[circusflavouredgum]

I can see both sides, what the OP was saying and the girl on MM. The MAC artist who was offended might have been so just because as others said there are a lot of people who write off counter artists as not "real" artists.

There are some very talented people who work as counter makeup artists and love makeup but for whatever reasons, aren't getting paid much money to do so (and unless you have the help and financial support of family/parter, work tends to be sporadic in the beginning unless you're extremely lucky when you work as a freelance artist) so they take on a retail job where they can at least keep in practise with their skills.

That being said there are many people in all lines (yes even MAC!) who don't have a clue about makeup but are good salespeople and have the right "look" that the hiring manager feels will represent the brand image.

I myself do both, work in a department store sometimes for $$ and have worked as a freelance artist for close to 15 years. I was also fired from MAC for not making numbers after almost 6 years.

So I can totally see the OP's point, I myself ultimately would love to make as much money just freelancing and not have to work behind the counter anymore. Not that there's anything wrong with it at all if you enjoy it but personally my goal is to work for myself as a freelance artist and not be tied to any ONE company. I don't particularly enjoy the sales aspect of doing makeup behind the counter, so I don't find it as fulfilling.

Some people are numbers, sales, and business minded..they might not feel "stuck" in that type of job and might find it really interesting. That's cool, just not my thing.