Oh goodness I've been swindled more than once when it comes to Dept. store muas. I live in San Jose (if you ever come down here) so heres my advice if you come down to the dept. stores in this area:
Nordstrom Valley Fair: I haven't had a great exp. with any of the MUAs at any of the counters there. They are all very snobby, in my opinion.
Macy's Oakridge Mall: I love the Benefit ladies, the Clinique girls, and I looove the M.A.C muas there! They are so nice.
Macy's Valley Fair: Hit or miss. Half the counters are nice, but the other half is pushy and/or snobby.
I think it depends more on how you handle the situation. You can tell right away the attitude of a person, especially toward you. If they ignore you or act like you're not important, don't let them do your makeup. Follow your gut on this! I've been walked over by many muas just because I'm nice and didn't want to be mean. Also, try to do your homework before you go to a counter. If a mua knows you're not familiar with a line, it's easier for them to swindle you into falling for it. Sadly, you can't always go to a counter clueless, otherwise you're more prone to be taken advantage of.
Try and have a look in mind before hand, and have a strong will.
If you're willing to go to San Fran, try going to SonRisa! I'm not sure which counter she works at, but shes a MAC mua over there and has done fabulous FOTDs.
Hope this helped in some way!
