How is Claire's Still in Business?
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- čas přidán 27. 06. 2024
- With asbestos makeup scandals, cheap, flimsy products, and a controversial child piercing policy, how is Claire's even still in business?
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0:00 Intro
2:13 The Piercings
7:04 The Makeup (and asbestos)
9:37 The Accessories
13:01 Outro - Zábava
as someone who worked at claires, DO NOT TAKE YOUR KIDS TO GET THEIR EARS PIERCED!!!!!!!!! we deadass got trained on a cardboard ear for abt 10 mins...
Damn
Got my ears pierced by Claire’s in the third grade and it went fine. But if I knew this ahead of time, I probably wouldn’t have gotten my ears pierced there.
I got my ears pierced at claires two times a while back? It actually healed really well and looked pretty cool and centered. I guess it's just hit or miss sometimes
Ear piercing guns are also bad for your ears
I got my earlobes pierced at Claire’s in 1991. No problems. Took my kids to get their lobes pierced at Claire’s circa 2010. Again, not a single problem. I’ve chosen to get my cartilage piercings from a professional because it seemed like much higher stakes. I have no need to get my lobes pierced in the future … but if I did, I would probably continue to trust Claire’s. Every business/company has made big mistakes in the past and will probably screw up again in the future. The odds are low though. I’d be interested in seeing some real statistics about this topic.
One time I went to a Claire’s to get my ears pierced, and the employee was like “Listen, it’s cheaper and safer to just get pierced at the Piercing Pagoda down the hall. They’re know what they’re doing more than us”. Don’t regret it
we were told that as kids too. glad i never got mine done there
Got my ears pierced at Claire’s when I was like 5 or 7. They’re uneven. I was struggling and trying to get away because this person was coming at me with a weird object and trying to stab my ears. Also, apparently my ears were pierced when I was a baby too? It hurt like hell and now I don’t even wear earrings.
I'm glad I got mine done at a Piercing Pagoda. I wanted my ears pierced when I was younger like 13 and wanted it done at Claire's but my mom wouldn't let me so I got them done at age 19. However, later for some reason earrings just hurt my ears, so I don't wear earrings anymore. I don't think my ears closed yet and it's been about 4 years since I last wore earrings
Doing the Lord's work.
I got mine pierced there too. They do use a gun but the earrings they put in it are sharp, and my ears healed just fine. Still better to go to a place that uses needles though.
In Claire’s UK, the thing about piercing unwilling minors is different: the employees are actually not allowed to pierce a minor who refuses, no matter what their parent/guardian says.
Oh didn't know that
Tbh I wouldn't do it as an adult, I'm glad I did it and can't remember
I was forced to. Can’t even wear the earrings due to allergies. Someday I’d like to have surgery to fix the damage and forget about it
That is the same case in the US. Worked there too.
Is it 14k gold too that you are allergic too? A lot of parents can't afford the option but they don't realize how common a metal allergy is. Just saying maybe that will be a better option. @@Serverdown-zv9ih
@@Denbrr possibly this is store by store? Either way it's definitely not a right the child has to refuse, children aren't really granted bodily autonomy in the US
I went to a claire’s for a “free piercing” (for my nose).
The workers said they were not trained and heavily encouraged me to go to a nearby tattoo parlor.
Nose piercings need to be done with a needle and by a professional piercer. Claire's workers are not trained piercers. I hope you took their advice. (Jan Griffiths).
W employees
Those workers were smart and responsible people
@@DarkSkyPistolif it makes you feel any better, i hear that tends to happen more often with belly button piercings
W employees for being honest
PLEASE do a video about Hot Topic and how they've evolved from a metal/punk store in the 80s to a mall goth paradise in the 90s to "that scary emo store" that introduced Invader Zim to the masses in the 2000s to basically Tumblr: The Store in the 2010s and now.
Hot take but Hot Topic is just claires but more gender neutral and with a black coat of paint- most of their stuff is the same quality as claire's (I'd still get shit from them tho cause I think some of the stuff looks cool)
@@Letcharlieplay2545 they have cute pins
@@Letcharlieplay2545 the pins, t-shirts, and Funko pops make up for it
It hasnt changed one bit, the "hottest topic" among alt teens just changed over the years..
There’s a video on exactly that lol
I used to work at a Claire's and I'm 90% sure it was illegal for me to start piercing at the age I was (I was 16). I had a few botched piercings that make me cringe to this day, because I dread the day that I meet one of the people whose ears I pierced. The worst one was when the piercing gun got stuck on someone's ear. Those things are super finnicky and prone to breaking/malfunctioning, so when I squeezed the trigger it got stuck in the squeezed position. I had no idea what to do because I thought I'd scare the dude if I said anything, so I just stayed silent while I tried to make the gun go back to normal. What resulted was two straight minutes of me silently fiddling with the gun while the dude made progressively pained grunts. Looking back staying silent probably scared him more lmao. I couldn't ask my boss for help because I had been left alone at the store (my bosses would often leave me alone to get themselves Starbucks) so that just made the whole thing worse. When it finally went back to normal by some miracle I apologized to the guy and he said "well at least I have a story to tell now". That comment alone made the entire encounter so much worse and has made this incident stick with me to this day because that guy is somewhere out there telling people how much of a disaster his piercing was and how it's all my fault lmao. I do not miss dealing with Claire's and their broken equipment.
Hey don't feel too bad, I had this happen to me a few times. I was a dumb kid and my parents just didn't realize you could take your kid to a tattoo shop to have your ears done with a needle (and honestly back then a shop would have probably done a gun for lobes on a kid. Especially the shops where I lived, all sketchy small town, often biker shops) so kept going back to the mall to redo it after they were fucked up.
The last time I had my ears pierced I was 11. The gun got jammed like this and the girl just started to cry after a few minutes shaking trying to get it off my head. She eventually admitted to my mom she was 15, just started it's her first job and doesn't know how to fix the gun. She eventually got it off but the cartridge and jewelry was still stuck. After like 15 minutes her manager came back, who was also a teenager and started to get anxious by the situation. She ended up pulling the cartridge off and just jamming the earing through with her thumb as he coworker was still crying. My mom was comforting her more than me cause I was honestly pretty chill during all the chaos.
I was fine, that time somehow they actually healed right and I still have those holes to this day. I do have a bit of a scar on the back of that one side but it doesn't bother me at all, still was able to stretch my ears nicely even. But for me was a weird moment, for the clerk I imagine she's traumatized. No one wants to accidentally hurt someone when just doing their retail job at the mall. You were a literal child trusted to be left alone to pierce people in a children's accessory store, like it's not your fault that went wrong. I can assure you that guy is probably okay and has gotten a good laugh out of it. I'm sure especially now those people understand it's just not a good set up for body mods and isn't the teenager with no trainings fault.
@Erik I feel so bad for the fifteen year old. Not even being a legal adult and being in a situation like that must have been horrible
@@cryste11a yeah, like I genuinely can't imagine how that would have effected her. Like I was freaked out but in the end had earrings like I wanted so whatever. But like not only was she so young (legitimately illegal for her to be doing that as well mind you, but not her fault that's managements) but I was only 11, so she felt like she was messing up a tiny kids ear.
Like if they are gonna be doing this they need trained staff and not letting literal kids do this. It's not fair to the employee at all and I wouldn't be surprised if they had a lasting effect on her mental health or at least how she felt at work.
Don't feel bad, having a story to tell means he got something interesting in his life, like the commenter below. They probably understand it's not you, it's the whole store and the way they do things. He's not traumatized and finds it story worthy. People are usually happy to tell their tales such as these. Awkward in the moment though and that's ok.
I came across a video the other day of a piercing gun vs a piercing needle. Those guns fuck you up. I stick to tattoo shops as they offer better quality and better variety. I got my lower holes done on my ears and they botched my right ear twice.
Claire’s used to have a “20 for $5” sale back in the early aughts (2004-2009ish). As a kid who grew up poor and wanted to fit in, it was a lifesaver and allowed me to get stylish accessories and feel comfortable with my fashion choices around my wealthier friends. I had aged out of Claire’s by the time they stopped that promotion, but it was helpful to me at the time. I realize now it’s always been a cheap place with cheap items and likely won’t survive past Gen Z and certainly not Gen Alpha.
Okay yes I came to say this. I would get one of their round little baskets and shop around and my mom and I loved it
Its so expensive now though 😢
Man, I loved the 20 for $5 sale back in the day. I was a weird kid though so I ended up buying the weirdest jewelry. Also, anyone else remember Claires always smelling a very certain perfumey way? Like those Juice Bar sprays? I always associate it with the Cotton Candy one.
I used to have a lot of fun shopping there with my niece when she was a little girl in the 90s . She didn’t have her ears pierced but I bought her little necklaces, bracelets and hair bows etc. 😊
@Rasin481the oldest gen alphas turn 13 this year buddy
In 3rd grade, a year after my ears were pierced at Claire's, my earring back got stuck in my ear. Major infection. I took proper care of it, too- myself and my mom were very cautious. I had to go to the ER and got the back surgically removed from my ear. Absolutely traumatized TO THIS DAY
There was nickel in all of the earrings. I had allergic reactions that looked like infections and for years my parents blamed me for "not taking care" of my ears. Decades later they still don't understand why I don't buy earrings in stores and nickel reactions. Eventually I learned to use Amazon reviews, if thousands of people don't have a nickel reaction....then maybe it's okay. I can add a link for a safe brand if anyone wants it.
@@naturalnashuanno ma’am they have sold gold diamond and sliver earrings i worked there. all of the sold gold is real gold no nickel
sounds like you had your backing on to tight… very common but if your not properly moving your earring during cleaning or checking the back of your earring can become ingrown. the smaller the front of your earring is the more likely it is to become ingrown on the front, the tighter the earring is the the back most likely ur earring will become ingrown. we pierce with lock backing earrings to help customers knows how tight there earring should be as well as preventing the earring from falling off. when you push the backing on your earring yo i will hear a click, that mean your earring is locked. don’t push any further, if you do it will unlock the backing from the earring. to make sure your earring is locked check it every couple of days. used to work there, i warned all my customers about this issue while piercing.
after care is always the biggest step with piercings also coming from someone who has 20 ear piercings, 5 body piercings.
you shouldn’t have gotten the piercing that young if your parents weren’t going to check up on after care.
@@leiaalmdal4802 You sure are making a LOT of assumptions based on absolutely nothing, don't you think? As OP said, "I took proper care of it, too- myself and my mom were very cautious", what brings your extremely pedantic remark of "You shouldn’t have gotten the piercing that young if your parents weren’t going to check up on after care."?
@@leiaalmdal4802 Claire's is selling real gold for $8.99?
My narcissistic mother would always buy me jewelry from Claire's and then yell at me when it broke but I legit hadn't done anything to break it and I internalized that. Thank you for letting me know that they were meant to break, even if I already kinda knew
I'm glad you got a little bit of closure about that. I hope you're doing okay.
got a pair of earrings from claires the other day. literally broke the next day. im never buying from them again lmao
@@saltdad5263 Yea, most of the stuff at Claire’s is a rip off.
My narcissistic mother
Fun fact: their water bottles and cups are also designed to break too
I had a rainbow nail polish set from Claire's as a kid and although it was probably full of sketchy ingredients, I actually remember them drying really fast. Like, when I switched to "adult" nail polish brands I was super confused as to why my nails would smudge, lol
This reminds me of when I had a makeup kit as a kid that came with 2 nails polishes and they dried super super quick, like in seconds.
I wonder if Nail Polish for children is supposed to dry so fast? Perhaps to avoid accidental consumption or messes in general. Or just a coincidence, could be anything really
@@thealien_lookingthing7116I think I had the same kit as you, and when it dried really fast (that was my first time using “kid nail polish”) and I cried to my mom because it dried so fast and ended re-gifting it to my friend
@@thealien_lookingthing7116 probably so the kid doesn't sit there for 5 minutes and risk messing up the polish before drying
A lot of quick dries are because kids are antsy and move around a lot, meaning they'll smudge paint work if they have to wait the regular dry time of real polish. Doesn't excuse if they have bad ingredients but there is a reason why kids' nail polish is supposed to dry faster (and depending on the brand is softer and peels off easier).
I had a set that was like pastel colors from claires as a kid, and I remember that the polish never showed up? Like no matter how many layers I applied it was futile, the stuff was so clear it was basically just a top coat rather than real nail polish
I worked at the biggest traffic Claire's in Utah and oh man....
I was lucky to have a really good manager who would refuse to pierce the ears of very unwilling children. We were supposed to encourage them but never force. But that was against her training and if we weren't such a busy store we would've gotten in trouble for not having enough piercings. I took my time with piercings because the thought of permanently messing up someone's body horrified me. On a busy Saturday I pierced 20 people's ears, and was gently scolded for taking too long and not doing enough. Our store only did lobe piercings and afaik the only locations that pierced noses were in Canada. We received no commission for items or piercings. I was offered tips many times for my piercings, but god forbid my wage be liveable, one of the very first things you are taught is that you can't accept tips. After my manager and assistant manager quit in the same week things changed a lot... The district manager basically came in and breathed down my $9.81/hr neck until I quit, too. She tried to force me to work a shift with a staff member whose roommate had tested positive for covid, even though I, as well as my elderly parents at home, were immunodeficient.
For many of the makeup lines, they were so cheaply made that we actually threw away more units than we sold. Not a joke, not an exaggeration. I know this for a fact because they made us record every item we threw out, and the units sold were visible to any staff member.
The actual day-to-day work of a non-salary claire's employee is surprisingly labor intensive for how tiny the stores are. There was also no AC or ventilation of any kind in our cramped store. The ONLY chair in the store was the piercing chair, so we were on our feet the entire shift. The break room was just a storage room that you had to shove your way through to the bathroom. Oh, and if you're wondering where we keep our copies of all those waivers y'all signed? In the bathroom. Boxes and boxes of years of papers stored in the bathroom with water stains to prove it. Just in case any lawsuits happen. The target demographic is unaccompanied minors, rich parents, and their spoiled kids. So most of my day was running around cleaning up after children. To make it worse, we were right next to a candy store (not that that's claire's fault, but I slipped on a lot of jaw breakers). We were eternally understaffed and the turnover for new members was so crazy I didn't learn their names until they'd been there a few weeks. Even the managers get out as soon as they can. We were very very heavily "encouraged" to wear Claire's merchandise to work, but were expected to purchase all of it on our own dime.
I actually liked my job because I want to be a teacher and love working with kids. But it was my first job so I had no standards for how I should be treated. The only reason I stayed as long as I did was because I had good immediate bosses, but once they left, and the people who actual followed protocol came to run the store... I left that same week. They lost the entire team in two weeks. I was told there would be overtime pay for black friday and holidays, but never received that. I was extremely taken advantage of. I was naive and thought they were offering a good wage. I was an amazing worker. My numbers didn't lie. I was the lowest paid staff but I brought in more money and sold more units than anyone else on my long shifts. Claire's doesn't just make its money on young customers, they make money off the backs of young employees who don't know better and products made with child labor in foreign countries.
The anxiety that I felt for the worker on the right at 5:00 is eeghhgbhhuuuhghhh. For kids that are scared to get their ears pierced we'll get two workers to pierce at the same time to avoid them leaving with only one hole poked (which happened a lot). It's a gamble whether or not you'll actually get one employee good at piercing ears... so imagine how much worse your odds are when it's two people, and they're doing it on a countdown. I only trusted one of my coworkers besides myself to pierce ears evenly. The feeling in the pit of my stomach when I saw a kid's ears were visibly uneven... it's horrid. The two times I personally messed up that bad I redid the hole. The original ones close up super quickly since your body doesn't like being stabbed... lol. Also, just a little correction to the video, the earrings they used to pierce were actually quite sharp, but that doesn't reduce the chances of keloids and other problems from compression injuries by much. Gun piercings are really only ever okay for lobe, and even then, you'd be way way better off getting it done at a piercing parlor. When I was 13 I had my cartilage pierced at a Claire's. I took it out just weeks later but I still have a keloid to this day.
If you're still going to go to Claire's, I can't stop you, do it at your own risk, but never cartilage. Personally I don't support purchasing from them but do what you will with your own money, just be aware of what you're supporting. Cheap products, often coming from sketchy sources, overworked, underpaid and manipulated employees, and fattening the wallets of the already rich.
I had no idea that weird little bumps in my ears had a name. So thanks for that.
And guess where they were pierced... Lol
Granted it wasn't Claire's fault I don't think. I found out I'm intolerant of alot of metals. If I wear anything nickel my skin turns green.
I was pierced at Claire’s as a young kid, around 7 or 8. It was normal enough in my area for young girls to get pierced and I absolutely wanted it, but was NOT equipped to deal with the care of two new piercings. The infections were horrible and extremely painful. I remember having to pry a little green ball of gunk from around my earring and just sobbing in pain. Those holes never healed and would bleed intermittently. One day I took my earrings out and could never get any back in, and that was that. Now I just have these barely visible little divots in my lobes that I swear will ache sometimes. Maybe one day I’ll see about getting them re-pierced, but ugh, what a nightmare.
If you do decide to get them repierced, please go to a professional and get them done with a needle. Trust me, it's a much better result. I have 28 piercings---not one was done with a gun, not even my lobes. (Jan Griffiths).
I had a similar case to you, now I'm left with some scarring that will occasionally burst and ooze a weird pus-like substance. I think mine were pierced in 2010-ish?
I also got pierced from Claire's back in 2011 or so, they got extremely infected and I was in a similar boat, nothing but scars. I just got them repierced a few months ago at a proper tattoo/piercing shop and the experience was so much nicer. It was almost painless once the needle went through and the entire experience was INDESCRIBABLY MORE SANITARY. Very happy with my new piercings :)
Yep, much more sanitary, and virtually painless from the pro piercer. Happy healing vibes. (Jan Griffiths).@@jampoptart1180
i got my ears pierced at claire's twice because the first holes closed up due to an infection. i barely ever wear earrings anymore because if i want to i have to re-pierce through the scar tissue with the actual earring. hopefully i'll get them redone professionally at some point as i do want facial piercings as well
funnily enough I remember getting my first (and only; they’re too tedious to take care of with my outdoorsy lifestyle) piercing in 3rd grade at Claire’s, and it actually turned out well and never had any issues to this day. However, if I knew better at the time I would’ve chosen somewhere more regulated 💀
Jesus Christ loves you
@Chandelurre Jesus Christ loves you
@@lonelybunny2931 Jesus Christ loves you
Lucky I got my ears pierced at claires and they got infected and like the skin in my ear grew over the piercing and yeah it was not fun and now I cant even get my ears pierced since they'll just get infected
@@Judgeangels Maybe you have a metal allergy? I'm not 100% sure that has anything to do with it, but it might-
I can't wear any earrings from there or hot topic and my best friend can't wear anything other than gold backed earrings.
Whenever we walked by a Claire's, we used to tease my little sister because her name was also Claire. Until she got her ears pierced there and they turned yellow/green. Now we don't even mention it when we walk by.
Sorry for what your sister went though
That's so sad🥲
Are her ears okay now
Is she doing ok?
She might of not done after care properly or the piercer was not experienced. 😢 Sorry she had to go through that
I used to work at Claires. Dont take your child there. The amount of piercings that i refused due to being too young (1 year at least) or the child simply didn't want their ears pierced is insane. I actually got in trouble for refusing. I was pulled to the back room and reprimanded cause I refused to pierce someone. I eventually quit cause I could'nt take it anymore.
Good on you for refusing that, and for quitting when you got in trouble for it when you clearly shouldn’t have. If I were your boss I would’ve given you a promotion/raise for actually caring about a kid’s boundaries or them not being able to consent to a body-changing process. :)
honestly it's a miracle my ears that were pierced at Claire's 13 years ago had no complications & the piercings are still in tact
No joke, I got mine pierced over a decade ago and my right ear’s hole is still perfectly fine. (The left one has healed up since I stopped wearing earrings, gosh, about 7/8 years ago.) I took diligent care with my mother’s help and legit did the cleaning/antiseptic measures for quite a few months afterwards.
Guess it comes down to chance and good upkeep afterwards.
I remember begging my parents to get a piercing at Claire's, and finally I convinced my dad to let me do it.
The earings made my ears turn green after just a week, and when I wanted to take them off, I genuinely couldn't, and had to ask for help from a parent.
YOUR EARS TURNED GREEN?!
Did your ears really turn green??😕
@@serenegenerallythat’s what happens when you use cheap metals i think
@@serenegenerally well yeah, just around the holes though, not the entire ear
@@thereversibleoctopus7097 yep I can, though there is like a lump of scar tissue in my ear that I suppose is from the poor piercing methods. It's about the size of a small bead.
I think the rise of the y2k aesthetic is helping Claire's a bit. I'm 23 and I remember some of my friends wanting to go to a Claire's not too long ago. Plus, I think kids that grew up with Claire's and never got to shop at one are going back as adults to get what they never had or weren't allowed to have. It's like how Toys R Us are getting a rise in sales, not from kids, but from adults that never got the toys they wanted growing up.
Most of us millenials are not having kids, so ofcourse people who will buy nostalgic 90s toys will be adults. I just wish commercials would represent that instead of focusing on gen z who are broke and dwindling in numbers.
I was thinking about this a couple days ago. Claire's is the perfect Y2K store, so I figured that's what's been keeping it in business
Yeah. Y2K def helps. Claire’s makes most of its revenue from piercings. And lots of people also come in for body jewelry and during events like prom or people take their kids to shop there for their birthday. It does seem to be dying but the piercings give people a reason to go (although less now that people are away of how harmful it is) and Claire’s also keeps up with trends keeping it a good place to go for accessorizing your outfits. And if it’s places in a mall, a lot of people will just go in it especially if it feels nostalgic
@@sadiedc3457 the fact most people still go to mall shops that do piercings still over actual licensed professionals simply due to not wanting to go to a piercing/tattoo shop is the only thing I think that's keeping Claire's in business. Most people still think that people at these shops are trained and able to do this stuff properly, and that the professional body piercers are untrained and shady to get earrings from. It's slowly changing now a days, but it's still the main thought process behind getting ear piercings from these awful places I think. It took me until I was an adult to realize I'd rather go to a tattoo/body piercing shop for piercings.
when she said that genz isn’t interested in malls because of the internet, i think it’s more of that more genz people are homeschooling as homeschooling is more accessible now rather than how it was in the 20th century
I had my ear's pierced at Claire's once anddddddd...it got infected.
I previously worked at pierced, the reason it probably got infected was due to improperly aftercare. I have gotten my ears properly pierced there multiple times with no issue. Guns cannot be sterilized but they are wiped down and disinfected before every client. The piercing you choose is medical steel to ensure no possible chance of infection from the actual piercing.
I got my ears pierced at Claires(October 2018) and a few months later(January 2019) I was hospitalized with sepsis. I had to get an MRI, and had to remove my earrings since they were magnetic, and getting them out was tough and they were clearly swollen/infected. They never figured out what caused it, but I suspect that at least part of it had to do with the piercing
Claire's is my favorite store in the mall
Why are people trying to get them shut down?
@@AbbeyKitty1013 Because of all the health hazards their business refuses to correct. Asbestos in makeup? Unsterilized piercing instruments? Unacceptable
@AbbeyKitty1013 did you watch the video? They are a terrible company and deserve to be shut down immediately
@@AbbeyKitty1013 because the store has had so many issues with health hazards that are continuing unchecked
Well luckily, Claire’s is on a very steady decline. I went into a Claire’s yesterday, and a pack of earrings were 20 bucks. Fake nails were 15 bucks. Even a kid wouldn’t think it was worth it.
I was thinking of that! When Dream Jelly said " for 5 bucks " I was like what? no way! Cause last time I went to claire's, about a month or two ago, the necklaces were like 12+ euros!
tf? u can buy earrings at a cvs for half that ez…
@@wrightcemberwalmart svthe same
I also went into Claire’s a few months ago and everything was so expensive
@@Etherealzyoi thought that in 2009 lol inflation sucks
My partner used to work at Claire's and has plenty of horror stories about having to go through with ear piercings on tiny crying children while their parents inisisted over and over that it was somehow totally okay to continue when the child was clearly distressed. It's a big reason they quit working there and in fact they lost about five employees over six months. They would also frequently only have one person running the entire store and if anything was stolen it was blamed solely on the one person trying to run the entire place and not the fact they had no cameras and a lot of merchandise just sitting near the entryway. That store's been on the cusp of failing now for three years and I don't understand frankly how it's still operating after a lot of botched piercings and bad publicity.
i dunno what i hate more, the store forcin you to pierce those kids ears or the parents forcing their kids to go through with it
the fact they blame employees for shoplifting is insane, you never know if someone is armed, every retail job ive ever had would fire you if you confronted a shoplifter. ur life us worth more
I also spoke to a girl in the store when I was shopping I asked oh are you alone? What do you do when you have to go to the bathroom? Do you get a break? She said she just jas to use the bathroom quickly to come back to the salesfloor.
i used to work there too and that pretty much sums it up. parents would tell me to just pierce their kids ears when they were throwing a tantrum and thrashing around and then they'd yell at me because they were uneven. i was also only 16, and it was my first job, so yea they have some bad business practices
Any of you who worked at Claire's before, did they also make you try and REALLY push the diamond earrings on parents looking to get their kids pierced? My partner used to frequently bring up the high expectations the higher-ups had of pushing for as many sales of diamond earrings as possible and it was considered one of the most important things was to push for diamond sales and they'd show favouritism to whichever employee 'sold the most diamonds this month'.
My first 2 pairs of ear piercings were done by Claires in the 80's. Just this week I remembered that the extreme unevenness of them is why I have deliberately mis-matched my ear piercings since I was 15. I forgot that 36 years ago I started to cover Claires' mistake by making it look like it was deliberate. I now have 5 in one ear, 3 in the other. I learned to do my own at 15.
When I was younger I got my ears pierced for the second time and it got so infected that my mom and aunt had to hold me down to the floor and pull it out while I was screaming and cry! What a wonderful moment thanks to Claire’s ☺️
Claire’s is like Hot Topic and Spencer’s in the sense that it’s super crowded, extremely claustrophobic, and you’re surrounded by products that all look the same.
Not really I can spot every different individual thing in all stores
It’s never crowded where I live
As someone named Claire, I don’t claim this store
I agree I love Spencer’s so much but it’s so busyyyy
@@victoriabarendregt3790 I did not mean literally
Another former Claire's employee here (first job at 16). My brain wasn't developed enough to understand how unethical and gross it was to be piercing ears in that manner. I also remember some of the jewelry breaking and turning green before it was ever sold. For the items that were falling apart, we were instructed to try and fix it if possible lol
I got my nose pierced there two months ago and they did it SO badly, they also only have one size bar which is ridiculous, and it was far too long for my nose. It was so big the end was making the middle part of my nose bleed from stabbing it so much, after 5 hours I had to change it to a ring because it was bleeding so much, and then it got infected badly. I’ve managed to salvage it now but god that was painful 😭😂
@@katiefield3396 In my state, Claire’s could have never done that piercing. Body piercings, which include any cartilage piercing, is defined as a body piercing that needs to be done by a professional piercer in my state. Prior to this regulation I think my city’s Claire’s was able to do upper ear piercings but nothing beyond that.
I had both of my lobe piercings done at Claire’s before I was 13. Knowing what I know now, I wouldn’t go to them again. I didn’t have issues with mine, but one thing I learned when I worked there is you put yourself at a higher risk for keloids when a piercing gun is used vs a holo needle. This is because a piercing gun caused more trauma to the area and the hole isn’t a clean hole.
I never got to the point of doing any piercings but I found it very disturbing that the only training you get is a video and practicing on cardboard cutouts of ears.
@Devotee: the thing that frustrates me about their earrings in particular is they say they are nickel free. I’m pretty positive I’ve developed a nickel allergy and I can’t wear their earrings. They only claim they are nickel free because the stem is coated in nickel free material. But the stem itself doesn’t seem to be nickel free. Nickel turns green when it corrodes.
@@katiefield3396 OMG they're doing NOSE piercings now? Jfc...like how? With the same ear piercing gun?!
I got my ears pierced there and they did it well, but they put the earring in a little TOO tight- I never knew that some people get infections from it
oh man multiple pairs of the cheap metal claire’s earrings actually made my skin around the piercing rot and die. i had scabs for months. it was horrific
I got my first piercings done at a beauty salon, and my second piercings done by a trained piercing specialist who runs a new-age shop with a small piercing studio in the back. She's the best-rated piercer in my area and I had a great experience getting a needle piercing from her!
Here in Arab countries everything is ridiculously overpriced because they're treated as a "luxury" from American fashion. As a curious 8 year old of course I fell for that garbage and my dad bought us a few gifts from Claire's, some necklaces and bracelets, and I was so excited about them I wore them the whole day, but afterwards the necklace chains started breaking apart, the little trinket on the necklace fell out, and the bracelets were covered in a lace thing and it just. Ripped apart. My friends also told me their Claire's earrings started rusting after only 4 days. We really were paying 40$ for this garbage.
I still have some things from there to this day, like my diary with a fuzzy cat cover, those things survive pretty well, and I would get more similar items if it weren't for the tearjerking prices they put on these stores.
Curiously enough, I've never seen a Claire's with an ear piercing business here in the middle east. Maybe it's because most baby girls are pierced shortly after they're born.
Exactly! Those tiny ice lolly lip balms cost 25 dihrams each but the quality was so utterly cheap, and the ice lolly handle broke in like 5 days 💀
I’m from an Arab country too! The exact same thing happened to me, I remember all my cousins told me that Claire’s had quality jewelry but its absolute trash! I can’t believe anyone actually shops at Claire’s.
I live in Canada and as a kid, all the stuff I had broke from Claire’s. It is also expensive here too. As an adult, it’s just a waste of money.
please I’m pretty sure I had that book with the cat cover oml
never had any of their actual "supplies" or jewelry or anything like that but I did have their beanie babies, I could tell their jewelry was made kinda cheaply tho
I worked at Claires and the lipgloss flip phones were extremly popular with little kids. They didnt care about the cosmetics but just wanted it as a toy
This reminds me of how I used to have a Barbie flip phone when I was younger. I used to play with it a lot but must have gotten rid of it at some point since I no longer own it.
I used to have one in 4th grade hehehe
@@x_kittrix I still have one and Barbie sounds quite scary nowadays if I try to call her but she lives on 😭💗
@@liz_loves_catsthey have button cell batteries and you can probably change it if you need too haha
i got a backpack from claires when i was like 12 and it started falling apart after a couples months, but it was actually really nice looking i kept using it til i was 16. at that point it was barely clinging to life, had multiple holes and the straps broke several times. i sure loved that backpack even tho the quality was ass
Damn this is like the dark version of a nostalgia trip. Got my ears pierced for the first time at Claire's at like 12/13ish? I got a bad infection in one of my ears cause the gun straight caused a slash across my lobe. I let them close over and only recently got them repierced at a proper piercing/tattoo place with needles, and even a decade later the woman who was doing my piercing noticed the scar and we chatted about how shit Claire's was lol. Surprise surprise, she was super professional and I've had zero problems with my new piercings :p
All that said, baby me loved Claire's. Really was such a sparkly lure for me. The anglerfish of shitty jewelery lmao.
I got traumatized because my mom forced me to get my ears pierced at a Claire's. You think the employee would have seen a tween literally crying in fear and would have refused to do it. It makes me feel even worse now that the lady probably did it because she didn't wanna get in trouble for refusing. (I have a feeling it wasn't wholly my mom's decision. Her boyfriend at the time had a weird obsession with me "being more like a girl". But that's an unrelated suitcase we'll just burn instead)
oh my that sounds terrible :( im sorry
Your mom's boyfriend sounds super creepy
Your mom’s boyfriend sounds like a major creep, and I really hope that she realized that and broke up with him
@coralinetownsend9827 oh Jesus christ ur moms boyfriend is a f**king perv my best wishes go out to you :(
I've seen literal INFANTS with pierced ears. I think there needs to be an age limit. Like maybe 9 or 10? And then, only if the child consents. Your mother's boyfriend sounds like a gross creep.
I can say from firsthand experience, Claire’s earrings can seriously mess up your ears. When I was around six years old, i got a few pairs of earrings from Claire’s. Within the first day of wearing them, they didn’t just turn my ears green, no, that would be too easy. Instead, a ring of weird, metallic looking filth formed around my ear piercing. I had to sit in a chair for ten minutes while my mom scratched all of it off like a scab.
I know that this comment likely won’t be seen, but I thought it would be good to share. Thank you for shedding some light on this subject, I hope that it convinces less people to shop at Claire’s.
Edit: Just for clarification, I did not get my ears *pierced* at Claire’s, the earrings that I wore were simply from there.
i got lucky i think, cos i didn’t get any of that and my ears are still pierced from when i was 7 til this day from claires
did you clean the earrings tho? That's probs another reason..
@@emaaa_aaa Yes, I cleaned the earrings. Yet- I feel like whether or not the earrings were cleaned, this shouldn’t have happened.
@@eatdirts I totally agree with you! At least it can be avoided now
God I think I’m wereing a pair of earrings someone got me from Claire’s (I’m going to go change them)
I recall my mom having said she would totally pay for me to get my ears pierced at Claire's. But since I was (and still am) terrified of needles and wound up learning you can get infections I'm glad I refused
My friend went to Claires for their ears TWICE and they had to go to the hospital because they not only got infected, but the ears healed OVER the piercing and had to get it surgically removed. The other time they just pulled it out.
I low key really respect Jojo Siwa. She seems like a nice girl who actually respects and appreciates her fans, and her (although more likely her parents/lawyers/other people in the business) recalling her makeup when she really didn't need to and Claire's had decided not to shows some integrity
Yea she's a good kid but people were getting angry with her for the makeup even though she was a teenager and didn't have much to do with the product besides the licensing
Yeah she’s actually not bad. She’s grown A LOT. A lot of people just don’t wanna admit it or see it :/.
On the contrary, she’s actually in hot water for associating herself with racist individuals and appropriating black culture.
@@Smallges Really?! I didn’t know that. I haven’t looked up anything related to her in a little while. Could you share a source if you have one please? I’m curious on this
it's like people want women to embrace their femininity but only when it's baddie femininity, if it's not hot/sexual then begone with it. saddd if u ask me
My mom worked in asbestos lawsuits, when i was young i asked her, “does my make up have asbestos?”
it was from Claire’s and they sent it to the lab for testing. We realized the make up, my make up, had asbestos in it. 😐😐
What is asbestos
@@I_like_potatossslike, this sort of metal dust (I don't know much) that gets in your lungs and kills you.
Oh shit. Now I can't remember if I used Claire's makeup when I was a kid, I highly doubt it, but now on top of a million other things I'm scared of, im gonna now be scared of getting lung cancer too. Lmao. Help me.
@@I_like_potatosssIt's a fibrous mineral that was commonly used for decades in insulation and fireproofing. After a long time of studies, it was discovered that Asbestos caused cancer, specifically Mesothelioma, and scarring of the lungs respectively named Asbestosis.
There are still places around the world that still mine it, and is possible to get contaminated with other substances being mined, especially from third-world countries or places with less safety regulation and rights.
@@catsinwonderland7473 you said help me and I will! I think if the amount of asbestos in it was going to kill you or give you cancer it would have been years ago. Honestly the employees producing that makeup in the first place were most at risk. Something having asbestos in it should be a "get it away from me!" moment, not a worrying about your health years later without any warning signs moment. Also a shut down Claires and their suppliers maybe moment.
I got my ears pierced at Claire’s and I’m so happy I didn’t get an infection or went to the hospital. It was about a year ago and my ears haven’t ever gotten an infection
I was a body piercer in the 90s, by 1991 we realized that stores like this were not good, going through cartilage especially.
I can't count how many times people came into our parlor with infection and kelloids from guns, we pushed the importance of infections and trauma to the pierce with guns as opposed to piercing parlour practices.
The gun is also loud, and pretty dramatic.
We all know they did noses and even some belly buttons, I've actually seen some tongues pierced with guns that came in wondering why their tongues were purple and swollen immensely.
Piercing guns work on ear lobes, not amazingly well, but considering if they just stuck with the lobes, nothing more, but they don't.
Horrible to think how dangerous a cheap piercing gun can do.
Honestly, as much as Claire's has had (and still continues to have) its issues, I have to applaud them for keeping the awkwardness of tweenhood still alive. When I was in late elementary school/middle school, I loved going to Claire's and getting all the neon, sparkly, gaudy accessories, and it's nice to see that their product selection hasn't really changed. I know it can be an indicator of them not keeping up with the times, but I feel like it allows the kids in their target demographic to still dress and act like kids, rather than going to all the trendy stores and completely bypassing the awkward years of style.
My sister had her ears pierced there and she never had any problems with her ears or earrings
I agree! I remember shopping at Justice too when i was a tween. i LOVED their sandals, tanks, earrings…ah good times.
@maggie m i remember when justice was called limited too..
@@Fox_grove and shes lucky for that
as a 13 year old girl who struggles to get out of my childhood due to abuse, claire’s is a comfort place for me
I actually had a really positive experience getting pierced at claires. My ears used to get so cold in the winter but now they always feel warm to the touch. Thank you claires!
Oh no that's infection!
that's inflammation!
lol uh, heat implies infection. or is this extremely dry humor, because if so well played
LMAOOOO
@@Ema-gr1lxthat’s the joke!
It feels like Claire's hasn't really changed for 20 years. I went in one last week (and refused to pay £30 for accessories for a costume!!) and it felt just like it did when I was a little girl in the 00s.
I actually got my ears pierced there when I was 12 for a Christmas present- luckily I had no real issues or infections. They've long since closed up though. Next time I want to go to a tattoo parlour.
I’ll be honest. Some Claire’s things are kind of cute, like the cheap keychains, but I’m 100% against their piercing policy and a lot of other different things.
Edit: I’ll share my piercing story too. To keep it short, I’ll just cut it up a little.
Got my ears pierced there, went on with my life, the quality of the piercings (and my hair not helping), I had to go to the hospital because blood and pus was gushing from my lobes. I even told the doctor the “pain scale I was on was 10.” Fun times, fun times (sarcasm)
The workers are also not even trained for that! Yikes
there’s something to be said about how the first picture you showed has not only things i’ve bought from claire’s, but things i still own as a 21 year old
me lmao i'm 21 and still shop at claire's, i can't help it their accessories are cute!
Lol same, I still like going there and getting necklaces and nail polish. I'm scemo so I really like mixing some of their bright fuzzy accessories with darker stuff from Rebelsmarket and Hot Topic or stuff I made/customized X3
I'm glad I'm not the only 20yo who still personally shops for all the goofy accessories in Claire's, mostly the earrings. I'm very fortunate to have my ears pierced at a professional piercing studio and that they aren't sensitive to the relatively cheap material they use to make the earrings, and lucky that my ears haven't been stained green or black before.
@@brinbin_ Mine didn't get stained when I got mine pierced there but they did get infected and closed up around the stud so I couldn't take it out, and it bled when my aunt yanked it out. They finished closing up later, and if I ever want them re pierced I'll go to a tattoo parlor. I'm really lucky they didn't get stained, but it definitely wasn't fun
Same lol
I got my ears pierced at Claire’s when I was 7 as a reward for not getting in trouble for a WHOLE MONTH at school (I was a horrible gremlin child) and almost immediately got the nastiest, ooziest infection I’ve ever had in my life. I still have visible scar tissue under the skin on one earlobe where the piercing was. I’m 28 now.
i got mine when i was around 5/6 so i don’t really remember it but it got soo infected.. all i remember is it hurting like hell. i also have scars under my earlobes
yea. I was also a gremlin child At home I never had problems at school I I think my piercing might have killed my ears
I got mine done at 12. Same thing. They didn't heal properly. I took the earings out and let my ears close up. Never got them pierced again. I still have scar tissue inside my earlobes from it.
I've considered getting them pierced at a legitimate place now as an adult, but that experience as a child just sort of put me off from the whole thing.
@@CeruleanStar If you want them why not try again? I had a horrible infection after piercing mine at Claire's when I was ten, my ears turned a dark purplish color around the lobes, all the earrings purchased from there infected them so bad I had to close the holes up and let them heal. A couple years later I got them pierced again at a small fine jeweler retail store and they did a perfect job. I did nothing different, except now I only wear gold, or occasionally sterling silver which do irritate just a little, but the holes NEVER got infected even close to what Claire's did. If you do, just be sure go to a place with a good reputation and try sterling silver or gold metals!
@h How dare Claire's continue to pierce with all these horror stories!
Your voice is beautiful 😍 And you speak and articulate clearly and you speak calmly but not too slowly. As someone whose first language isn't English, I appericiate that. Also the editing is informative
I kinda want the tiny infant unicorn toy 🧍♀️
Got my ears pierced at claires as a baby. Thankfully i never got an infection, but i hated wearing earrings as a kid lmao. Now im an adult and the holes never closed so im stretching them now with a professional tattoo studio piercer 🤷♂️
Same- except for the stretching part. I rarely wear earrings, like I've gone years without wearing any and the holes never closed.
Same, not sure if it was Claires. I was a toddler. I am almost 40 now and have holes that bever closed up. I never wear ear rings.
My mom pierced my ears as a baby too, I've never been able to wear earrings without pain & inflammation, so I really wish she hadn't.
@@LikaLaruku You might be allergic to the metal in the earrings. My friend can't wear anything other than gold backed earrings otherwise her ears also get inflamed. I can't really wear anything less than sterling silver for long otherwise mine get really itchy and start hurting.
Should be illegal to pierce babies ears. Tacky horrible parents
im pretty sure i got my first ears piercing at justice, which was a store that was kind of like clair’s. despite it being almost like clair’s, the way they pierced my ears was great, no infections at all. sadly, all justice stores closed, and i do NOT plan on going to clair’s for a trilogy piercing. man..clair’s really did mess up..
I remember justice omg
justice closed!?
@@daniellecandy4426 this is news
They still have their website tho
i used to be obsessed with justice but everything at that place was so overpriced
One time not too long ago, i went to Claire’s to get my ears pierced, but after that my left ear grew this weird looking purple bubble kinda thing on the back side. It was scary and i grossed ppl out with it. Now, I don’t have my ears pierced, and I don’t plan on it.
As a person who got their ears pierced at Claire’s, I can clarify that your ears might get infected. I had to get surgery because it was so bad.
i was forced to get my ears pierced at claires when i was 12, my piercings got infected and my mom had to hold me down to take them out 😭
but hey at least i got a stuffed animal 😍
@@itybitdo you at least still have the stuffed animal 💀
@@Localbisexual yes 🙏
Why were you forced?
Sos, I'm just confused
@@CEO_of_Steidi idk my mom always wanted my ears to be pierced but i always got out of it until i was 12
My mom took me to a mall to get peirced ears when I was a toddler. I ran away and cried. They still did it. I don't remember where it was, I just kinda remember this. As an adult I never wear ear rings. People should wait and let their children make that desision when they are old enough to consent.
exactly I waited til i was 14
I was 13 when I got my ears pierced. Most of my friends had their ears pierced so I felt like it was good age to get mine done (my mom was 28 when she got her ears pierced).
was 2 months old when i got mine pierced 😭
I'm pretty sure I was an infant and don't remember at all
honestly im glad they did mine when i was a toddler i loved them
As an adult without her ears pierced, I actually really love going to Claire’s to get clip on earrings lol. They have a great variety & I really like wearing them
If you ever decide to get your ears pierced, I highly recommend going to a professional tattoo place instead of Claire’s.
The only pain you feel is a little burning sensation for about 20 minutes and then you’re fine. If you touch your newly pierced ears, it might hurt.
1:14 that’s literally my Claire’s 😀
When I was in high school I went to Claire's with my friends as "a joke" because we were too old to go there still but we secretly still liked it. After we left the store about 5 minutes later my friend realized she was still wearing the fishnet arm warmers that she tried on 😱 we ran back to the store and she gave them to the clerk and said, "I accidentally stole these and if they weren't so ugly I would have kept them." 😂😭😭
😹😹😹😹😹
That's how I feel about Hot Topic, but nowadays, what's the difference? 😂
Once I walked out trying to get better cell phone reception while looking at earrings. After a minute of talking, I realized I still had the earrings in my hand while being outside of the store. I THREW them back inside onto a table. (full clarity, this might have been an Icing; I don't recall)
💀
Oh ma gawd your friend roasted Claire's
I HATED piercing babies at Icing (same company as Claire's but the adult version). What you said about the managers wanting quotas is 100% true. Even when I was an assistant store manager I would turn away babies and tell people not to piece them if they're not comfortable and then get put down by and yelled at by my regional manager in meetings. I had barely any training on ear piercing. They also absolutely do not clean the guns thoroughly in between piercings, especially when it's super busy. Upper management was a nightmare and did not care about the employees who are actually working in the stores and have to deal with the constant breaking products and terrible policies.
Yes!!! I worked there in the past in that all happened so often. I wasn’t even fully trained when I started piercing children and I was soooo uncomfortable. I remember getting chastised for telling customers the prices of the diamond earrings bc they wanted people paying for their stupid tiny diamond even when they were 100% not worth the money. The work culture was also just severely toxic and way too serious for a store for kids.
What kind of trailer trash would pierce the ears of an infant! Hella ghetto!
@@t.n.-js6ei Our particular mall was in decline, so the quotas were based on past sales. All malls are in decline, as the demand for online market places have increased. It was gross to have a piercing quota, since it put pressure on people who may have not been ready to get/do piercings to perform/receive them. What you are not taking into account is the empathy part of business. You cannot operate solely upon dollars in dollars out. All or nothing thinking does not benefit growth, my friend.
@@t.n.-js6eiOkay, done and done.
@@t.n.-js6ei homie missed the ENTIRE point and it was the size of an elephant
got my lobes and second lobes done at claires when i was a kid and i didn’t really have issues but i recently got my nostril pierced at a real piercing place and the difference is insane. like it actually felt hygienic and professional rather than just a seat at the back of the store that kids have been all over & touching everything
9:23 this glitter always came in my eyes and everywhere
I told my mother I wanted to get my ears pierced and said that I don’t want them done at Claire’s because everyone I had talked to said they ended up with an infection and how much it sucked
Her response was a very unsubtle “are you sure that your friends weren’t just lazy? And didn’t take care of them?”
Like no mother when a store is infamous for causing scar inducing infections and literally everyone I’ve asked said don’t do that I’ll tend to believe them over the idea of dozens of children being lazy!
Wow, my mother had the opposite reaction. I wanted to get my ears pierced, and a friend told me to go to Claire's, but when she saw the store she said that it would be better to go to a professional.
I don't know why your mother would just doubt what your friends said 😶
You wasn't wrong all most all the ladies I know my age had some problem with Claire's back in the late 2000s I saw multiple green ears infections and the thing just breaking I thought it was just the UK Claire's was shit but I guess it was internationaly crap
I’m pretty sure I got my first ear piercing at Claire’s I also pierced my second ear piercing myself and never got an infection
my friend got her ears pierced twice at claires and they got infected both times
Hmm I got my ears pierced twice and my cartilage done at Claire's and it was fine. I did get an infection the first time however that was because I had an unknown nickle allergy and the studs I picked were zinc/nickle. I had it redone with 24k gold and it was fine.
Genuine shout out to my one and only Claire’s necklace that has survived a whopping 9 years! It’s a little snowman in a glass bottle, he’s tacky and covered in glitter but I love him.
The idea of getting my ears pierced in such a cramped tiny space sounded terrifying, the fact I couldn’t see where the piercing set up was is my total red flag
Unfortunately I got my ears pierced with a gun years later in another place and my ears totally rejected them LMAO
14-15 years for my hannah montana guitar pick earings (I scrapped off the hannah montana part and painted over them lol), and 18 years for a friendship bracelet I only just threw away last week, and I have an earing holder/Photo frame combo from when I was like 8-10, giving it at least 20 years old now :P
And luckily my mom pierced my ears at home by hand. Didnt feel a thing.
a- a gun?
@@changyue1955 A piercing gun. Not an actual gun.
Also, going back and editing this comment because I realize that I'm probably very misinformed on how risky getting piercings this way actually is.
I got mine done in a piercing shop, but tattoo parlors also do piercings and seem to be the most recommended method of getting piercings.
I got my ears pierced by a gun at Walmart, somehow they werent rejected, but they did close when i stopped wearing earrings for a week 💀
@@zul_thesite6349 same , but I got them pierced at Claire's-
Claire's is one of the few stores in Canada where you can buy Pusheen, Hello Kitty, or Squishmallows. It's fun going there to browse. Almost everything else is cheap, overpriced junk. A single claw clip costs almost $20, it's insane.
I remember I loved going to Claire's as an early teen. I did get my ears pierced there twice and the first time one the earrings stayed in the piercing gun and they had to wiggle it out, but luckily it didn't cause any harm. When I heard about the really bad experiences some people had with piercing their ears there I was so thankful I didn't have anything like that happen to me
The amount of "quirky" earrings I got at Claire's when I was younger is absurd, I'm now 23 and still have some of those earrings but most of them don't have matches. My favs when I was younger were my gummy bear ones and my mustache ones lolol
my friend in 5th grade had a pair of mustache sunglasses and I remember being so jealous… I also had a mustache phone case
pov: tell me it’s 2012 without telling me it’s 2012
I still wear the fish bone ones I had sometimes lol
OH MY GOSH THE MUSTACHE ONES!!! I completely forgot about those until now! They were so cool.
@@Kailee_B mustaches were just the thing, do you remember how people would draw little mustaches on their pointer fingers. Saying things like I mustache you a question
@@tuva_4049 mine were like glittery and came in different bright colors
as bad as the store was, it was literally the only store that sold nickel free earrings in my area so it was the only way for me to change up my look without having to buy straight up real silver or gold. So it was weird being an older girl to adult buying earrings there, but they worked.
No for real though, I discovered through when I got my seconds on my lobe at Icing that I’m very allergic to nickel (even wearing nickel rings and necklaces now makes the whole area infected and gross over the span of half a day). I tried a pair of nickel free ones from Claire’s and low and behold, my ears didn’t get infected, so thank you Claire’s for helping me discover my nickel allergy, but all their earrings still turned my ear green, so it’s kinda a win - lose situation. Now 13 piercings deep, it gets difficult to find high quality earrings, belly button rings, barbells, etc, that look good and that are as glitzy and glam as the nickel ones with a lot more options
I can’t even wear their nickel-free earrings! I still get infections with them!
@@AspensCats I can’t use “hypo allergenic” or “nickel free” labeled stuff either. I can usually find some decently priced sterling silver/gold on Etsy that cute and not insanely priced.
My mom found out about my sister and i’s nickel allergy when we were babies. The snaps on our clothes would break us out! Sorry Mom! 😂
Idc about being 18 and I'll still get earings and jewelery there lol
Honestly I’m glad she quit since she wasn’t comfortable. It could have caused many issues if she got nervous
Got my ears pierced twice at Claire’s, both times both my ears got infected and I haven’t gotten piercings since. (Yes, I got the earrings out but it was quite painful)
And this is why I got my ears pierced at Superdrug. 100% recommend all went fine and healed amazing, my cousin got there first 2 ear piercings at Claire’s (she said the healing stuff did nothing and they got infected, thankfully not to bad.) Her second pair above the 2 first she got pierced she got done at Superdrug and they were great. Then she pierced her 3rd pair herself, and they were fine and she said even better than going to Claire’s and didn’t even get infected!
I know the quality probably sucks but those blue rhinestone fishnet gloves are actually kind cool...
As an old person, 39, I remember when they had better merchandise. Some of it was still cheaply made and tacky, but they actually had some good things, too. I still use a drawstring backpack that I got there years ago and get compliments on it too. I also used to love some of their phone cases. Now they only have ones for iPhone. I looked around in one not to long ago out of curiosity, and everything seemed like it was for little girls and was overpriced. Makes me sad.
Same age as you. Claire's was always packed in the 90s. Weird how they have the same prices as they did then.
When she said it was for girls up to age 12, I was thinking I must of been immature or something. I am also 39, so I guess it had more teen stuff back then. I remember going in there a lot. There was still mall culture back then and people still shopped at malls. As an adult I only wear precious metals as jewelry.
"Should we offer cases for other phones?"
"WE DON'T SERVE ANDROID GARBAGE PEOPLE HERE, DEBORAH."
I’m 26 almost 27, and had a couple stuff from that store as a kid and it all broke.
@@LikaLaruku That's because the cost of goods went down as things were outsourced.
When I was seven I got my lobes pierced at Claire's for the first time, I was terrified but after they pierced them and all nothing went wrong after that. They pierced my ears with those sapphire studs, and I kept them on my ears forever and literally never took them off, but when I got some new earrings from Pandora I wanted to try them on but it turned out the studs were actually stuck to my ears and did not come out, my mom literally had to take me to the ENT to get them pulled out of my ears and it was pain. This was something I just felt like I had to share when after watching this video i just remembered it ! :)
Why did I just see this 3 days after piercing my nose there
I got my ears pierced at claires like 6 or 7 yrs ago. I cleaned my piercings the exact ways they told me to (which i later found out some of what they told me are no-nos when you get piercings” but my ears still got heavily infected. Skin ended up growing over the top of my right earring which was extremely painful. The whole earring was encased in skin basically. I had to go to the hospital to get the earring removed and the area surrounding the earring was gross and green from the fake metal. Really scary being like 10 years and getting a piercing ripped out. Quite a bit of blood. 0/10 never again. Got a cool flower shaped scar from the shitty flower shaped earring tho
I also picked the flower shaped earring! Was it the blue one?
I believe I got mine done at Claire’s as well (but I was less than 5 so I can’t remember it very well) but as a preteen I stopped wearing them from the swelling and the hole kinda closed up and scarred IN THE HOLE. Now I wear more earrings, but I had to force an earring through that tiny scarred-over hole when I first put them back in.
The same thing happened with my sister. Her ears pretty much ‘swallowed’ the earrings and she had to get them removed at the hospital. She never got her ears pierced again
@@yourguitargf That's exactly what happened to me!
@@HanaTanYT I still have a little bit of scar tissue on the inside of my ear since the earring was forced in there, and I wear earrings every day!
Compared to these stories, it seems I was extremely lucky. The employees who pierced my ears made such a huge fuss about it. They drew on my ears with sharpie and had a whole conversation discussing where the earrings should go, Gave me a ‘Claire Bear’ with tons of earrings on it for mental support and gave me something for free afterwards. I’m not sure what though, because I was 7 when this happened. Props to those employees though! My ears were perfectly fine afterwards, probably due to the 6 months of applying antibacterial ear ointment to them.
Me too. I had my ears done at Claire's when I was 11 and I can still wear earrings in them today. Never had any issues with them
Yeah I thankfully had the same expierence and the earrings were pointed at the back so they didn't just use blunt force to get through. Idk if maybe claires just had higher standards in 2008 or if I was just extremely lucky.
@@elimidd6626 The claire’s near me uses pointed backs on their piercings too. I got my first piercing there and it’s perfectly fine
Same with myself and my sister. We both had ours done in the early 90s. I can't imagine they had high standards by any means, but neither of us have had any issues with our piercings (besides my problems with certain metal allergies), so I think we were just lucky.
In my case, I had my ear infected several times by proffesional piercers. It was only when I went to the Claire's, insecure as I could only wear 1 earring and that seemed like such a 'boy thing' to me when I was 12, that I had a piercer who could recognize scar tissue had formed from the previous botched attempts, and told me she'd shoot it a little asymmetrically to my other ear, to avoid the area. It worked fine. I have 3 piercings in each lobe, and a belly button ring, but that woman did the finest job out of all of them.
I got my ears periced at Clair’s in 1st grade, the lady was really nice and she did it really professionally! I also got my ears periced again when I was in 6th grade and it also seem that the girl pericing my ear was really good at it! It’s just a hit or miss
My little sister got her ears pierced at Claire’s, the piercing was infected a few days later🥰🥰
My sister quit Claire’s because they were going to force her to be a piercer. She refused and left because according to her bosses she HAD to pierce ears if she was going to work there. It was her first job and it was already extremely stressful for her. Glad she didn’t stay where she wasn’t comfortable.
It was in her job description when she got hired on in the contract she signed for employment. She should have read more carefully or maybe had more critical thinking that she would be asked to perform her job duties.
@@adamakapuppy8921 Who are you? Do you know my sister? No. She had applied to many different places and that was the only one actually hiring so she took it to make money for upcoming college. She did her best at her first job. She was so good at it that practically ran the place on her own while she was there. Her bosses even begged her to stay. She was young and didn’t want to pierce ears, though. Now she’s kicking ass at her higher paying job. It’s okay to leave a place because you aren’t comfortable doing something lmao.
"all of our ear piercing specialist are fully trained" nah more like fully forced
I work at claires and they literally have it in the job description that you have to pierce💀💀
@@leslie-vq2gs yeah see she was young and just took what job she could. They didn’t even give her the training for it though, and told her they weren’t planning on it, and were just going to make her pierce without it. She said no thanks, and left when she could. 🤷🏼♀️
My sister actually had one of her friendship necklaces recalled by Claire’s once. My sister’s best friend’s mom (that sure was a lot to type) had texted our mom that one of the friendship necklaces she had bought for my sister and her friend was recalled, because apparently there was lead in it. Fun times..
jesus f*cking christ... for once im glad for my "not like the other girls" phase...
fr? I had a keychain from there
Tbh when it comes to the piercings i would say go to a professional and not Claire's, but i always find it strange how so many people get infections. Like obviously i know why, but when I was like 12 (I'm 15 now) I got my ears pierced at Claire's and the default earrings i got had sharp backings and were well made. I cleaned my ears for over a year using the cleaning stuff they gave me and my ears healed up completely fine. I have a guy friend who also got his ears pierced there and his were fine too, but then other people in our friend group had mixed experiences. So i guess it's definitely hit or miss, and you have to make sure to keep your ears clean, but i was surprised my experience wasn't worse
This video just reminded me, and I can’t believe I forgot this (!), that I got my 2nds done at Claire’s when I was 14 with my best friends ID (she was 16) despite the fact she came into the shop with me. It was so obvious that we were lying and I do remember slight hesitance from the employee but still did it. Now at 24 I’m realising how bad that was….and they still pierced them wonky
I've seen so many stories about Claire's ear piercing nightmares, and I've just gotta be thankful that although both me and my sister got our ears pierced at Claire's, neither of us had any problems with infections or lopsided piercings. Whew!
I got mine done at Claires too and luckily had no issues and they healed fine. I was older when I had it done (16ish) which I think helped cause they asked me if I was happy with where they'd marked out before they did it
@@sara9saysyo I got mine done at Claires too, still good to this day. I'm happy enough with it, no infections or anything lol.
I got both of my piercings done at Claire’s. My first one was when I was pretty young, just a toddler. I ended up perfectly fine. My second once, which is recently repierced at Claire’s, has not ended up infected or insanely hurts. I clean them everyday with their solution and I haven’t experienced any problems. My third piercing was done at a tattoo body shop, but soon got slightly infected because I wouldn’t take care of it properly so it closed up
I got mine done at Claire's, and mine healed fine, even though my mom's got infected when she got hers pireced (don't know where, this was when she was my age), and my grandma on my dad's side has sensitive ears (can only wear gold earrings). I can wear any earrings with out problem. I did try to find a tattoo parlor or something, but I was about 13, and they only did adults from what I found. The lady who did mine was also really nice, and seemed to know what she was doing, and I later saw her at another new location that had just opened, training new people, so she probably has been around a while. (I also really made sure to keep my piercing clean after I got it, so that helped.)
I got my first when I was around 4 at Claire's and I'm so glad that nothing bad happened to my ears!
My second was at my house by my mom so they're lopsided, but I don't mind so much as my mom does not have the skill.
I think my ears at one point did turn a little green from the Claire's earrings, and I bought a bracelet that I thought was cool. Broke when I got home.
Most of the makeup products FDA tests for asbestos come up as negative, even other cheap brands. So that definitely says a lot about claires makeup.
Most powdered make-up, like eyeshadows have something called talc in them. It's in nearly all brands and not just make up either (there was a big scandal about it being in baby powder). Talc is formed with asbestos in nature therefore when mined talc always contains some asbestos risk. It's obviously not good but tbh it's a risk with most powdered cosmetic products. Idk if Claires has more than the average sephora brand makeup tbh, I wouldn't be surprised if they were about the same.
@@beth-ug6ti You're right, there's always a risk regardless of price.
@@beth-ug6ti Honestly, that's why some of the first makeup I bought as a teen was from Lush. I get rashes from a lot of things including talc, fragrance, chlorinated water, and other additives. But even then, when I was in grade school, everyone was into e.l.f and Wet N Wild, which are much more reputable brands available at Walmart and grocery stores, and I'm glad they were. They're not perfect either, but they have more options in a similar price range.
@@beth-ug6ti actually, it’s not natural. I just watched a CZcams video about a huge lawsuit with Johnson and Johnson over there, baby powder that contain talc.
Talc miners actually used asbestos to line the walls as they got more fragile as they mine, the talc, and it gets into the air and into the product and they never bother telling us for decades that is best has been in baby powder, and other products where talc is used because they didn’t want us to know they were causing the problem.
Now there’s a huge class action lawsuit over it, and the only reason why we know about the asbestos they used is because these lawyers discovered it while they subpoenaed Johnson and Johnson for the class action lawsuit .
Yes, it’s really that dastardly. They lied the whole time saying it’s natural and asbestos is not. It is a chemical and does not happen naturally in nature.
@@Jaxmusicgal23 Absbestos does definitely naturally form with talc in nature. They can't truly be separated from each other. I'm not surprised they lined mines with it either, that probably makes it significantly worse :/. Yeh I heard quite a bit about the baby powder scandal, it's sad they let that happen for so long and it continues hidden is so many other products today without warnings.
The only thing I have ever liked about Claire’s is that they have a lot of clip on earrings. More than I have ever seen in any other store. I hate having my ears pierced so when I found a clip on set. I was so happy.
Australian version of this is Cosmetics Plus but all the ear pierces have to do a course at the local trade school called "Maintain infection prevention for skin penetration treatments"
i got my first (only) peircing at claires . i took care of it like they said, but of course it was horrible to do. "constantly twist" and "wash using our branded disenfectant"
my ears got infected and my parents blamed me for it lmao
damn 😔
same story! i thought mine got infected because i forgot to use the disinfectant sometimes... now idk
@@bwink4709 the doctors said my ears reacted negatively with the cleaner , so probably just a flare up to some chemicals in a sensitive spot .
salt water works better than it lol
i had the same thing happen!
that’s weird, they told me to not twist my piercing
I unironically wore Claire's jewelry all through high school- some of their more ""formal"" jewelry was pretty banger for budget homecoming/prom wear.
yea but did you wear the same items over and over and over? I used to wear strictly claires jewellery too because I trusted they were good quality when they weren’t. I became scared of getting attached to nice looking accessories in case they break or rust. when that shouldn’t be the case because good quality lasts. I’m now midway through unlearning all that and letting myself buy nice things.
i got my ears pierced at claire's when i was about 10 or 11, and they got infected so badly. they never healed properly, and when i was 13 i took my earrings out for a week and my ears closed up. eventaully, i got my piercings repierced professionally and my ears actually healed properly. last fall, i literally gave myself double piercings with a safety pin and they've healed completely fine
Fortunately had my second ones done at Claire's and they knew what they were doing. They were just us professional as the first jewellers I went too.
Which I've got redone at Claire's recently and used the 9 Carrots.
My little one went to Claire's and no problem still beautiful. No problems at all.
So far all great.
I'm a girl but I used to hate Claire's just because I hated all the loud bright colors inside of the store. Most girls loved it and thought it was cute but I just thought it hurt my eyes to look at now for contacts. I have really bad ADHD and it used to be worse when I was a kid. So all of the disorganization of the store and so much going on at once made me not even want to step foot in there because it was like I couldn't focus on one thing. (I realize this may sound stupid to some people but it's just how I felt and I still feel the same way if I ever see a Claire's)
That’s exactly how I was except I didn’t know I had ADHD. So I never really understood why I didn’t like it.
Aw dang, that sucks- I’m sorry.
Overstimulation is a natural thing to feel for someone with ADHD, and with the cramped space and everything going all over the place it's even more stressful, even someone who's neurotypical could have a bit of a hard time with the space
That's called "overstimulation" (NOT in a sexual way - you can also say "being overwhelmed"), many neurodivergent people can experience that. In your case, the overstimulation is visual. But overstimulation can also be auditory, sensory or emotional. Anyways, I hope you're okay. Take care and stay safe !
@@newabbmantics Naw they got lucky they CAN’T go in a claires
worked at claire’s about a year and a half ago. i want to make a video so badly about how shoddy they are because genuinely i don’t know how they are still in business. also my piercing training was a small paper packed and practice on a stuffed animal, i ended up piercing over 200 peoples ears (including infants)…. unfortunately
Edit: I apologize it's like a whole essay I just wrote, did not mean to. I hope it's easily digestible. I might cut it down a bit because it's so long ack
I'm currently working for claires. Some things are questionable and other things have improved. But then again I've started to believe that the quality if piercings specifically tends to depend on store and management and employees. I didn't train on a stuff animal (I'm shocked they had you orsctice on a stuffed abimal)
My practice was foam ears and the assistant manager and a fellow supervisor.
I'm doing my damnest to do a good job with piercings and care, and avoiding things like pong nails, jackets, etc. And explaining things in as much honesty as I can without getting in trouble.
I've been considering making videos about my job experiences some time so if I'm not working at Claire's anymore in the near future I'd be happy to help you out with your video. I've only been working for them since September of 2022. I've been considering quitting. I have many reasons for doing so but the store I'm at specifically has been well put together, clean, and it's just the store manager and supervisors (I'm a supervisor) piercing customers. (I'm 21)
Being here I've started to see cracks n things that bother me quite a bit. Especially with the amount of people who come in to get pierced that had horrible past experiences with other claires or icing stores. From infections to wrong placement, being too low/high, too close together, too far apart, etc.
I try to do better than what was previously done and give them options.
If they have a past of infections or had interactions, I usually tell them to check out tattoo/piercing parlors.
I was expecting to train on silicone ears when I was hired and, I was shocked that it's foam ears and that was one red flag. So when I started piercing after passing certification when piercing the assistant manager, I try hard to do well.
I've only recently started to learn more of the issues. Because a lot of customers come in either wanting a redo piercing that's since healed because a previous claires/icing did it wrong a year or so ago. Or they come by to buy earrings but don't want to be pierced by claires again (reasonably so)
What were some of your main experiences as an employee? And what led you to quit?
I'm curious because I do want to learn more to determine what to do with either staying or quitting.
@@Its_Asteria
i’m just seeing your comment now. i quit because the management team at my store wasn’t good, and i was offered another job with more pay and better hours. id be working 30 hours as a high school student making $9.50 an hour. a ton of people came in for repiercings after they had a bad experience from claire’s in the past. another thing about my store is that they kept signs and stuff in the EMPLOYEE BATHROOM!!! and we had to be “on call” which is ridiculous in itself for high schoolers (think 16 year olds). and actually i ended up being employee of the week out of all claire’s employees in MN, ND, SD, and WI. gave me a certificate and everything lol
same, i got mine pierced when i was 7 and they've been fine since then :)
honestly i wish i had a claires in my country, there’s a lot of scene related stuff there i really want ‼️
Well, I have to say, I never had any problem with any claire's accessories: hair jewlry, phone cases or necklaces - all in great condition even after a decade of being in use. but i have always been very careful with my stuff and appreciating it. But I also have to admit that I would never get my ears pierced at such a place or buy make -up!!
After growing up in the 2000s and seeing stores like Justice and Claire’s being a mall-exclusive thing, it was weird seeing Claire’s and justice items in Walmarts now. Hell, I’ve seen Claire’s items in grocery stores now!
I se Claires at CVS too.
Justice!!!! I completely forgot about Justice!!!
YEAH!! There's a Claire's stand right outside the Pharmacy section at my Jewel Osco. Love looking at the overpriced journals they have. :D
Claire’s is now in Walmart. Entire Claire’s stores are inside of Walmart now. That’s how far they’ve fallen.
Saw some at a Hy-Vee
Shout out to whoever did my piercing 6 years ago, it healed well, and I survived 😤. I found out about the dangers of getting your piercings at Claire’s years later and I was like “w,, what 😨”
Same! About 6 months ago I got my 2nd piercings done (got the first ones done somewhere else when I was little) and it’s healed pretty decently. Now that I’m watching this video I’m like oh 😳
i asked my mom where i got my ears pierced and she said claire’s at the age of 3 months. they haven’t closed or gotten infected at all in the last 16 years so i’d say so far so good
@@nameless.artist1513 DUDE SAME!! Whenever I started hearing about the Claire’s problem I was like “😮💨 just lucky like that huh”
@@psychticambitin7987 Lucky squad right here
i knew someone who worked at claires in highschool and they only made her pierce a piece of foam one time before releasing her to work full shifts by herself and free reign to pierce children…
I know I’m late to this, but I found this wayyy after I needed to, I have a story. When I was about 6 I got my ears pierced for my birthday at Claire’s, it went well but a few days later I got a huge infection even when doing the ear care stuff they give you. So, I went back a year later for the next birthday and the same thing happened. THEN, I went a year later AGAIN wanting my ears peirced because I thought it was just my ears that were the problem, and it happened once more, ever since then I’ve just worn fake earrings and never got my ears pierced again.
This is prob the latest comment I’ve seen so far-
I never got my ears pierced at Claire's and I feel very lucky. Claire's had always been one of my favourite stores in my local mall, but now I'm really only interested in the earrings, plushies ( which are ungodly in CAD price holy hell why is a plush 50 dollars ) and a few others. I had no idea about just how bad the piercing and asbestos situations were, thank you for explaining them!
frr
an pfp
Yes me too! My grandfather pierced mine and he is a trained professional. Got mine done when I was a baby.
Luckily, when I first got my ears pierced, I went to a tattoo/piercing shop. I had such a great experience with the workers there and how well my piercing healed, that i went back for 2 more ear piercings. And for any of you wondering, the needle doesn't hurt. It may hurt a bit more then the gun, but I'm sure it isn't much different. If anyone reading this is having their first/next ear piercing, I am absolutely begging you to go to a professional tattoo/piercing shop. ❤❤
Thanks for the note about pain. I’m planning to get another piercing sometime in the future and am somewhat nervous about the needle
That’s so wild to hear because I had heard from friends that the needle hurt LESS than the gun!
My sister went to get her ears pierced at a tattoo shop, she’s never had any issues as far as i know. I had my ears done at claires and trust me there is not a worse place to get them done. Nine years later and i still have earring issues 😂
@@loveeevee396 agreed the guns feel like something's got your ear in a vice grip but the needle is just a slight pinch and then it's gone, plus it's more sanitary.
when i got my piercings, i was pleasantly surprised with how little it hurt! i didnt even feel sore the next day. i plan on getting many many many more piercings now thanks to that. tattoo parlors are the best 🙏 plus they can actually answer questions for you and give you proper equipment, like H20 ocean spray, to keep it clean.
Only thing ive ever bought from Caires was just marshmellow cats, everything there was so expensive ive never came back.
As someone who got my ears pierced there when I was 12, all I can do is be thankful mine went well.