Mom Shares How Sephora Affected Her Daughter’s Life: ‘I Was Blown Away’
Beauty lovers are all too familiar with the healing power of spending 15 minutes in a Sephora. Whether it’s dabbing on a pre-happy-hour lipstick or getting a perfect shade match, a bit of makeup can feel like a welcome confidence boost. One young customer in the Sephora Devonshire location in Canada learned that lesson for the first time thanks to an especially kind employee.
A thrilled mom shared the story to a local Windsor website: She granted her 15-year-old daughter’s wish to visit Sephora because she was being “relentlessly bullied” about her “her clothing, her skin, her voice, her hair, her eyebrows” and more. “I was against this at first, but if there was a possibility of it boosting her confidence, I decided it would be all right,” the parent, who posted anonymously, confessed.
As she goes on to explain, the intuition and kindness of Sephora employee Shayna Bojaniwski boosted her daughter’s confidence even before she headed back to face the bullies at school.
“We were helped with products, of course, but more than anything her kindness toward my daughter was what stunned me,” the mom wrote. “I feel as though she somehow caught on to my daughter’s struggles with self-esteem during our conversation, and she went above and beyond to make her feel comfortable in her own skin.”
The parent said that both her and her daughter can understandably sometimes feel “intimidated” when compared with the makeup experts at Sephora. “For someone new to makeup, or someone with preexisting self-esteem issues, it’s easy to feel somehow inferior, regardless of their sunny disposition. This time, I was blown away,” she said.
This ethos perfectly captures what can be the special power of makeup — if you relate to it as simply a fun way to enhance your natural beauty, it can feel like armor. “She pointed out the areas that my daughter has been most insecure about lately (like her full brows, her curly hair … the things I’ve been trying to convince her not to change about herself) and expressed how beautiful she thought they were — SERIOUSLY girl, are you psychic??? She took the time to truly relate to my daughter. They talked about what had been going on at school, self-confidence, what truly makes a person beautiful, and how makeup is just something to enhance your natural beauty.”
Even though selling products is part of Bojaniwski’s job description, it’s incredible that she took the time to explain to this teenager that makeup can’t buy you self-confidence. And the commenters on the post — nearly 200 of them — agree.
“This is so awesome. Sometimes all it takes is the kindness of a stranger when all else seems to fail for a parent,” Angela Cope said. Kelly Ann wrote, “The world needs more ppl like you Shayna!! You made a difference!”
Loyal Sephora Devonshire customers are chiming in with compliments for the store on Facebook. “The girls there are all awesome human beings. Andrea and Taylor especially have been very loving toward my family over the years. Even to the point of making me Christmas cards and calling me Mom,” wrote Cheryl Fraser. “I also had a similar experience with Shayna. She deserves recognition!” Gail Maples wrote. Bojaniwski’s co-worker Taylor Elaine agreed and forwarded the message to her manager and district manager.
“I just wanted to say thank you for everyone’s kind comments,” Bojaniwski said in the thread. “I’m honestly speechless after all the love and sweet messages I’ve received today … both from my friends/family but complete strangers too. Sounds cliché but I honestly just did what I would expect anyone else to do in that kind of situation and what I wish someone had done for me a few years ago. To that little girl: I hope you’ve been feeling better, come see me again soon!”
It may have taken a kind stranger to get across the message this mom was trying to get her daughter to hear, but the fact that she “is no longer begging [her mom] to let her wax her eyebrows” is an uplifting ending to an all-too-common story.
Read more from Yahoo Style + Beauty:
Follow us on Instagram, Facebook, and Pinterest for nonstop inspiration delivered fresh to your feed, every day. For Twitter updates, follow @YahooStyle and @YahooBeauty.