MAC seems to hire for all different kinds of reasons, not just makeup experience. I've only been to one interview so far, but from what i learned, you might only need a stand-out personality to get hired. I was told that they used to hire just for makeup skills but they found that sometimes they ended up lacking in other areas (personality, sales...).
Whether or not you have past m/up experience though, I was told you'd get trained by them anyways in their own school. I would think that it helps keep the experience consistent throught the stores (hygiene, procedure, product knowledge...).
It doens't hurt to try and if it ends up that they thought you needed more experience, then you can cross that bridge when you come to it.
Some of the people interviewing us (group interview) had NO makeup experience when they started but now they're up in the ranks.
I would think knowledge and experience would be helpful, but just know that it's easier to teach makeup than it is to teach a good attitude. It might (appear to ) be different depending where you are, but where I am that seems to be the feel of it.
