I've been to two MAC counters. The one is full of lovely MAs; some are clearly more talented than others, while others only seem more talented because they cake a thousand products on. (Hey, if you wear hardly any make-up and still look good, you have just as much of a right to be proud!) But you know what? Who cares! They're all kind and patient, they listen to me, and if I tell them, "No, that's not what I'm looking for," they try something else.
The other counter...ugh, I stopped going there after the fourth or fifth bad experience in a row. Every MA at that counter looks me up and down like I am dirt. Now, admittedly, I look pretty frumpy when I go out; I don't really wear make-up outside of photography or occasions where my gothy clown paint (LOL) is appropriate, so...yeah, I don't wear it to class or to go shopping, I just want to be comfortable. So apparently, this means I can't SERIOUSLY like MAC or know what I'm talking about.
The one time, I asked the lady for a "bright matte shadow with opaque coverage, preferably a bluer teal." The lady then procedes to show me a shimmer shadow. I tell her, no thank you, that's not what I'm looking for, I want a matte shadow. She lets out this agrieved sigh, then pulls out another color that was actually really green, kind of a grassy green. I said no, it's far too green, I want a matte teal. The woman throws her hands up in to the air, points to one of the shadow displays, and says, "Well, just find one then!" I don't know what my face looked like at that moment, because I was shocked, but I do remember finally saying, "No thank you," or "Have a nice day," or something like that, then walking over to the Estee Lauder counter instead.
Another time I let it slip that I love MAC, but I only own a select few of their products and just try to pick the "best of" of a variety of brands to save on money. At the time I actually WAS wearing make-up (nothing fancy: a little L'oreal foundation, some brow filler, black mascara, a bright pigment I'd used as a liner, and concealer), so the woman suddenly decides to move A BARE INCH FROM MY FACE and squint at me. Then she tells me she "can tell," my concealer is "definitely cheap," and if I were "REALLY interested in make-up," I would "know better." (I swear to God, those were her words: "You would know better." EXCUSE ME?!) I was so annoyed that I told her it was actually MAC concealer (and it was) and showed her the compact in my messenger bag, then added that I was using the $150 I apparently "should have" spent on MAC eyeshadows to pay for my GRE, thank you very much. The woman turned BRIGHT RED as soon as she saw the compact, and she walked away, leaving me alone at the counter for a minute until a more reasonable sales lady appeared.
And if there's one thing these women do, it's try to push products I will never use on me. Listen, I know you have to make commission and what not, but if I tell you, emphatically, that I do not want a certain product, you'd better move on to greener pastures before I get annoyed. I can't tell you how many times MAs at this particular MAC counter have seen that I am fair-skinned and tried to push bronzers and darker foundations on me, trying to make me "look sun-kissed" or "lightly tanned," and they would NOT listen to me when I told them I don't use bronzers or spray-on tanner or anything that makes me look darker. (I like being pale, LOL!) The one woman rolled her eyes at me and said, "Well, that's what's IN," and when I mentioned that bleaching your skin is "in" in a number of Asian countries, she just looked annoyed and pulled out ANOTHER BRONZER. I left after that.
I'm sorry, I was unaware I had to wear make-up 24/7, desire a tan, and spend thousands of dollars on MAC products and MAC products alone INSTEAD of paying for my education in order to have an opinion! Let me work on that for you...NOT.
