MAC makeover from hell.... and how it quickly turned to heaven

Sparxx

Well-known member
Today I went in to have my makeup done for Duke University's Homecoming Ball, and for some reason, I just knew it wasn't going to go well.

It started off when I met my MUA. She was wearing NO makeup. Literally.... NONE. No foundation no eyeliner no mascara.... NOTHING.

We discussed what look I was going for, and then she ATTEMPTED to match me for foundation... she finally decided on something that seemed too light, and I mentioned it to her and she said it would look fine when it was on. She then proceeded to completely cover my face in it! I felt like it was dripping off of me! It was about 6 shades too light. She tried again, still too light. Finally I walked over and pointed out a shade I thought would work - and it matched.

Then she added blush - I looked ridiculous. I had HUGE pink spots on my cheeks no blending WHATSOEVER. She then wiped it all off and redid my entire foundation.

Now that 30+ minutes had passed she did my lips.... oddly enough (I have always had them done last) The lip liner did not match AT ALL. It was a deep magenta color and I had requested she used the lipstick Angel. At this point I was horrified and asked how long she had been working for Mac, trying to make it seem like a casual conversation. Her answer: "Not too long." I was getting more scared as she began to work on my eyes. (She actually asked another MUA what she should do, I heard the other MUA say line with this color, put this one in her crease)


After about 10 minutes... she was done and applied mascara. I held up the mirror and gasped. I LOOKED LIKE A CLOWN. There was absolutely NO blending whatsoever and she had NOT been able to follow the other MUA's directions. I have no clue how it is possible she was hired at MAC. I began to tear up out of frustration, I was running out of time and I looked ridiculous. I had four spots of color on each eyelid- I wish i had taken a picture to show, words cannot explain how elementary this looked. I was mortified that people actually saw me like this while I was sitting at the counter.

Another MUA (not the previous one) came over and said she was going to takeover (THANK GOD!) while another MUA offered to do my first MUA's makeup (apparently she cannot be trusted with eyeshadows...) the look turned out nice, but not Mac quality - the colors were muted. It was... **sigh** just unfortunate.

My new MUA was willing to work with me, and we tried to fix it...but I had officially had enough. I told her I just wanted to leave and still purchased my $50 worth of products. She let her manager know the situation. The manager said she was going to try and make it up to me. She disappeared to the stock room and came back a few minutes later with something cupped in her hands. She came up smiling saying this was something that had been sold out and is a limited edition... and it was her gift to me for the trouble I went through. She unclasped her hands and there was Eyepopping, a lime green satin eyeshadow from the C-Shock collection of 2007! She said when I redid my eyes tonight, this would be a good color to work with.

She was right, it was the perfect green I had needed! I ended up going home and redoing my entire face.... but it had been worth it.
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milk_tea

Well-known member
aww.. i'm sorry you went through such a horrible experience omg! the manager lady was soo nice to give you eyepopping, its a gorg color i wish i had it!!!
 

Hilly

Well-known member
Nice! Yea I was given a couple of LE leftovers before too from a mac store. If we only knew what was in that stash lol. I am glad it worked out for you!!!
 

Paramnesia

Well-known member
Oh sorry about what happen, but i'm glad it turned out well in the end.

I absolutely love eyepopping, the texture, the colour, how it applies.... everything about it is amazing.
 

MzzRach

Well-known member
How that first MA got hired on at MAC is beyond me. Wow. So glad the manager stepped up to the plate and did what she could to make it up to you.
 

civicbabe627

Well-known member
Aww, I'm sorry that you rmakeover didn't go as expected. I am glad that the manager was able to make it up to you though!
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daffie

Well-known member
I like how they cared enough to offer offer you the eyeshadow! That's good customer service! As for the first MUA, wth??!
 

vocaltest

Well-known member
I hate to sound like the odd one out, but I wouldn't really accept just an eyeshadow for an MA who completely messed it up. I'd tell head office about it. Yes its a nice gesture but it isn't really acceptable. If they know she can't be trusted with eyeshadows, then she shouldn't be working there. You said in the end it was nice but it wasn't MAC quality, it SHOULD be MAC quality, thats what you paid your $50 for. Personally I think its a bit of a cop out really to give you an eyeshadow for your upset over it all. But i'm glad you're okay with it in the end.

p.s that isn't meant in a nasty way to you what I said lol I meant it at the whole situation!
 

aleksis210

Well-known member
I'm so sorry that happened to you! I've only had one makeover at MAC and It was HORRIBLE(I also had a makeover at chanel and it was horrible as well lol After the lady was done my grandma said WOW you looked a lot better w/ out any makeup on!)....Just like you felt, I felt like a CLOWN, and I was mortified that people could see me at the counter...if it makes you feel any better, this lady also applied a way too light foundation on me...not only that, but she went to apply some bronzer or actually I think it was powder for an nc 50 or something(no....I am NOT over exaggerating...) I told her it was going to be way too dark, but she insisted it would go on lighter. Lastly the color she picked to do my eyes was purple, which of course looks DISGUSTING on me...It was some dark purple pigment, she got it all under my eyes and just left it there....when I got home my mom could not stop laughing...(hysterically). I returned the items I purchased the next day telling the MA the story and saying there was no way I was going to pay for something that looked that terrible. There was only one MA there and she was just like ...oh she's new, she's getting better
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...WHATEVER! Let the bitch practice on you then!
 

mizuki~

Well-known member
That's terrible! How the hell did that girl get hired if she can't even do her own face?? I agree with vocaltest, you should email head office.

I had a bad makeover from MAC once. I asked the MUA about liquid liner and she just sat me down and started putting a shitload of crap on my face. It looked terrible! Especially the foundation. Looked like somebody threw my face in a bowl of flour. No lie. I took it all off right after and told her it was because my boyfriend was outside waiting for me and he doesn't like me wearing makeup. I tried to be as nice as I can of course and not soundin like an unappreciating bitch. And of course, I spent over 50 bucks that day anyway. I was soooo embarassed though. There was no way in hell I was letting aybody see me like that. Since then, I don't let anybody touch my face.
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glossygirl

Member
i have never had a good makeover at MAC. they always put a really dark lip liner on me with a light lipstick/gloss. ugh.
 

AdlersMommy22

Well-known member
The only time i had a bad experience @ MAC, I asked the lady to do a really dramatic smokey eye on me-- because my ex was taking me to The Top of the Hub (those of you who live near boston know its a SUPER expensive resteraunt @ the very top of Prudential Towers) for dinner and I really wanted to look GORGEOUS.... well this is her idea of a "really dramatic dark smokey eye"

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See anything dramatic, or smokey, or DARK? Psshhh- yeah.. me either. The only thing dark is my blacktrack fluidline which i applied MYSELF.

she used a blue mineralized eyeshadow me and applied the WHOLE THING wit the 219.... I specifically told her what colors were in my dress and that I wanted it to match...does anyone see blue in that dress? ME EITHER


Blah- im so sorry you had sucha bad expereience.. that REALLY REALLY sucks--- Id def caleld customer service and tell them!
 

sherox

Well-known member
omg that's so horrible! how DID she get hired for MAC?! where are you so I never go to that MAC lol j/k I'm really glad things turned out for the better though! =]
 

abbyquack

Well-known member
Wow...I thought they went through at least a little bit of training before being at the counter, right? And I agree w/ everyone, how she got hired is beyond me! She probably knew the manager or something.

I totally would've accepted the eyeshadow as well, but I agree with vocaltest that more should've been done to remedy the situation. Corporate probably should be contacted, and I would be surprised if the manager doesn't have a word w/ that MA, and most likely, she won't last long over there.

On a similar note, am I the only one who gets annoyed at *some* of the MAs that are just completely incompetent? I know there are a lot of good ones, but there are others who just know NOTHING about MAC. Like I went into my counter the day after Ungaro came out and asked for Pure Rose. The girl was new and didn't know what collection it came from, and went searching aimlessly in like 5 different drawers before telling me she didn't "think" they had that color. I was like "uhhh...are you positive?" and I told her it was from Ungaro and she just said "yes, I think we're sold out"- didn't consult with the other MAs or anything. I didn't make a stink about it even though I was sure they still had it, as it wasn't like THAT popular. WELL, funny how 2 weeks later, I went to the same counter and asked a different MA, and they still had plenty left! I was so annoyed simply b/c she was not competent to ask for help. But it's not just her, I have had a TON of examples like this one. I know they're not going to know every color off the top of their head, but at the same time you do need to know your product and be informed about the new collections. There are even older MAs who just sit around talking to one another and act like it's high school, not a job.

I have to wonder that with all the dedicated MAC lovers, how some MAs don't appreciate their job or the collections? This one good MA has worked at my counter for like 3 years at least, and even she was saying the other day that she still gets excited for the new collections. I don't know how you couldn't, there are a lot of people who would gladly take the job.

Ok rant over!
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emeraldjewels

Well-known member
I am really sorry you had to go through that, she should not be working at MAC.

On the plus side it was really nice of the manager to give you the eyepopping! She should let the first MUA go, its obvious she doesn't know what she's doing.
 

FiestyFemme

Well-known member
Wow, that's terrible! #1) I didn't know people who worked at a makeup counter were allowed to not wear makeup to work, and #2) how did this girl get hired?? I feel bad for her, but dang, she shouldn't be working at a makeup counter. There are plenty of people with lots more skill that would love to work for MAC, you know? Just... wow.
 

coachkitten

Well-known member
I had a similar thing happen at a Stila counter when I was in High School. I had gotten my hair done for a dance and then went to the Nordstroms Stila counter because a friend of my mom's raved about their cosmetics. This was when Stila was pretty new and the MA that I had made me look like I was 16 going on 50. The foundation was caked, blush was too dark & not blended, lip liner too dark for the lipstick, and horrible eye shadow. My mom was horrified when she came to pick me up and told the MA nicely that this isn't the look that I was going for and she wanted it to be fixed. The MA just laughed at me and my mom and said that is what I asked for and she would not fix it. Needless to say my mom complained to a Nordstrom cosmetic manager and I got my makeup redone by CHANEL.

To be honest because of that bad experience I have NEVER purchased anything from Stila. I know that is a little drastic but I just personally have never paid any attention to that brand after that.
 

kimmy

Well-known member
i only had my makeup done at mac once, and i was really pleased with the outcome.

but sheesh, i went to look for a blush one time and i was checking out merrily, the ma said she'd try it on me so i could see if i liked it and she caked that stuff on. i was extremely pale at the time, and she didn't even blend so it was just like a giant reddish pink spot on my ghostly face. she said "here, let me do the other side, to even your look out," and i left the mall looking like a damn clown. i went back to my car and tried to fix it before i continued shopping.

that was really nice of the manager to give you a little something for your experience, though. what a sweetheart!
 

sweetkiss

Active member
are you still supposed to buy $50 worth of products even if the look is horrible and you erase it right after they apply it? o_O but yeah sometimes i wonder what kind of people they hire because the MA that was helping me yesterday didn't really know her products. I asked her for petticoat and she asked me if it was an eyeliner or lip product.
 
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