Sephora Is Doing Quiet Hours for Aunties Like Me

I went to meet some of my fellow Reddit Whovians this weekend and I happen to be a chatty kind of girl but I strongly suspect they choose the location of our meet at an extra noisy place (so, they didn’t have to talk!). Everyone was a tad bit awkward and I felt like I was the only one trying to chat it up. It was odd because online everyone won’t shut up but in real life everyone was sort of quiet. I mean, they choose a great place to have this meet because the music was extra loud and it was impossible to really have a deep conversation about Time Lords. Lucky them! Not so lucky me as I walked out with a bit of a headache and feeling like I didn’t know the people that I met outside of our online lives (this actually made me really nervous as I’m meeting a very special online friend for the first time very soon and I hope it doesn’t go as badly as this did). P.S. You know you’re getting old when loud music gives you a migraine. I seriously, felt overwhelmed by how loud everything was.

How many people remember going to the MAC store or counter and it was like a party that just got into gear at 1AM on Saturday morning? I remember it well and I was so there for it. If you walked into any department store and had no idea where MAC was located you only had to follow the music to locate them. They’d be surrounded by quiet elegant counters like Laura Mercier and Dior and MAC would be there like that one person playing their music in the car extra loud and singing along to it at the red light. When you’re younger you appreciate the experience but loud, pounding music when you get older just isn’t it anymore. I literally just avoid anywhere with loud, pulsating music lately as I want to enjoy my meal with friends or my boyfriend peacefully. Or I want to choose my lipstick shade without the entire display rattling do to the base of the song playing.

For those who simply can’t take that kind of sensory overload we now have Sephora Quiet Hours. From now through July 26th in select Sephora stores we’ll have pilot program that provides a quiet shopping experience. If it works out I imagine Sephora will continue the project.

The idea is to create an environment for people who enjoy a calmer shopping experience and one with a lot less of a sensory-stimulating environment. In another words, old aunties like me can shop without leaving the store with a headache. For this experience, they’ll be dimming the lights, lowering or even turning off the music, and even minimizing the digital screens in stores. These new Sephora Quite Hours will happen Tuesdays and Thursdays from 10AM to 12PM. Sephora Quiet Hours are happening at the following stores: Westfield White City, Birmingham, and Trafford.

Unfortunately, the hours they are doing this aren’t really ideal for most shoppers. It would be great if they did it on a Sunday afternoon as it would make for a nice, chill day of shopping.

What do you think of this idea? Does the idea of Sephora Quiet Hours sound appealing to you or does the loud music not really bother you?