I think all of us here love working for MAC. I am definetly proud to be part of a company and a team that has accomplished so much in terms of artistry and trends and raising money for aids campaigns.
The majority of us here have gone into MAC with a fantasy- a fantasy constantly nourished by the ever growing collections, MUAs with amazing makeup, and a need to be part of that team. The MAC Team.
Being behind a counter is fun, inspiring and extremely exciting.
I have been with the company for a while now. I still love it, and I feel so lucky to be part of such an awesome makeup team. I can't even explain it. As with everything though, the fantasy aspect of working for MAC has been calmed.
When you begin working, MAC surrounds you with everything and it's very exiciting. You get a chance, an opportunity to display talent and artistry, both on customers and yourself. MAC allows you to push the boundaries, and to not limit yourself to anything. You can be gay, straight, a transvestite, or a transexual and when working for MAC, it somehow fits. It is a company that welcomes diversity.
With time though, you start to get used to the makeup that surrounds you. The fantasy dies down because you are there Every. Single. Day. You deal with different customers, yet at the same time, it might get repetitive. You start to notice that alot of cutomers want the same look (generally a variation of a smokey with a natural lip).
You also have papers to fill, messages to listen to, products to restock, as well as worrying about a certain quota. You are not on commission and thank god for that, but as with every single other company, you are there for consultations and goals to achieve.
Now, getting certified for specific types of applications definetly throws you back into an excitement. But even with a fashion show certification, things go back to normal. You might do FS makeup once or twice a year, but the rest of the time, you are behind a counter applying smokeys to each and every customer that wants one.
Not alot of men and women come in wanting exactly what you have in mind for them. You might want to go all out and practice your skills and your talent on them but they don't always welcome it. So, as I said above, it does get repetitive because what we MAC artists generally apply on an average person is a beauty look.
A beauty look is what we tend to see in magazines, it's what all the celebrities are wearing. I would define it as a beautiful makeup application that will enhance a person's features, without altering them to the extreme. . Sure, you can apply Parrot and Electric Eel and Orange eyeshadows all you want, but make sure they are applied in a way as to not shock the customer. This excludes drag queen makeup and fashion show looks. I guess we can just exclude the Chroma Cakes altogether. All in all, a beauty look is the opposite of a theatre look.
Now, the average MAC artists loves loves loves theatre looks. I personnally love wearing them and applying them. A theatre look is extreme and very exciting to apply. However, who asks for one? No one. Alot of people come get their makeup done for events, so it is out of the question that they walk out with Geisha makeup, to say the least.
Again, that is where it can get repetitive.
When working for MAC, you deal with real life situations and it can get stressful because a MAC Counter is, well what a MAC counter is. Super organized, on point, diverse, loud, fun, as well as busy busy busy!
I love working for MAC, I still squeal when fantastic collections will be released and I get pleasure out of every single makeup application that I do. It requires alot of patience though, due to many changes that the company is always undergoing.
There are also many facets: MAC is stunning on the outside but very complex on the inside.
It is not about playing with makeup all day, on people and on ourselves. It is fun, and I do consider it glamorous, but there are just so many facets that people don't know.
Chocolategoddes, I can assure you we love our job. To anyone, we love our job! As withs any other company or business though, there is a reality that overshadow the idea of working for MAC, and that is something one can truly understand once they're working for the company.
