This Is Why They Need To Stop Calling These Products ‘Anti-Aging’

I work at a mid-range beauty store that sells everything from drugstore mascara to high-end skincare. A woman walks in, already looking irritated and holding a half-used tube of concealer.

Customer: “I need to exchange this. It doesn’t work.”

Me: “Okay, was there something wrong with the formula or the shade match?”

Customer: “No, I mean it doesn’t do what it’s supposed to.”

Me: “Was it not covering well, or…?”

Customer: *Lowering her voice.* “It didn’t erase anything. Like, the fine lines? Still there. I used it three days in a row.”

Me: “Just to clarify, you were expecting it to remove wrinkles?”

Customer: “Yes. It’s called concealer, isn’t it? This just… hides them a bit.”

Me: “That’s what concealer does, it conceals.”

Customer: “Well, that’s misleading.”

Me: “Ma’am, it’s a concealer, not an eraser.”

The customer still demanded her refund, which my manager obliged with an eyeroll. As she was leaving:

Manager: “She was expecting wrinkle erasers at $12 a tube? If we sold those, our parking lot would be full of news vans!”