In many ways, Gretchen Vogel is a typical 17-year-old girl; she loves wearing makeup and enjoys going out on dates. Yet as a result of a neuromuscular disorder, she has facial deformities, which often cause cosmetics salespeople to avoid her. But on May 7, employees at beauty retailer Sephora made the teenager feel like a princess.

“Sephora put on whatever makeup she wanted to try,” says Nadine Vogel,
Gretchen's mother and president of Springboard Consulting, which specializes ...