desireformakeup
New member
Hello Beautiful People
I joined Specktra for all the support, help and information it gave me for my Mac interview and Demo Process! So for everyone who maybe applying for Mac Cosmetics, I want to share my experience in detail and preferably be a help to anyone who maybe confused about the way it goes.
In advance, this is going to be really detailed so if you get bored reading, you might as-well stop here. I am NOT a professional, or a senior make-up artist, so if I mention anything wrong, feel free to correct me
Before you scroll down:
If you want to pluck the courage and apply for Mac Cosmetics, start reading from here.
If you want to read my detailed experience, current status and some useful information you could use in your interview simplified, scroll down further!
SO! HERE WE GO <3
HOW I FOUND OUT THE JOB OFFER
Three weeks ago, I saw an advert on indeed.com for a Mac Cosmetics Retail Artist position open for recruiting. It was a open day that you can get invited to if they like your CV.
WHAT YOU CAN INCLUDE ON YOUR CV TO STAND OUT
I suggest people who love make-up and would like to work for MAC, is to somehow get some sort of experience in make-up such as:
-Volunteering in make-up events like colleges, schools, charities
-Try freelancing. Bring people you know like friends or family, apply their make-up to the best standard you can possibly do to show your skills. Try finding people who have different skin tones, different face shapes as well as applying different looks like day make-up, night make-up, special occasion make-up (wacky freestyle sh*t
) then take pictures on a good quality camera (Nikon?). Just pick the best pictures that show your artistic skills to make your portfolio. Maybe upload it on a site like Flickr, or print them out and place them in a neat black file (black is an artists colour 
).
After this, you will get offers to be hired by people who are close to you- and eventually word will spread out. It did for me!
->TIP Whenever you've finished with a client, just take a picture of the finishing result- eyes closed & opened, side view etc. If by any chances your a total beginner you can watch Youtube make-up tutorials on how to perfect your skills & techniques. PRACTICE PRACTICE PRACTICE.
-Go to a beauty school, Make-up classes etc. (Only to the ones that could possibly give you good experience (highly recommended ones AND obtaining a certificate at the end of the course)
-If you want to specifically get into Mac Cosmetics, get some retail experience. Even if its in Boots Pharmacy, or Topshop . . . etc
So. when you've reached this stage, you can put a perfect CV in the making. Just make your CV simple, but standing out like a Make-up artist / Beauty Student CV. Retail is always a must on your CV because you will ALWAYS need to sell products whilst working at a Cosmetic store. So be prepared with customer service.
BTW, if you plan to apply for high range products such as Chanel, Burberry etc. They require a minimum 2-3 years experience in Beauty Consultancy or Retail. So I suggest you get applying into some sort of job that relates to beauty involving customer service which would really look good on your CV.
APPLYING FOR MAC COSMETICS
OKAY. so now you have the CV out the way, and your ready to apply.
I'm from the UK (England, London), so I'm not sure if the process is any different anywhere else but I will explain how my process went. So, after I sent my CV, I got an instant reply the next day from the recruiter inviting me for a open interview (group interview).
I prepared myself by watching MANY Youtube videos of girls who also shared their experiences which really educated me. I fully prepared myself with a 100% BLACK OUTFIT two days later I received the email as I was SO SO SO excited. I bought a black sleeveless shirt with sequins at the collar, black pencil skirt, black tights with plain black dolly shoes.
On the day of the interview, it was on the 2nd of April at Estee Lauder Companies. It was like a office type place. I had my hair in a bun, my make-up was on point- Greyish smoky eyes, peachy cheeks, brows defined, mocha on my lips and full mac base. I entered and there was MANY other girls which arrived at 10am in the morning. We were sit to wait, and in no time a senior manger came out and warming invited us into the interview room. The room had four tables with interviewers on each of the tables. I sat down at the first table I saw. The interview was really informal. She asked me to sit down and I made sure to sit up and avoid folding my arms or legs. She offered me water and asked me:
-So why Mac?
-What do you know about Mac?
-What are you wearing on your Face?
-What experience do you have in Make-up?
-Have you worked in Retail before?
-What do you know about latest trends and fashion?
-Where do you see yourself in Mac in the future?
Things you SHOULD revise for this:
-Mac is the worlds most influential company in the make-up industry. It is recognized worldwide by pop culture, trends, consumers etc
-Mac is open to all races, ages, sexes
-Mac is the ONLY company that supports Charity;
1)VIVA GLAM - specially formulated line, all the money goes towards charity for HIV/AIDS
2)BAC 2 MAC - Recycling, 6 items you can give back to mac and receive a free lipstick or lipglass
-Mac was established in 1984 by Frank Toskan and Frank Angelo
-Mac was bought by Estee Lauder in 1995 as Estee Lauder is the mother of all companies.
And as for the rest of the questions they ask, if you genuinely have the love and interest for make-up, especially for Mac, then you shouldn't have a problem. Be happy, bubbly, friendly but professional at the same time. TIP: Compliment the interviewer- don't over do it though. Ask them questions, like "Is there a possibly I can build my career in MAC to a more senior position? . . .
After this, you should be pulled through to the demo process! (Which I had today
)
MAKE-UP DEMO PROCESS
Today, the 15th of April I had my Make-up Demo. I wore a black sleeveless peplum top, black midi skirt, black tights and black dollys. My hair was curled & tied back just from the top to keep my fringes out the way. As for my make-up, I did a subtle smoky eye, brows defined, stubborn on my cheeks with viva glam 2 on my lips. I went in and there was a table with names of people they pulled through to the second process (8 of us). I sat down, and the make-up trainer briefly explained how to sanitize the products before applying it onto the consumer. She mentioned:
- Lipsticks and lip pencils - dip into alcohol & wipe it gently on a tissue. Apply with a disposable lip brush
- Eye-shadow, powders - Place a tissue on top of the powder, and hold it down with your palm and twist it to take the top layer of powder of for it to be clean to use
- Sanitize your hands before you start
- Any squeezable items such as primer, foundation, eye primer/cream, squeezable lip gloss - squeeze onto petri dish and apply with a brush
I had 5 minutes to gather EVERYTHING together. The managers were really friendly which made most of us feel relaxed. They had the radio playing- so the atmosphere was tension free. I kept the work station organized (laying tissue down on the surface, putting brushes in a chronological order of use, placing all products together in order of use such as primer, foundation, concealer and setting powder together, keeping q tips and disposable wands out). We were are to do a NATURAL look (BTW they can ask you to do other things such as copy a facechart, copy a make-up look off a magazine, ask the person your working on what they want etc), so before I ran to get the products, I asked the girl I was working on two important questions:
-What skin type are you? Oily? Dry? Combination?
-What type of finishing look are you after? Dewy? Demi-matte? Shiney or Glowy?
-I also asked her to show me her wrists- Blue purple veins? Cool tones (NW) , Green veins? Warm tones (NC)
If you have a selection of foundations to choose from, I suggest the easiest way to choose the foundations are:
DRY SKIN - Mineralised Skinfinish - it contains minerals and vitamins, it keeps the skin moisturised. it has a smooth application, with light coverage leaving the skin hydrated.
OILY SKIN - Studio fix fluid - oil control, smooth application, medium to high coverage, build-able , matte finish , lasts 8 hours
COMBINATION SKIN - MatchMaster - demi-matte , medium to high coverage , fits skin perfectly with right colour , smooth application
The girl I worked on wanted a shiny dewy type of finish. She had porcelain white skin, with marks from acne. I asked her what colour she usually wears and it was a NW 20. So, to make this short, this was the order I had used to complete the make-up look:
- Squeezed out the P&P Skin base on a Petri dish, used the 188 brush to gently massaged it onto her skin ( I explained that by doing this is will avoid her pores getting clogged up by the make-up, it blurs imperfections, it keeps your skin moisturised, it gives a silky feel, it reduces oil production)
- I squeezed the MSF onto the Petri dish and took the same 188 brush, utilizing limited brushes and blended it explaining the benefits of the product
- I scooped out the concealer with a cotton bud and placed it onto the dish, and applied it with a real techniques foundation brush also advising her to pat it on rather than rub it on to achieve the full benefits of the product
- I applied the setting powder (sets the foundation) , contour (in a 3 on each side of the face teaching her how to do so) then blush!
- Moving onto the eyes, I used the same concealer brush I used for the concealer & used it to apply the P&P eye cream/primer. then smoothed it out with my fingers (make sure you ask the person your working on if she minds you touching their face)
-I applied a light base (like Shroom) all over the lid up to the brow bone to highlight and define the brow . Then took a darker brown and blended it from the outer corner of the eye along the crease . Then I put a lighter colour in the middle of the lid , and blended it in.
- I filled the brows with a pencil which didn't turn out so good as the colour I had grabbed didn't suit. But I managed to make it look natural by using the 263 brush .
- I used a disposable eye-liner wand and applied liner which also didn't turn out as well as I expected as I had 10 minutes left to finish. I was rushing to finish!
-At this point I was rushing, I grabbed a disposable mascara wand and applied mascara to the lashes- explaining as I'm doing so.
- Grabbing a lip pencil & lipstick which I sanitized very quickly- I applied it in no time
- Lastly spraying fix+ with what time I had left!
At this point, I actually thought I didn't do a good job in my application of the liner, mascara & brows (the girl I did the brows on said she liked the brows but I personally didn't like the colour but I managed to work with it). As well as that, the blush I applied wasn't as visible as I thought it would be.
After this, photographs where taken of the finished day look. Then, we were assigned a night look transformation in the time of 10 minutes! We had 5 minutes to grab 3 colours. I took the same 2 light shades of brown with a more darker black/brown and applied it on. This didn't go as well as I thought too! I was still talking and explaining what I was doing- but the end result didn't go well as I planned. Briefly after 10 minutes was up, we had to put our brushes down & the make-up trainer came around to everyone's station to critic our make-up skills. She had told me I needed to even out the shadow to make it look symmetrical & I openly confessed I needed to do so and there's always room for improvement. I took her critic as a learning opportunity which is really important to do. Accept their views! As well as applying more concealer to make the eyes stand out. We had another 5 more minutes to do anything we would like to change. I spent time fixing the shadow till I felt it was close to standard. I quickly grabbed more contour and blush as well as a highlighter- and applied it. We had another round of pictures, cleaned and packed up. It was FINALLY FINISHED! The manager said if we don't get a phone-call by Thursday- consider yourself unsuccessful! Lastly, I had a word with the manager at the end asking her if she had my correct mobile number & if she could give me any further critic on my make-up application & how I did!
FEW TIPS & THINGS YOU MAYBE ASKED IN THE DEMO!
-Who is your make-up inspiration?
-So why Mac?
-What do you know about Mac?
-What are you wearing on your Face?
-What experience do you have in Make-up?
-Have you worked in Retail before?
-What do you know about latest trends and fashion?
-Where do you see yourself in Mac in the future?
-What type of trends are in season?
-Would you wear different colour make-up? eg. blue lipstick, neon colour shadows . . .
END NOTE
I'm SO SO SO anxious! I feel my application & make-up skills wasn't as good as I planned! I'm usually so on point with make-up application with my freelance clients, but I have a slight performance anxiety but nonetheless I think I did OK? -I mostly was emphasizing on the teaching, talking + selling the product. So I HOPE HOPE HOPE I get the job!
If I don't get the job. . .then I guess its not the end of world
I wish you all the BEST OF LUCK!
And I hope you found this information useful!
I'm sorry if my grammar or spelling is wrong- this took AGES to write up!
S.K
I joined Specktra for all the support, help and information it gave me for my Mac interview and Demo Process! So for everyone who maybe applying for Mac Cosmetics, I want to share my experience in detail and preferably be a help to anyone who maybe confused about the way it goes.
In advance, this is going to be really detailed so if you get bored reading, you might as-well stop here. I am NOT a professional, or a senior make-up artist, so if I mention anything wrong, feel free to correct me
Before you scroll down:
If you want to pluck the courage and apply for Mac Cosmetics, start reading from here.
If you want to read my detailed experience, current status and some useful information you could use in your interview simplified, scroll down further!
SO! HERE WE GO <3
HOW I FOUND OUT THE JOB OFFER
Three weeks ago, I saw an advert on indeed.com for a Mac Cosmetics Retail Artist position open for recruiting. It was a open day that you can get invited to if they like your CV.
WHAT YOU CAN INCLUDE ON YOUR CV TO STAND OUT
I suggest people who love make-up and would like to work for MAC, is to somehow get some sort of experience in make-up such as:
-Volunteering in make-up events like colleges, schools, charities
-Try freelancing. Bring people you know like friends or family, apply their make-up to the best standard you can possibly do to show your skills. Try finding people who have different skin tones, different face shapes as well as applying different looks like day make-up, night make-up, special occasion make-up (wacky freestyle sh*t
).After this, you will get offers to be hired by people who are close to you- and eventually word will spread out. It did for me!
->TIP Whenever you've finished with a client, just take a picture of the finishing result- eyes closed & opened, side view etc. If by any chances your a total beginner you can watch Youtube make-up tutorials on how to perfect your skills & techniques. PRACTICE PRACTICE PRACTICE.
-Go to a beauty school, Make-up classes etc. (Only to the ones that could possibly give you good experience (highly recommended ones AND obtaining a certificate at the end of the course)
-If you want to specifically get into Mac Cosmetics, get some retail experience. Even if its in Boots Pharmacy, or Topshop . . . etc
So. when you've reached this stage, you can put a perfect CV in the making. Just make your CV simple, but standing out like a Make-up artist / Beauty Student CV. Retail is always a must on your CV because you will ALWAYS need to sell products whilst working at a Cosmetic store. So be prepared with customer service.
BTW, if you plan to apply for high range products such as Chanel, Burberry etc. They require a minimum 2-3 years experience in Beauty Consultancy or Retail. So I suggest you get applying into some sort of job that relates to beauty involving customer service which would really look good on your CV.
APPLYING FOR MAC COSMETICS
OKAY. so now you have the CV out the way, and your ready to apply.
I'm from the UK (England, London), so I'm not sure if the process is any different anywhere else but I will explain how my process went. So, after I sent my CV, I got an instant reply the next day from the recruiter inviting me for a open interview (group interview).
I prepared myself by watching MANY Youtube videos of girls who also shared their experiences which really educated me. I fully prepared myself with a 100% BLACK OUTFIT two days later I received the email as I was SO SO SO excited. I bought a black sleeveless shirt with sequins at the collar, black pencil skirt, black tights with plain black dolly shoes.
On the day of the interview, it was on the 2nd of April at Estee Lauder Companies. It was like a office type place. I had my hair in a bun, my make-up was on point- Greyish smoky eyes, peachy cheeks, brows defined, mocha on my lips and full mac base. I entered and there was MANY other girls which arrived at 10am in the morning. We were sit to wait, and in no time a senior manger came out and warming invited us into the interview room. The room had four tables with interviewers on each of the tables. I sat down at the first table I saw. The interview was really informal. She asked me to sit down and I made sure to sit up and avoid folding my arms or legs. She offered me water and asked me:
-So why Mac?
-What do you know about Mac?
-What are you wearing on your Face?
-What experience do you have in Make-up?
-Have you worked in Retail before?
-What do you know about latest trends and fashion?
-Where do you see yourself in Mac in the future?
Things you SHOULD revise for this:
-Mac is the worlds most influential company in the make-up industry. It is recognized worldwide by pop culture, trends, consumers etc
-Mac is open to all races, ages, sexes
-Mac is the ONLY company that supports Charity;
1)VIVA GLAM - specially formulated line, all the money goes towards charity for HIV/AIDS
2)BAC 2 MAC - Recycling, 6 items you can give back to mac and receive a free lipstick or lipglass
-Mac was established in 1984 by Frank Toskan and Frank Angelo
-Mac was bought by Estee Lauder in 1995 as Estee Lauder is the mother of all companies.
And as for the rest of the questions they ask, if you genuinely have the love and interest for make-up, especially for Mac, then you shouldn't have a problem. Be happy, bubbly, friendly but professional at the same time. TIP: Compliment the interviewer- don't over do it though. Ask them questions, like "Is there a possibly I can build my career in MAC to a more senior position? . . .
After this, you should be pulled through to the demo process! (Which I had today
MAKE-UP DEMO PROCESS
Today, the 15th of April I had my Make-up Demo. I wore a black sleeveless peplum top, black midi skirt, black tights and black dollys. My hair was curled & tied back just from the top to keep my fringes out the way. As for my make-up, I did a subtle smoky eye, brows defined, stubborn on my cheeks with viva glam 2 on my lips. I went in and there was a table with names of people they pulled through to the second process (8 of us). I sat down, and the make-up trainer briefly explained how to sanitize the products before applying it onto the consumer. She mentioned:
- Lipsticks and lip pencils - dip into alcohol & wipe it gently on a tissue. Apply with a disposable lip brush
- Eye-shadow, powders - Place a tissue on top of the powder, and hold it down with your palm and twist it to take the top layer of powder of for it to be clean to use
- Sanitize your hands before you start
- Any squeezable items such as primer, foundation, eye primer/cream, squeezable lip gloss - squeeze onto petri dish and apply with a brush
I had 5 minutes to gather EVERYTHING together. The managers were really friendly which made most of us feel relaxed. They had the radio playing- so the atmosphere was tension free. I kept the work station organized (laying tissue down on the surface, putting brushes in a chronological order of use, placing all products together in order of use such as primer, foundation, concealer and setting powder together, keeping q tips and disposable wands out). We were are to do a NATURAL look (BTW they can ask you to do other things such as copy a facechart, copy a make-up look off a magazine, ask the person your working on what they want etc), so before I ran to get the products, I asked the girl I was working on two important questions:
-What skin type are you? Oily? Dry? Combination?
-What type of finishing look are you after? Dewy? Demi-matte? Shiney or Glowy?
-I also asked her to show me her wrists- Blue purple veins? Cool tones (NW) , Green veins? Warm tones (NC)
If you have a selection of foundations to choose from, I suggest the easiest way to choose the foundations are:
DRY SKIN - Mineralised Skinfinish - it contains minerals and vitamins, it keeps the skin moisturised. it has a smooth application, with light coverage leaving the skin hydrated.
OILY SKIN - Studio fix fluid - oil control, smooth application, medium to high coverage, build-able , matte finish , lasts 8 hours
COMBINATION SKIN - MatchMaster - demi-matte , medium to high coverage , fits skin perfectly with right colour , smooth application
The girl I worked on wanted a shiny dewy type of finish. She had porcelain white skin, with marks from acne. I asked her what colour she usually wears and it was a NW 20. So, to make this short, this was the order I had used to complete the make-up look:
- Squeezed out the P&P Skin base on a Petri dish, used the 188 brush to gently massaged it onto her skin ( I explained that by doing this is will avoid her pores getting clogged up by the make-up, it blurs imperfections, it keeps your skin moisturised, it gives a silky feel, it reduces oil production)
- I squeezed the MSF onto the Petri dish and took the same 188 brush, utilizing limited brushes and blended it explaining the benefits of the product
- I scooped out the concealer with a cotton bud and placed it onto the dish, and applied it with a real techniques foundation brush also advising her to pat it on rather than rub it on to achieve the full benefits of the product
- I applied the setting powder (sets the foundation) , contour (in a 3 on each side of the face teaching her how to do so) then blush!
- Moving onto the eyes, I used the same concealer brush I used for the concealer & used it to apply the P&P eye cream/primer. then smoothed it out with my fingers (make sure you ask the person your working on if she minds you touching their face)
-I applied a light base (like Shroom) all over the lid up to the brow bone to highlight and define the brow . Then took a darker brown and blended it from the outer corner of the eye along the crease . Then I put a lighter colour in the middle of the lid , and blended it in.
- I filled the brows with a pencil which didn't turn out so good as the colour I had grabbed didn't suit. But I managed to make it look natural by using the 263 brush .
- I used a disposable eye-liner wand and applied liner which also didn't turn out as well as I expected as I had 10 minutes left to finish. I was rushing to finish!
-At this point I was rushing, I grabbed a disposable mascara wand and applied mascara to the lashes- explaining as I'm doing so.
- Grabbing a lip pencil & lipstick which I sanitized very quickly- I applied it in no time
- Lastly spraying fix+ with what time I had left!
At this point, I actually thought I didn't do a good job in my application of the liner, mascara & brows (the girl I did the brows on said she liked the brows but I personally didn't like the colour but I managed to work with it). As well as that, the blush I applied wasn't as visible as I thought it would be.
After this, photographs where taken of the finished day look. Then, we were assigned a night look transformation in the time of 10 minutes! We had 5 minutes to grab 3 colours. I took the same 2 light shades of brown with a more darker black/brown and applied it on. This didn't go as well as I thought too! I was still talking and explaining what I was doing- but the end result didn't go well as I planned. Briefly after 10 minutes was up, we had to put our brushes down & the make-up trainer came around to everyone's station to critic our make-up skills. She had told me I needed to even out the shadow to make it look symmetrical & I openly confessed I needed to do so and there's always room for improvement. I took her critic as a learning opportunity which is really important to do. Accept their views! As well as applying more concealer to make the eyes stand out. We had another 5 more minutes to do anything we would like to change. I spent time fixing the shadow till I felt it was close to standard. I quickly grabbed more contour and blush as well as a highlighter- and applied it. We had another round of pictures, cleaned and packed up. It was FINALLY FINISHED! The manager said if we don't get a phone-call by Thursday- consider yourself unsuccessful! Lastly, I had a word with the manager at the end asking her if she had my correct mobile number & if she could give me any further critic on my make-up application & how I did!
FEW TIPS & THINGS YOU MAYBE ASKED IN THE DEMO!
-Who is your make-up inspiration?
-So why Mac?
-What do you know about Mac?
-What are you wearing on your Face?
-What experience do you have in Make-up?
-Have you worked in Retail before?
-What do you know about latest trends and fashion?
-Where do you see yourself in Mac in the future?
-What type of trends are in season?
-Would you wear different colour make-up? eg. blue lipstick, neon colour shadows . . .
END NOTE
I'm SO SO SO anxious! I feel my application & make-up skills wasn't as good as I planned! I'm usually so on point with make-up application with my freelance clients, but I have a slight performance anxiety but nonetheless I think I did OK? -I mostly was emphasizing on the teaching, talking + selling the product. So I HOPE HOPE HOPE I get the job!
If I don't get the job. . .then I guess its not the end of world
I wish you all the BEST OF LUCK!
And I hope you found this information useful!
I'm sorry if my grammar or spelling is wrong- this took AGES to write up!
S.K
