Last month, one California woman announced a lawsuit against Sephora, claiming one of its lipstick testers gave her herpes. And despite the fact that the retail brand was called out for negligence (i.e., not warning customers of the health risks that come with sampling products), it simply offered a “no comment” and follow-up statement highlighting its commitment to “health and safety.”
MORE: Sephora Hit With Lawsuit After Woman Claims She Contracted Herpes From Tester
It’s no secret that germs are pretty much everywhere, but we admittedly found ourselves questioning whether you could actually contract a lifelong disease from a measly makeup sample. Well, according to the Rossen Reports team at “TODAY,” the answer is an undisputed yes. This week, they went undercover at Sephora, Ulta and Macy’s to collect and test product samples for germs and other nasty bacteria.  Spoiler alert: the results will make you squirm. Inside, hidden cameras captured customers (with blurred out faces, of course) applying sample products to their lip and face as if they hadn’t been used by dozens of other people.
“People use it. Then you use it. Then other people use it. It’s like communal makeup.” Well said, Jeff Rossen and reason enough to not do it.
If that weren’t enough to gross you out, brace yourself for the lab results. All three stores came back with some samples that had harmful bacteria, including E. coli an...