Heyyy,
I just had a demo interview on Friday. I hope I'm not too late, but I thought I would post after I actually went through with it, so I can let everyone know exactly how it went.
I had to do the application on one of the girls who worked for MAC, she showed me a picture from a magazine - it was a bold, hot pink eye with smudged black liner, and really neutral cheeks and lips.
They stressed that they focus a lot more on your explanation to the customer than your actual application skill, because you can always be trained later on.
So anyway, I guess to make things interesting, they let me apply the makeup to an asian girl, and it made things a bit fun since in the photograph the eye makeup was winged out, and her eye shape really suited that nicely.
(Oh, before I start, I should mention they're really big on sanitizing everything before you use it - they'll explain that to you in good detail, and they'll provide you with hand sanitizer, alcohol, tissues, lip wands/brushes, spatulas and mascara wands.) And also, pulling together makeup colours for her skintone and shades to match the look in the magazine counted for my 30 minutes that I was given for the application.. so make sure you remember that!
So I started by applying some Lightful Daily Moisturizer with a sponge, I explained I wanted to use something light for everyday.
Then, I found that NC 35 was her perfect match. I applied SELECT SPF Foundation with a fresh sponge, and told her that I would normally stipple the foundation on lightly for more coverage, but this foundation covers beautifully so I swept it on for a little more sheer coverage. She also didn't have any flaws or noticiable creases or darkness under her eyes, so concealer was a no-go.
I started with her eyes, her brows were nicely shaped and flattering to her face, so I didn't need to touch those up at all. I started applying PASSIONATE with a flat defining brush and I explained that I did this because these brushes tend to put shadows on as potent as can be, I also applied this shade with a patting motion to get that really vibrant effect.
I think I forgot to mention, there was a bit of purple blended into this hot pink look, so I used a blending brush and applied SWISH to the crease. I explained that I was applying this shade in a sweeping motion, back and forth - just mimicking a windshield wiper.
With a small blending brush, I dusted a bit of PINK VENUS to the inner corners of her eyes for depth - just like in the photograph. And WHITE FROST in the very very inner corner / tear duct area. (The picture had such a range of shades working for the eyes)
The lined eye had a very smudged effect to it, so I used CARBON - a matted black eye shadow that I thought fit perfectly for this look. I explained that I applied this shade with an angled brush, rather than using an actual liner pencil or roll-up, because the girl in the photograph's liner was not defined at all, it had a really soft/smudgey look to it.
Then, I applied some black PRO LASH with disposable mascara wands- make sure you use a new one each time and don't double dip! I asked her to look up, and close her eye slowly so that her lashes grazed the wand .. that way, I wouldn't have to hold her head steady with my hands and I wouldn't poke her in the eye and irritate her.
The cheeks in the photograph were really simple, so I used GINGERLY.. a powder blush that tends to come on a little bit more sheer. I explained that I used a blush brush to apply it to the apples of the cheek, and dusted it gently up to the cheekbones.
The magazine photograph said that you could use a neutral gloss or lipstick to achieve this look, but since she asked me for that look, I decided to use a lipstick and make her lips matte just like the picture. I forget which shade I used, I believe it may have been FRECKLETONE - but anyway, it was a very neutral lip colour that I applied to her face.
I thought I explained the application in well detail, I kind of used Carmindy from What Not to Wear and Damone from 10 Years Younger as inspirations for the explanation part (both from TLC). I also borrowed some ideas from Kevin Aucoin.
But overall, they rated my explanation a 6 and a half out of 10, I was pretttty disappointed in myself. I love MAC and I felt like I messed up, so I was pretty bummed after the interview.
I'm supposed to hear back from them tomorrow, although I'm not actually expecting to get the job - it was quite the experience. I am definitely willing to go through it a few more times to get where I want to be, because it would mean a whoollle lot.
Anyway, I really hope that helped! And I really hope you let me know how everything went and just tell me about your experience in general.
- Zeena