Do we like them?

Do we like Sephora?

Global beauty retailer selling makeup, skincare and fragrance in stores and online, plus its own Sephora Collection brand. Based in Paris.

Our score: 5 out of 10. A big, popular beauty retailer. It has a privacy fine on record and a middling supply-chain rating, so we'd only back it with some reservations.

Sephora is the beauty chain that sits inside LVMH, the luxury giant. It sells other brands' products and its own Sephora Collection range. Job listings and other sources describe it as an LVMH division.

Its biggest black mark we found is privacy. In 2022 California's attorney general announced a $1.2 million settlement, described as the first public fine under the state's consumer privacy law (CCPA). The deal said Sephora had to tell customers it sells their data. Sephora said the settlement included no admission of fault.

Bloomberg Law also reported a separate lawsuit against Sephora and other retailers. It alleges they shared customer data without permission to judge how likely shoppers were to return items fraudulently. It was still pending at the time of that report.

On workers and supply chains, Good On You rates Sephora Collection 2 out of 5 for people. It says there is no evidence Sephora ensures living wages, though it does have a supplier complaints mechanism and belongs to the Responsible Mica Initiative. That makes it a middling 5.