Sephora Halts 'Core Service' Beauty Play... Beauty Industry Hunkers Down Amid COVID-19

Sephora Asia-Pacific Headquarters Suspends Core Service 'Beauty Play'
Concerns Over Transmission Between Beauty Advisors and Customers
Chicor Posts 'Tester Hygiene Caution' Notice
Sharp Decline in Use of Beauty Testers

[Asia Economy Reporter Cha Min-young] As fears of the novel coronavirus infection (Wuhan pneumonia) spread, cosmetic trial services have also contracted. This is because the possibility of coronavirus transmission is high in cases where close face-to-face contact, such as makeup demonstrations, is unavoidable. The atmosphere of reluctance to use beauty testers, the highlight of experiential stores, has also spread.

According to the related industry on the 7th, the global cosmetics select shop Sephora has suspended its core service called 'Beauty Play,' a 15-minute free makeup service, since the 2nd. This is a directive from the Asia-Pacific regional headquarters, the upper headquarters of the Korean branch, and applies commonly to stores throughout Asia, including China and Hong Kong. There are three Sephora stores in Korea: Parnas Mall, Myeongdong, and Sinchon.

According to Sephora Korea, the suspension of Beauty Play is a policy to prevent the spread of coronavirus. They believe that if close contact between professional staff called Beauty Advisors (BA) and store customers increases, the possibility of mutual infection is high. Currently, BAs have stopped demonstration services and are only handling inquiries and guidance on cosmetic product testing.

Shinsegae Group-affiliated select shop Chicor also strengthened its coronavirus response policy related to cosmetic testers from the 4th. Previously, employees only verbally requested customers not to test directly on lips or face, but now this content is printed on notices and posted throughout the store. Hand sanitizers are mandatory, and attention is paid to disinfection and cleanliness. Employees are also wearing masks. Multi-brand shop Aritaum guides customers to test cosmetic colors only on the back of their hands.

Olive Young, the largest health & beauty (H&B) store in Korea, also verbally requests customers to use cotton pads or swabs for cosmetic testing. Employees are required to wear masks to participate in coronavirus response. GS Retail-operated H&B store Lalavla also conducts frequent daily disinfection and maintains similar hygiene policies.

A Sephora Korea official said, "Since it was a differentiated concept service from other select shops, it means that the upper management is taking coronavirus seriously." A cosmetics company official said, "I heard that the number of people trying cosmetics first in sales has decreased," adding, "As outings have decreased due to coronavirus, demand for fashion and cosmetics to enhance appearance has clearly decreased." A cosmetics select shop official explained, "No matter how much employees try to guide, it is true that it is not easy to regulate when various customers of different nationalities gather in a large store area," and added, "Because cosmetics are difficult to disinfect directly due to the risk of deterioration, we recommend not to use testers directly as much as possible."

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.