CLOSED: Attention BIC: SEPHORiA Contest from 9/7 - 9/13

[KatieBT]

The contest is now closed, thank you for entering!

 

Hey BIC! I know that many of you have been talking about the SEPHORiA event in LA this October 21-22 and some of you are already planning on going. I know it may not be doable for everyone to purchase tickets so we were able to get our hands on some tickets reserved exclusively for Community members.

Interested in learning how to win free tickets to SEPHORiA? Then keep on reading…

We are working with Team SEPHORiA on a contest where you, our US and Canadian Community members, can enter to win a free Gold House Key SEPHORiA ticket (Session 2) for you and a guest of your choosing. Session 2 will include the After-Dark Party featuring special guest DJ, glitter dance floor, and three bars offering custom cocktails. You’ll also have access to learn from Charlotte Tilbury, Natasha Denona and Priscilla Ono from Fenty Beauty!

Community members can enter to win one time between 9/7 – 9/13 but please note that winners will need to fund their own travel and hotel expenses.

If you want to enter, please reply to this thread and let us know…

1. The theme of SEPHORiA is “house of beauty” so there will be different rooms with different themes (think a Lip room, a Beauty Kitchen, etc.). If you could create your own room in a house of beauty, what would YOUR ideal beauty room be like? This can be anything from activities to the smell.. Have fun with it!
2. For the second part of your entry, you must describe why you would be a great SEPHORiA reporter representing the Community. If chosen as the winner, you will be designated to report back to the Beauty Insider Community -- the FOMO is going to be so real. This can be anything from your love of Community to your photo-taking skills. (Side note: you don’t need any fancy skills or equipment to report back so don’t worry about that!) 

This is a contest, so your answers will be judged on the following criteria:

• 33% Creativity
• 33% Originality
• 33% Practicality / Feasibility

The official contest rules* are attached to this post so be sure to read those before entering. We will select  winners by the end of next week. I can’t wait to hear all of your ideas, good luck to all who enter!

More info on SEPHORiA here: https://www.sephoria.com

*NO PURCHASE OR PAYMENT OF ANY KIND IS NECESSARY TO ENTER OR WIN THIS CONTEST OR TO RECEIVE A PRIZE. Odds of winning depend on number and quality of entries received. Void where prohibited. Open to U.S. residents (including Puerto Rico) and Canadian residents (excluding Quebec).  Must be age 18 or older (and age of majority), and a Sephora registered user to enter. Five grand prizes (each APV US $1005.98/CAD $1,325; two SEPHORiA Gold tickets Session Two (October 20 at 6pm) awarded based on judging criteria. One entry per person. Sponsored by Sephora USA, Inc.

Xoxo,

Team BIC and Team SEPHORiA

EDIT: Thank you to everyone who entered the SEPHORiA Contest! We loved reading your ideas for your own SEPHORiA beauty rooms! We were also touched by your explanations for why you wanted to represent the BIC at the event. Needless to say, this was a very difficult decision to make and there were a few hiccups along the way but we have sorted through the legal process and confirmed a list of SEPHORiA attendees.

They all know who they are now but I wanted to share the news with everyone so we could give a big congratulations! In no particular order, the five contest winners who will be attending SEPHORiA are @darkiceis, @ElleElleG, @NotCrocker, @jazmineshepard and @Tamara76!  Send your favorite meme or GIF to congratulate them!

I want to apologize for the conflicting information in this thread. Because of our oversight, we will also be sending @KNC24 tickets to SEPHORiA as well. Thank you to everyone for being vigilant and for flagging these discrepancies. It truly takes a village. 🙂 

[KNC24]

I want to discuss the contest. I want to say I was initially confused why people said I missed the deadline. I thought people were Confused about my time zone. I felt bad that @KatieBT got dragged into it cause she wasn’t at fault. I admit I was hurt by some of the comments. I took a break from the community just to breathe. I happened to be on my desktop and identified the issue. I’m a app user. I rarely get on a desktop or use safari for Sephora. In the app there isn’t a link for a more detailed list of the rules. We all know that there are differences in the app but I didn’t realize that there was a link for the rules until looking a desktop. I hope people can understand I followed the rules based on what I saw in the app. I want to tag people that were concerned about my entry like @veronika23. I’m not tagging to be mean but at least explain my side. I don’t Remember the other people that were confused. I hope they can see my post. Here is a pic that shows what I saw.

[GG84]

@KNC24

 I hope you still get to go 🖤❤ Don't take anything personally. 

[Indy701]

@KNC24 I’m sorry you were hurt as this should have been nothing but a happy time for you.  You have a great idea and should be proud of it. I hope you go and have a fabulous time. It sounds like an amazing event and I really want to know what’s in the swag bag! 

Out of curiosity, how can people see the time things were posted?  I only see days if I go back to posts. 

[itscarin]

@Indy701 I just know because I was stalking this thread.  LOL.  They show you the hour something is posted within the first 24 hours.  For example, this post will show up as being x hours old up until 4 pm EST tomorrow, where it will switch to being "posted Yesterday".

[veronika23]

The new date/time is stated in the official rules in the OP and posted twice on page 10 of this thread. @Indy701

https://community.sephora.com/t5/Trending-Now/CLOSED-Attention-BIC-SEPHORiA-Contest-from-9-7-9-13/td...

ETA: I took a screenshot because I don't know if this can be seen on the app

[Indy701]

@veronika23  I meant how can you see what

time entries are submitted?

[RGbrown]

@Indy701Unidentified

@veronika23Unidentified

You can change your settings to see an actual time on a post.

Settings>Display>Preferences

Choose Absolute instead of Relative

Set your time zone as well

(But note...post times displayed on the main feed will be Pacific, no matter what. Once you go into a thread, the times will be correct for your time zone. I've reported that glitch in the Feedback thread at least a couple of times since launch, but it hasn't been fixed.)

[veronika23]

@Indy701  sorry. I misunderstood your initial post. Each post on BIC says when it was posted on the top right corner of the post... so earlier on you can see when things where posted... it's more precise than just days. Also someone posted congrats to the winners right when the contest closed that day (the amended date and time).

ETA: Forgot to mention... the older the post is the more info you see on date/time as well. There is a period of time where it says the day but also a period of time early on or later on that has more specific details (date/time).

[Indy701]

@veronika23  Thanks. I’m using safari so I only see the day posted once it goes past 24 hours.   have a great day. 

[veronika23]

@Indy701sorry I amended my post above to clarify on that. Thanks. You too!

[veronika23]

I guess I can see how it could be confusing. Sorry. Hope everyone has fun at the event.

FYI - I did not participate. I don't have a dog in this fight. I just wanted things to be fair for everyone.

[sprocketta]

@KNC24  I know a lot of people were upset and blamed you.  I'm not weighing in on that at all on either side.  I just want to say I hope you have a great time and can't wait to hear your report and see pictures.  I hope this hasn't soured you on BIC completely.

[itscarin]

@KNC24 I hope you're having a good Friday!  I just want you to know that I'm in no way mad at you or KatieBT.  Please don't feel like any of the comments below are meant as an attack on you because they're not.  I really hope you do get to go to Sephoria!

I understand the post itself doesn't specify the deadline -- it was buried in the legalese pdf attachment at the end of the post.  You didn't do anything dishonest or ill-intentioned.  

That being said, the rules said the contest ended at 12 pm PST, regardless of your time zone.  I know your entry was received after 12 pm PST because I was checking the submissions religiously to see how many eligible entries there were.  I actually had my own freak out moment because my original entry included a picture with people in it, so I was happy when the deadline was extended because that gave me another chance to comb through the rules again and edit my entry to be compliant with the rules.

As I previously stated, the right way to judge this contest would have been to start by only judging qualified entries.  This is an oversight that does not rest on KatieBT's shoulders.  Someone in a managerial position over there goofed up.  But that's ok!  We don't need to get the pitchforks out.  As @prettyinpa   pointed out, mistakes get made, and there's no shame in that.

The right way to handle this would be to give you the tickets to sephoria, because they already got your expectations up by pm'ing you to say you are a finalist.  As a sponsor, it is incredibly cruel to tell someone they are a finalist when you could have easily reviewed your own rules to see if an entry was eligible to begin with.  That's where Sephora goofed up.  To make this right with you, they should give you the tickets as a courtesy because they made the mistake in telling you you were a finalist in the first place.  To make this right with the rest of the community, they should still give away 5 sets of tickets to *qualified* entries.

What really stinks about this is that the longer it takes for Sephora to resolve this, the more expensive airfare will be for those who would travel for it.  It'd be nice if the community could see some resolution to this soon.

[GG84]

The original rules (until they were amended) stated that once an entry was posted, it could not be edited. So everything happens for a reason! 

[Abby007]

Whatever the outcome, I'm sure we can all agree that it was super fun reading through everyone's ideas. This is a really passionate community, and as a newbie I've been made to feel very welcome by everyone's encouragement. 

[Indy701]

@Abby007  Very true. It was fun to read the ideas.  😁 

[Mcakes]

@KatieBT 

The Beauty Buffet dreams live on 😄 

[niki172]

@KatieBT I do hope that the verification process also includes making sure that all of the entries were made before the end of the competition which according to the rules was 9/13 at noon PDT. To be honest this has gone from a fun competition to one of nerves and grief as one amendment has been added on to the next. As a long term member of this community it is disheartening to see such a contest, which was at first so exciting and fun, take such a downward turn.

[GG84]

@niki172

Can you give @KatieBT

A break? We were all pressuring her (including myself) last night. She does not need to explain to the community what Sephora's verification process is. 

Thank you @KatieBT

For being consistently there for the community and putting up with us. ❤ 

[itscarin]

@GG84 I didn't read @niki172 message as an attack on KatieBT.  

I think niki succinctly sums up how we all feel: that this contest was a let down.  It's in no way a reflection of KatieBT or any individual at Sephora, but it is a teachable moment should they decide to host contests like this in the future.  Moving forward, it seems like in addition to having the legal department draft the official rules, the legal department should ALSO be drafting the post.  They should be responsible for the subject line and the body of the message, and any public communications regarding the contest as well.  KatieBT isn't a lawyer or a compliance officer, and it is unfair to expect her to be.  It's an unfair position Sephora put her in, and an unfair position Sephora put the entrants in.  

It's nice that you're advocating for knc24.  She is absolutely getting the short end of the stick by being told she is a winner and then having that retracted.  I hope Sephora still honors their commitment to her.  It would be a major disappoint if she, or any of the other 'finalists' purchased plane tickets thinking they had won, only to find out their prize had been taken back.  

At the same time, entrants who followed the rules are also getting the short end of the stick because one of them could have taken the tickets that Sephora erroneously notified someone they were the winner of.  

I think Niki's point, which I agree with, is that the contest was run poorly.  Even aside from the question of timing, it was a bit odd to extend the contest period, and a bit odd to say the winner would be announced on Friday at 5pm, then Monday at 5pm, and then not actually do it until about 90 minutes later.  To reiterate, in no way do I think that was Katie's fault.  

I would have hoped that the vetting process for qualified entries would take place before the judging.  That seems the most logical way to handle it to me, and in fact, that's how federal organizations handle awards all the time.  Typo?  Late entry?  Didn't follow directions?  It all goes immediately in the trash and doesn't get judged at all because it's a courtesy to all the applicants who followed the instructions.  

People have a legitimate reason to be disappointed with how the contest was run.

People don't have a legitimate reason to be angry at KNC or KatieBT (and I don't think they are).

[niki172]

Thank you @itscarin that was where I was coming from. By no means am I faulting Katie, and the rest of your eloquent post speaks for itself. Thank you kindly.