Ulta/Sephora Tips
(this was on the shoplifting subreddit, thought you guys would enjoy!)
Drug store makeup and nail polish is easiest to get from Walmart. If you want tarte, smashbox, urban decay, etc. then ulta is probably your best option. Ask a SA when they get their shipments in. It will usually be wed or thurs in the morning. go on that day, during the morning shift. They make the SAs unload shipments before they open, so usually they’re pretty worn out and don’t want to deal with people. Alternatively go on a Saturday or Friday night close to closing time, since the SAs will be antsy and ready to start their weekend.
Wear makeup. Like really overdo it. Same if you’re lifting from Sephora. If you’re wearing hella makeup they figure you know what you’re doing, and won’t bug you as much. If you notice a lot of SAs asking you if you need help, ask for something you know they don’t have in stock. My go-to right now is Bunny grav3yardgirl’s tarte pallete because no one has it in stock. Another good thing to ask for that they usually don’t have is NYX matte setting spray, but I think the stocking issues NYX was having are solved. Since I go to ulta a lot, I have one store I specifically lift from and another I only buy from.
Both ulta and Sephora have pretty good camera placement, but I’ve lifted from both tons of times with no problems. Either bring a friend and have them block cameras while you conceal, or conceal while walking away from a camera. With smaller items, I use the “pick two, pocket one, replace one” method where you grab two of what you want and conceal one. Then you put the other back, so unless someone is paying very very close attention, it’s hard to notice. It’s also fairly common to squat down to be out of view of cameras and it won’t look suspicious. I just make it look like I’m reading the ingredients for a moment before I stand back up. I have a huge MK purse so I just set it down with me between it and the camera and conceal while I’m “reading” the ingredients. Usually kneeling or squatting is super sus but you can do it in ulta or Sephora because they have so many small products on low shelves, so it’s normal.
Also open packages on the higher quality makeup, to make sure it’s not tagged. If it is, I pull out what I want, close the box again, and stick the empty box behind all the full ones. If it’s not tagged I just take the whole box. If a SA asks why you’re opening a product, say something like “oh once I bought an eyeshadow and when I got it home the powder was cracked so now I check the ones I’m thinking about buying” or like “the wand on this lip gloss was screwed up,” “safety seal was broken” etc. they wear makeup, they understand. Just be polite to the SAs. They’re usually pretty chill at ulta. Sephora SAs are a bit more anal.
Also bonus thing I read from a former ulta SA: if you hear like… A chime/ding noise through the store, it has nothing to do with you so don’t get nervous. It’s how the cashiers communicate with the other employees. So like one ding means they need another register to open and two dings means someone needs more money in the register or something like that. Also the SAs wear earpieces (some ultas only the manager does, but other ultas have more than just the manager wearing them) but I typically don’t worry about that?? Unless you see them talking into the earpiece looking directly at you, they probably aren’t talking about you. Also I read managers are the only ones who act as LP so they’re the only ones who can confront you, but immm not sure that’s true.
