It’s Disgusting: Never use make-up testers directly

SHAH ALAM - Don’t test lipstick testers on your actual lips as it may cause an infection.

In a video that went viral and garnered 2 million views on the X platform, a girl was being reprimanded in a drugstore when she used a lipstick tester on her lips and not her hands.

The video uploaded by X user @ciraplaici was captioned with "I thought everyone is aware of this?"

In the video, another person is walking by pass the girl and told her not to use the tester on her lips as it is dirty.

“Don’t use it, it’s dirty, test it on your hands,” she said while walking past her in the video.

The girl then said she was ashamed of being reprimanded and felt like she did not want to purchase a lipstick anymore.

X platform user @FarraDiana who had reposted the video, said this video reminded her of a case that happened in a popular makeup store.

“If any of you have forgotten the case, I’m here to remind you again, that in 2017 a woman sued Sephora after allegedly testing positive for oral herpes.

“Applying any sample or tester directly towards your skin, especially the mucosal area (mouth and vaginal) is risky,” she said in her post.

Another user @Ddeangelsss then shared her story of getting infected with the herpes virus.

“Is it herpes? I experienced it in May near my lip area. It starts to itch, then it became small wounds, then it spreads to other areas of the lips which at the end become swollen.

“I fell sick as I got fever and dizziness,” she said in her post.

In 2017 a California woman had sued Sephora after a lipstick tester allegedly gave her oral herpes.

The woman allegedly contracted a strain of herpes virus from a lipstick tester at the beauty store according to a report by TMZ.

The woman said that she visited a Hollywood Sephora store in October 2015 and tried a lipstick from one of the tester tubes on display.

The lawsuit claims the woman was subsequently diagnosed with an HSV-1 infection which causes oral herpes and she sued Sephora as they failed to offer safer testers, for example, individual samples.

In 2020, amid the COVID-19 Pandemic, stores Sephora and makeup counters at drugstores opted to get rid of their makeup testers, citing health concerns.

Despite beauty retailers increasing their sanitation measures since COVID-19, experts warn against using makeup testers.

In various studies makeup testers often were contaminated with mold and Staphylococcus aureus bacteria (staph). The latter can trigger eye and skin infections.

If you find yourself at a beauty store and have the itch to test out products, there are ways to do so safely. Makeup artists and health professionals suggest moist products, like lipstick or cream products, are likely to have more bacteria than other items.

Experts recommend never trying a product that has to go on your lips or eyelashes. If you want to swatch a product, use your wrist, hand, or palm