anywhere else. I got a gift of eye shadows from my daughter and they pack a bag with a lot of samples! It’s my new addiction!

I love Sephora, just not this one! Every time I try to buy a product, they don’t have it in stock. I understand once or twice, but every time for different products? Coincidence not! Just now, again, I tried to buy a pressed powder and they did not have my color in stock. The girl said she would be more than happy to order it online for me free of shipping charge, however I would not be able to use my $ 20 coupon towards the purchase of $ 50. Well why NOT? Its not my fault you guys are constantly out of stock!
The «manager» at the register was so rude and patronizing I could hardly contain myself when speaking to her. How about customer service?!
And the makeup trial? Don’t even get me started — its a complete joke! I can apply better makeup than half of girls working there. This is the reason I like MAC counter so much better. Everyone who works there is a licensed beauty professional.
Again, I understand this review is completely useless because no one in their right mind will look up a Unilocal review before going to Sephora but I just really needed to get my frustrations out!

I was in need of a new foundation and stopped in. Sephora has a new device that is supposed to pick the perfect foundation color. That device is a miracle. So is a salesperson named Julia. Not only did she help me with the best color match but she also recommended a bronzer and few other goodies without being pushy. Plus her makeup looked flawless without being overdone. So I knew I could trust her not to let me leave looking like a clown. Ask for Julia.

I really wanted to like this store. I love Sephora for all the different products they carry and was looking for a new make up look. I don’t want to commit to one brand like you have to with a department store counter makeover and thought Sephora would work well. It took forever to get through to a live person on their automated system. When I finally did they had virtually no appointments that could accommodate my schedule. I give up.

Usually I am bombarded with «Can I Help you find anything» which is super annoying and makes me want to walk out — but that didn’t happen at this store (thank god). However, then I realize I was standing there for about 10 minutes looking around and NOONE had tried to help me. The make-​up girls were too busy chatting about gossip to notice. Guess that’s what happens when you hire 22 year olds and ask them to be professional?
Anywayyyyy ENTER MARIA!!! She was SO awesome. I am such a weirdo when it comes to picking things. She was super fun, walked me around to try a ton of different products and recommended her favorites. Bonus– she was honest about products she thought I might not be happy with or ones that were reviewed but she hadn’t tried yet. Once I was done «let me know if you need help with anything else», she said.
«You know what, Maria– I do… lets go play with perfume», I replied.
20– testers later, a lot of jokes and smelling like a cheap prostitute– Maria was still there by my side. I will be back.
Side bar: as a MAC girl (and knowing that Sephora doesn’t carry MAC products) I was super impressed. So many options, samples, deals, testers galore, and products that weren’t MAC and I actually loved!
Give Maria a parking space and a piece of flare that reads «Employee of the year» :)

Luckily, I have not had any issues with this store. I love the fact that you can rack up points to earn items and I prefer the more intimate and smaller stores. There are a few cosmetic lines that I like, so for me I know what I want and need and every once in a while like to try a new product. Kat Von D products rock as does Urban Decay, very stylish and innovative. Nars is also a fave!

«Do you need any help finding something?» the heavily made-​up staff always asks in this store. I find that to be annoying, but I don’t always need or want help. Nor do I know anything or really want to know anything about makeup. But I’ll spend hundreds on shampoo, conditioner and moisturizer, so I still shop here occasionally.
Then, I was asked if I wanted a facial. «It’s free,» the lady told me. I declined, but then my curiousity got the best of me. «It’s really free?» I asked twice, skeptically. It was.
Beth the facialist made me feel like a million bucks. She made my 20+ year old skin feel like a teenager again! She made my menopausal mom smile from the bottom of her toes. She made my face glow, and recommended products that have continued to do so two weeks later. She showered my mother and I with samples like we were trick or treaters. Beth changed my mom’s mind about a face mask she wanted to buy. Basically, Beth is a genius.
Take advantage of the free facial!

This review is difficult because there was one person who was great (Beth) and another who was a jerk (Amber). Unfortunately, Amber’s attitude was the one we left the store with, so that has the greater bearing on this review. If it wasn’t for Beth, this would be 1 star. (See also UPDATE near bottom)
Beth greeted us and was SUPER nice and helped with Bumble and Bumble products. She did extra research to make sure she was giving good recommendations and was very sweet. However I needed help with makeup and she radioed someone to come over but it took forever, they never came. Then an older blond woman came over to help and she was also nice. However when the sample we were asking for was not pumping out correctly (Hour Glass Illusion tinted moisturizer), she called someone else over, Amber.
Amber came over with an attitude I did not appreciate, scowling and muttering and saying, «I don’t have time for this,» which was very rude. And as she opened the drawer at the bottom of the display to see if there was more product, I was trying to get my bag out of the way, and instead of waiting, she proceeded to open the drawer right into my stuff, shoving it out of the way. She was abrasive and abrupt and didn’t seem like she wanted to help anyone, and actually put us in a bad mood, giving an overall bad taste of our experience. She should not be working in service if she can’t put her personal issues aside when she is on stage. I have worked in customer service as well (for a HUGE, well known, cutting edge company) l, and customers were always priority, no matter what else was going on. It comes with the territory of the industry.
I believe the cashier or the older blonde let Amber know that I was planning on submitting feedback that I was not happy, because on our way out of the store Amber was playing a different tune and was extremely nice to us on the way out. We were not amused and could see through the fakeness, as she made a smart comment about us on the way out.
Also she gave some information about Hourglass products that I have used for 5 years and hadn’t heard before. I am checking with the company (Hourglass) to see if it is in fact true.
—-UPDATE: Hourglass has communicated with me that the info Amber gave me was NOT true. Amber said that Illusion Tinted moisturizer contains a self-​tanning primer. I said I had never heard that after using the product for a couple years and asked if she was sure she wasn’t confusing it with something else. She said no. I said I would look into it. And that other older blonde said, «Amber really knows her stuff.» You guys didn’t fool me. Not only are you crabby but you are giving out misinformation! I am demoting my review from 2 stars to 1 star. If you don’t know something, say you don’t and find out, if you can. Don’t assume you can outsmart consumers by feeding us lines of BS.
Thank goodness Beth was great! She is the only person who earned the lonesome star in my rating.
Shame on you, Sephora @Willow Grove.

They carry OUIDAD hair products! This is what I went for but wound up buying so much more. I love this store.
Last night I checked out the Oxford Valley Mall location. It is inside of JC Penneys. No Ouidad. I did find quite a bit of other products to buy though. Unable to collect on my bonus card purchases here.

This is one of the smallest Sephora stores I have ever seen, which is a shame because this is the only one in this area and it would do VERY well if it were larger… However, I am not on here to complain. I am reviewing to tell you about an AMAZING experience I had last week.
I ran to sephora after work last week, tired, pimple faced and on my last straw with my skin… and then the Sephora angels sent me Michelle!
Michelle was able to help me find a clay mask that met all of my specifications and actually was very knowledgeable about all of the different kinds as well as the ingredients. She was able to help me figure out what would work best for my skin type etc etc. I can’t explain to you how much this chick actually knows about skincare. She made me feel very comfortable with what I was buying.
I know you’re thinking… ok, well did it actually work? Well, it hasn’t even been a week yet, but I am noticing that my skin broke out a bit at first and now seems to be clearing up! Yay!
So next time you go to willowgrove look for a pretty brunette with a Mohawk type haircut… I promise you won’t be disappointed!

As Sephora’s go, this one in the Willow Grove mall is lackluster. Don’t get me wrong, I love my Sephora, I just don’t love this one. They are almost always out of inventory when I’m looking for something (I’m a huge fan of the Bare Minerals line, which they carry), but I can never find the shade or product I want. They are also more limited in the lines they carry (e.g., I love DuJour, they don’t have it). The selection of perfumes and colognes is always sparse, Better to visit the store in King of Prussia, they ALWAYS have what I’m looking for, they’re much better with providing free samples and stuff to try, so I’ll suffer through those crowds just to get what I need!