Sephora

First time visiting Montréal & visiting this place. Very busy store but the staff are super friendly. Would love to visit this store if I’m ever in Montréal again.

I used to be always excited about going to Sephora until yesterday.
I’m originally from Montréal, but happened to be in Ottawa for the weekend and I passed by the Sephora store at the Bayshore mall and bought 2 fragrances, a deo and an eyeliner, billing upto $ 330. Only when I got back to Montréal the same night did I realize that the eyeliner was missing in the bag. The bag was super safe, so there’s no way that the eyeliner had fallen out, for it was a big bag.
I went to the Sephora store in St. Catherine, Montréal with the receipt and explained the situation to a sales rep. She called in another sales rep to explain the situation to her and she (the second rep) had the audacity to ask me to go back to the Bayshore mall to get my eyeliner back. Really? Is that how someone responds?
Is it my fault that the sales person at the Bayshore mall dint put my product in the bag? I’ve never checked my bags before for the purchase, for I trust in them to place the product that I purchased in the bag. Clearly it’s a $ 16 product and how does one expect me to go back to Ottawa for that?
I was told that I left the product in the store, while it was the other sales person’s fault and that I either have to go back to Ottawa to get it or take it up with the Bayshore mall sales team in order to get my product that I paid for already, cause they cannot pull one eyeliner out of their inventory. Who are they kidding? It’s a chain cosmetic store and that facility should be available, for the items are scanned while billing and it could be found again if it had gone back to the inventory.
I asked how the process would work and if the Bayshore team would ship my product to Montréal, for which she showed a rude face and picked up the phone to call them herself. She kept me waiting there for 5 minutes and was really staring at me in a rude manner, after which she called her security team to meet up with me and said that I cannot get my product and that it’s not in the Bayshore store. Really? A security? I don’t understand how I posed as a threat to her. I’m an Indian girl, and I barely talk rudely, but I wonder if my skin color was the fact that she called in the security to talk to me. I’m certain that she wouldn’t have done that if it was a person with a white skin tone. That threw me off.
Later the security explained the same to me and said I had to go back to Ottawa to get my item and that’s their policy and that NOTHING can be done and that they’ve experienced such cases before.
This is the worst customer service that I’ve ever experienced in my life and I think I’m NEVER GOING BACK to this place again. It makes me question their policies, their attitude and customer satisfaction rate. I’ve done 1000’s of purchases here before, but this one event really caught me off guard.
I called in the Bayshore store later to find that the product was there and they apologized for the inconvenience caused and offered to ship my product home.
I can very well find the products sold in Sephora elsewhere and I will take my business there, where I’m RESPECTED.
The WORST customer service ever.

Okay first of all, I went there to return a product that I did not like that I bought online. The product was barely used and I had only had it for about about a little over a month. I originally am from a small place near NB where there is no mall and no Sephora, so when I am back in Montréal I have to go to this one because the other one is way too far for me to walk. So I returned the product I bought online WITH the receipt and bought another product (these were both foundations). I was given the wrong colour and promptly returned to this establishment the next day. I wanted a full refund on my CC (which is what I used) and I had the receipt. This staff member told me with an attitude that I would not be able to get my money back with an exchange. I told her that I had the receipt for the original purchase that I returned and then bought this new purchase I wanted to return for MY money back. After rudely cutting me off in mid sentence and explaining to me that I would only get a partial credit on my CC and the majority on store credit — I was upset! So you’re telling me, with a product I returned with a RECEIPT that then I bought another product and then returned the next day to return it for my money (I was annoyed and tired that this Sephora did not have the original product that I wanted even though it stated online that it did), it was not able for me to get a full refund? I hadn’t even used any of the foundation I bought in the wrong colour, (and she had the nerves to ask me if I did after seeing it’s still in the box and in the original bag that I had it in yesterday!)
I do not like that this store doesn’t even carry Chanel perfumes, Georgio Armani products, there Guerlain lipsticks are limited, Dolce and Gabbana products and that a lot of their things are out of stock! How are you going to carry YSL, Givenchy (very limited products to be exact) and Dior and not have a good selection? Their samples you can barely use! I could not swatch a lot of lipsticks and eyeliners because they were used up! This is the only Sephora in a 50 mile radius it seems like in Downtown Montréal (there is another one, but it is very far out and it’s not in walking distance — and I believe they actually carry Georgio Armani products and such). I go to this Sephora for the convenience and most likely I will still go to this Sephora any time that I am back in town. I have been to many Sephoras and this one is not my favorite at all!
After returning the foundation I took my business to La Baie and bought it directly from the company shop than Sephora. I am not stating I will not shop at Sephora again, just this Sephora is embarrassing in regards to their selection and some of the staff that work there. I am reviewing this Sephora not the overall company. I called Sephora customer service the next day to see if I would have been able to get a full refund on my purchase and explained the situation to them. The woman told me that the girl should have honored my refund and credited all my money back (which is funny). Again, this staff member did not listen to anything that I said, she kept saying «it’s an exchange, no money back on an exchange». Like… amazing how I explained to situation to someone else who works with this company and they said I was easily entitled to a full refund.

Wow, what fuckery is this?! Wait– no receipt=credit for $ 25. Instead of the $ 80 price of product? I’ll order online from now on.

I mean, look, I ADORE Sephora. But they are not all the same…
Sephora in general:
— If you like make-​up and other fine beauty products OBVIOUSLY this is a win for you.
— They have made SIGNIFICANT cuts to their fragrances, and I would say they don’t really specialize now so much as carry a number of fairly popular items. If you are a hardcore perfumista, this isn’t your place, but if you want to stop in and see what the deal with Balenciaga’s latest florals, you can do that.
— I think it’s super cool that they train their staff to put make-​up on your face. They clearly like their salespeople to be informed. However, in general, I’ve found that there is a Sephora «look». I barely wear anything on my face, but I somehow always walk out of there totally airbrushed.
Having said that…
Sephora on Sainte-​Catherine:
— Really friendly and attentive salespeople who are totally bilingual. I have always been helped here, though sometimes you have to ask, and then sometimes they bombard you.
— Very generous with the samples. You will easily get a week’s worth (or two!) of something so you can really give it a try and see if you want to come back for more.
— Super conveniently located.
— I have not found this location to be very good at carrying things I want to buy… Make sure to check online or call if there’s something you’re interested in.
— The place is DARK. So depending on your needs, you may be better served at the La Baie, right down the street, because their make-​up department has actual light fixtures.

This is a great Sephora location! It was very quiet whenI visited and I knew exactly what I wanted to buy when I went in. It was not a big deal that no one asked if they could help me. I did receive many a polite «Bonjour «from the sales associates and that was very nice. The last who checked me out was a doll and was efficient in cashing me out. All the displays are VERY well stocked and clean. All testers are useable and not crushed or melted like at other Sephora’s I’ve visited. Thumbs Up!

Large and well-​stocked, friendly and helpful staff. Loved the guerlain mascara that they recommended! There goes my allowance…

Location: In the Complexe Les Ailes mall, near University. McGill is the closest subway stop.
The place: It’s quite large but the layout often makes me feel like I’m wandering through some kind of cosmetic labyrinth. That said, you can usually move around pretty easily unless the place is packed, which was the case yesterday. I walked in, paused and briefly entertained the notion of leaving when I saw all the chicks that cluttering up the place. I’m not sure if there was some kind of event happening, but it was barely 5pm so I’m guessing there wasn’t. So, people everywhere and of course, a line-​up at the cash. I had about 10 minutes to get in and out of there — according to my timer, that’s exactly how long it took to get my crap, queue, pay and leave.
The stuff: Sephora is bloody well-​stocked with most major cosmetic brands, as well as brands I’ve never heard of. You’ll find make-​up, fragrances, some body products and assorted tools to make yourself real purty. I give them bonus points for carrying one of my favorite brands — Fresh, straight out of NYC. Also, if you’re looking for travel-​sized fragrances, this is the place to get them.
Service: The floor is usually well ‘stocked’ with clerks who will offer you bags for everything they want you to buy. I have found that there’s always someone who can direct me to what I’m looking for, but I never feel like I’ve got a shadow following me around. I can shop in peace but know someone will be there to help me out if I need it. The fellow at the cash yesterday was super friendly.
Price: It will really depend on what you’re buying. We all know that certain brands are overpriced so if you’re going for Lancôme or YSL, you’ll pay through the nose, however if you opt for something like the Sephora brand, you’ll pay a little less. One thing is certain — you’ll almost always find what you’re looking for.
Bonus: If you get the Sephora card, you’ll accumulate points that can be redeemed for products. The more points you have, the better the product.

i’m a man and sephora doesn’t cater to me and that’s ok. i know nothing about makeup so i won’t say anything about it but i do enjoy spending time in the fragrance section and get many nosegasms.
they carry pretty much the same houses as every other department stores and all price similarly. you do get to try them without being bothered which is a really good thing.
they do have some niche like the tom ford private blend but they tend to be mostly out of stock and no tester anywhere to be seen. i do enjoy the regular tom ford like black orchid but the private blend is where the fun is.
their online selection is way better than the store selection though
can’t really recommend it to the guys but it’s worth a visit to get an idea of what women like ;)

Ahhh, Sephora! Endroit rêvé pour les amoureuses des produits de beauté et des petits pots de crème!
Cette succursale Sephora du centre-​ville de Montréal offre des tonnes de produits de plusieurs (plusieurs, plusieurs) marques. Elle est grande et chacune des sections est bien identifiée. Chaque fois que je m’y rends, je repars avec tout ce dont j’avais besoin et même plus. Grâce aux conseils des employé(e)s hyper attentif (ves), je suis très rarement déçue par les articles que je me procure. On y trouve également des produits pour hommes, ce qui est très intéressant pour faire plaisir au copain! De plus, Sephora offre gratuitement la carte «Beauty Insider «qui permet d’accumuler des points et de les échanger contre différents produits de beauté, la joie! Dernièrement, j’ai aussi découvert qu’il était possible de demander un échantillon pour n’importe quel parfum offert sur place; il n’y a qu’à demander à un (e) employé(e) qui s’occupera de le préparer pour vous.
Je n’ai que 2 petits points négatifs à souligner: la musique infernale qui joue à tue-​tête et l’état des testeurs. Souvent, la musique est si agressante que j’ai plus ou moins envie de flâner dans le magasin. D’ailleurs, c’est le cas dans plusieurs boutiques du centre-​ville alors j’imagine qu’elles ont un but particulier en faisant ce choix. Pour ce qui est de l’état des testeurs, uhm… Il donne envie de tout sauf d’essayer les produits. C’est bien compréhensible compte tenu du nombre de personnes qui les manipulents, mais bon… Heureusement, différentes fournitures sont à notre disposition pour y remédier: Q-​tips, cotons, eau, démaquillant, mouchoirs.
Vous pourrez également vous faire maquiller à l’achat de quelques produits: renseignez-​vous!

Idéal pour faire un cadeau à quelqu’un ou se faire tout simplement un cadeau à soi-​même!
Il est vrai que vous ressortirez de là embaumé jusqu’au cou, mais cela vaut la peine, car les parfums sont hauts de gamme en terme de qualité du produit autant qu’en terme d’esthétisme du flacon de parfum!
Allez, je vous avoue mon préféré: Euphora de Calvin klein! ça peut vous donner une idée de parfum…
Je né vous toucherais pas tellement de mot sur les gammes de maquillage, car je me maquille très peu. Cependant, vous serez surpris par le large choix proposé.
A vous maintenant d’y jeter un oeil!

THE NUMBER LISTED IS NOT FOR SEPHORA (cosmetics) ITS FOR A JEWELRY STORE. I hope someone reads this and changes it.
Sephora is amazing. The employees are always really helpful and knowledgeable about their products. They’re very patient and don’t mind taking the time to help you apply whatever products you’re curious about. It might be hard to actually get an employee because they’re always so busy though!
I also love the Makeup forever section. Did you know that if you buy more than 45 $ at Makeup forever, you can book a Makeup forever makeup artist for an hour and they can teach you whatever tricks you want? I’ve been buying from this brand forever and never realized we could do this until I talked to one of their Makeup forever specialists.

I’m not big on make up but I absolutely love beauty products. Creams, lotions, body washes, perfumes, skin treatments etc — this place is divine.
I’m so so happy that a Sephora opened up downtown, it beats going to the departement store where everything is behind the counter. Sephora lets you touch and sample at ease. They do have sales associates available to help you, but I find them less pesky than girls at The Bay for instance.
When they first opened up, I was gifted a lovely 100 $ gift card so I kept going back every now and then, being wise about what to spend it on but was disappointed to see few Sephora brand products. I really like their in-​house brand as it’s pretty much the only choice for stuff like body washes and bubble bath. Months later, they finally expanded their range but I find the store itself isn’t big enough or there isn’t enough shelving to display a big assortment for their bath and body products.
I’ve visited other Sephoras in Europe and Asia and remember they had quite the selection, not just the high end stuff.
One thing I really love about this place is that some of their staff is equipped with Iphones that have a debit/​credit card terminal so I can pay on the spot without having to go to an actual cash register.

Warning to all the ladies out there who are like me and aren’t makeup experts… make sure you do your research and KNOW what you are getting prior to visiting this place. Twice I have gone, and my friend and I have each ended up returning an item. We went to Sephora not knowing what we wanted really, and just simply browsed… BAD idea. The salesgirls will push and point you to the most expensive items… and sometimes items you don’t even need. (hence why my friend and I returned our purchases)
But on the good side, Sephora offers a wide selection of makeup brands like Benefit, Bare Minerals… etc. There’s a lot of products and they probably have what you are looking for. It truly is like a candy store for makeup.
I just really recommend knowing what you will buy, otherwise prepare to spend spend spend.

Une bonne définition de ce magasin serait: paradis du maquillage!
Un É-​NOR-​ME choix de produits de grande qualité dont la marque de cosmétiques française Makeup for Ever. Les cours de maquillage y sont gratuits, à l’achat de produits. Emily m’a servi et elle est une excellente maquilleuse! Je la recommande fortement!
Les employés-​es donnent vraiment de bons conseils, n’hésitez pas à les consulter si vous avez des questions.

You probably will wonder if you died and just woke up in heaven. Seriously Sephora is probably one of the most awesome places where I can easily spend a good hour and never walk away without spulrging a min 50 bill. Its just that awesome. Their online website is pretty good too from which I’ve been shopping for years now. But the store is just cooler where you can not only try the stuff on and see how it goes but also get help from the staff.
The place itself: Is kept in great shape, clean, luminous and nicely managed where you can find the stations very easily. All the brands are nicely labelled starting from the specials on the floor in the beginning when you walk in the store. Testers are out front and they have nice and neat chairs and mirrors everywhere where you can comfortably sit and doll up. They also have a quick line of stuff to pick from on your way to the check out line.
The staff: Is very very helpful. The floor is always well staffed and they always intercom people right away if your questions werent answered. I had a quick laugh with the manager and the assistant one day which was funny showing they are pretty less uptight.
The makeup: Is amazing! All the popular lines are here and you can bring your friends in and just do nails on each other and check out the latest stuff. A pretty way to finish windowing on the weekends :]

Comme un enfant a Noël: Je me suis rarement sentie comme ça en rentrant dans un magasin de cosmétiques. Il faut dire que je né suis pas miss maquillage, pas du tout. Par contre, je me devais d’aller faire ma ‘sneaky’ dans le nouveau royaume des femmes nouvellement établi a Montréal.
J’ai commencé doucement, par le rayon des vernis a ongles. OH. un bar a ongles ! on peut les essayer ! Tant de marques, couleurs, textures. Ce n’est que le début.
Certains produits sont classés par maison/​marque, d’autres par type de produits. On y retrouve des produits bio ou vegan, sans paraben, d’autres de type régulier. Des marques d’ici, la marque Sephora maison et d’autres importées. Des parfums, des produits pour se laver le visage, démaquillants, crayons, poudres, mascaras, faux-​cils, produits d’épilation, et autres bonbons pour la peau. TELLEMENT overwhelming. Comme je né m’y connais vraiment pas, j’ai demandé l’aide d’une associée aux ventes, qui m’a gentiment guidé a travers les essentiels du makeup.
Je suis ressortie avec un kit de pinceaux, un nettoyant pour le visage, une crème de jour, un vernis a ongles d’une couleur jamais vue (vert jungle profond), un liner en feutre gris koala et un maquillage smoky fait sur place par un gentil monsieur. Wiiiiii !
A bientôt Sephora !!

Worst Sephora store ever. I have been to many Sephora stores all over North America and buy nearly all my beauty products there, so I was very much looking forward to the convenience of having a Sephora store in Montréal. What a disappointment! The music was super loud and obnoxious and the sales people are very poorly trained. I wandered around for 20 minutes, no sales person in sight (2 pm on a Thursday afternoon), just the smiley one at the door whose attention I was finally able to get. I asked for assistance to pick out the right shade of foundation, she was clueless and uninterested and told me that they probably don’t have anything for my skin tone. I’m a average white women? A store full of foundation and you don’t have my shade? I moved on to the Make-​up Forever counter, but the 3 sales women there were too busy gossiping with each other to react to my requests for attention. All 3 were wearing frighteningly freakish, clownish make up – they inspired no confidence anyways. The store seems to want to cater to customers under 25. Professional women will take their business elsewhere. A truly awful experience. I literally fled the store, the loud music and freakish faces were like a consumer horror show. I will go to Sephora in Seattle next week to pick up what I need.

Are you a girl? Do you love make-​up?
If you answered yes to these questions, then you will most definitely love Sephora. SOOO many different brands, and different kinds of make-​up, and most importantly, a wide range of prices. Love love love this place.
Why the 4 star review? Well… a word of warning: do NOT under ANY circumstance pay to get your make-​up done here «professionally». I «paid» (ie. bought $ 50 worth of stuff) for a make-​up session, and it was the worst thing ever. The girl had clearly never heard of blending eye make-​up, and I left looking blotchy and gross for my engagement party. Big mistake on my part. I thought that they would be professionals but clearly I was wrong! Can’t remember the name of the make-​up «artist», but I think she was Latin. She also had SO much attitude… gah. I get mad just thinking about the experience.
Nonetheless, go to Sephora for their products. Nothing more or you might be disappointed. Or at least, go, and give yourself enough time before your event to change your make-​up if you hate it!
Happy shopping!

J’ai dû y retourner le lendemain parce qu’imaginez-vous donc que j’avais acheté le mauvais fard à paupières… (Non, il né s’agissait pas d’une manigance pour pouvoir y retourner! Quoique…) ;)
Le retour s’est fait sans chichi, en 3 secondes! J’ai pris le fard que je voulais RÉELLEMENT acheter, une petite signature, puis tout était fini. Génial.

Il était temps! J’avais hâte d’aller au Sephora parce que pour moi, c’est l’endroit idéal pour magasiner pour du maquillage, et aussi surtout pour essayer différentes marques/​couleurs/​produits. J’aime bien y aller avant une sortie pour me préparer ;) Celui du centre-​ville m’a quand même impressionnée plus que les autres par son bar à ongle où c’est permis d’essayer une nouvelle couleurs et la sélection de faux cils (que je né met jamais, mais bon, ça m’a inspiré…) Attention à celles qui ont des allergies au parfums par contre: si vous prenez l’entrée qui donne sur la rue vous devrez passer au travers la section parfums avant de vous rendre au reste du magasin.

Wow, what a mad house! Wow, what a candy store for make –up, skin care junkies! We went there the day after its official grand opening, and it was packed with at least half the female population of Montréal! So, so many brands & products to choose that it makes one’s head spin! Kat Von D., Urban Decay, the COMPLETE Make Up Forever line & on & on it goes. Free makeovers, if you can actually get a turn, great tester bars for ALL their products, there is even a hair care section as well as styling tools. The nail bar is dizzying… lots of the classic lines & colours as well as the wild & crazy. For those who seek natural cruelty-​free, by all means try the Greek line, Korres. Unlike the pharmacies, that only carry the skincare products, here you’ll find the complete make-​up line as well. The lipsticks are smooth& feel very soothing on the lips and the colours are gorgeous. On checking out, ask or pick –up at the counter, a fidelity card… like a points card; each time you purchase, you accumulate points towards your «account». On the first 2 days they placed one’s purchase in their signature cotton totes, don’t know if this is still the case, also prizes were handed out to those who hit the «jackpot» at random cashes. My fave bon bon store.

The new downtown Sephora is awesome! I have been waiting for a long time for it to open and wasn’t disappointed!