Sephora VIB Sale Leaves Some ‘Rouge’ Customers Fuming

Racked is no longer publishing. Thank you to everyone who read our work over the years. The archives will remain available here; for new stories, head over to Vox.com, where our staff is covering consumer culture for The Goods by Vox. You can also see what we’re up to by signing up here.

There's a lot of excitement surrounding Sephora's exclusive 20% off holiday sale for VIB members this weekend. Starting today, November 13th, Sephora VIB-ers or rewards members who spend more than $350 in a calendar year are able to take 20% all purchases in store and online from now through November 16th. The savings can really add up.

But the deal is even better for Sephora VIB Rouge members, who spent more than $1,000 in a calendar year. They were able to shop the sale early, from November 6th to 9th, before all the VIB members. That meant they were able to snap up some popular sets on sale, while VIB members watched as their picks sold out.

But it's not enough for a few VIB Rouge shoppers. In between tweets like "Well there goes all my money #Sephora #VIB #makeupaddict" and "May the odds be ever in your favour to snag these value sets," some VIB Rouge shoppers wondered why they couldn't get 20% off this weekend too along with VIB members, even though they already shopped the sale during the week. Armed with copy on Sephora's website that VIB Rouge members get "All VIB Benefits," Sephora shoppers made their case on Twitter:

@lousue211 Our VIB rouge 20% promotion has now ended. If you missed the promotion or forgot an item, please send us a DM for assistance.

— Sephora (@Sephora) November 13, 2015

@katiemyerdc @Sephora yes we should sephora.. we have spent enough a d deserve it

— Lucy cabral (@lousue211) November 13, 2015

@lousue211 @katiemyerdc @Sephora From their own website it says we should be eligible for "all benefits" of VIB. pic.twitter.com/6YUjOvTqYT

— andi marus (@amarus) November 13, 2015

@Sephora seems quite unfair that rouge status doesn't let you shop with discount during Vib sale as well. #sephoravib #sephora #vibrouge

— Eve (@08misse) November 13, 2015

@amarus @katiemyerdc @Sephora SEPHORA, WHAT DO YOU HAVE TO SAY ABOUT THIS

— Lucy cabral (@lousue211) November 13, 2015

@amarus @Sephora last year, rouge could shop both sales

— evelyn stone (@_Evilyn_) November 13, 2015

Are you kidding, @Sephora? A VIB Rouge can't use the VIB20 code? pic.twitter.com/1RiKnEYrmi

— andi marus (@amarus) November 13, 2015

Sephora's response on Twitter was "Our VIB rouge 20% promotion has now ended. If you missed the promotion or forgot an item, please send us a DM for assistance," but Racked also reached out to Sephora's PR team for further clarification.

Update: Here's a statement from Sephora about this year's VIB sale:

With every holiday season, our focus is offering the most exciting selection and the best shopping environment for our clients. Based on our client and stores feedback from previous years, we decided to split our Rouge VIB and VIB 20% off into two dedicated weekend events this year, allowing for a great and rewarding shopping experience, both in-stores and online, for our clients.