I have noticed that locally, it is very common for beauty brands to organize beauty makeovers as a form of promotional tool. This could involve a simple makeover with the newest beauty products, or it might be the whole shebang – makeup, hair, glossy superstar photographs etc.
From what I understand, it serves as a good promotional tool because it allows people to try out the products, learn how to use them and allows you to walk away looking good. Well, if its a good makeover at least.
But what say you: Do you enjoy going for beauty makeovers? Do you find them useful?
I personally will say yes and no.
I find these beauty makeovers useful if the makeup artist is a good one and can answer my questions and show you how they apply the makeup to best enhance your features, or explain things as they go along. Every good makeup artist has their own bag of tricks so there is usually something to learn.
I also like it when a makeup artist shows you something different or encourages me to try something different and then show me just how good it can look during a makeover. Granted, a lot is to do with their skills, but it offers me a different perspective on how to use a product or colour. It forces you out of a rut.
Yet, I sometimes find makeovers not very useful if there is nothing new or if the sole purpose is to make you buy things. Some makeup artists can be really pushy and this is more so if they are also doing sales. To be honest, once you’ve gone for a few of these makeovers, it all ends up being the same old, same old. It also takes up a lot of time (at least 1 hour usually to do a full face) so I usually prefer spot touch ups e.g. just demonstrating the eye or lips or skin products. Its also why I prefer not to go for a makeover too often. It makes me jaded and I get bored when there’s nothing new imparted.
I can’t deny that its nice to walk away from a good makeover looking polished and well made up. Its a bonus when you have somewhere nice to go after that 🙂 But most of the time I don’t, so I usually find it looks a bit too much for just wandering around the mall LOL!
On the flipside, I have had terrible makeovers too. I had one once that gave me a foundation shade 2 shades darker and orange, dastardly brows, purple shadow that made my eyes look like they’d been punched, and topped off with an orange blush that looked like I’d tanned only on my cheeks. I felt like I’d been a candidate in clown makeup school. I wish I was brave enough then to tell them to remove it all.
Do you enjoy going for beauty makeovers? What sorts of makeovers do you prefer?
I particularly dislike the ones where you are made up for the camera. You know the super photoshopped professional photo printouts where you made to pose awkwardly with a feather boa around your neck? Its fun the first time, its a waste of time thereafter. To me anyway 😛 I much prefer learning how to do a simple pretty everyday look because that’s what I’d be doing everyday!
Paris B
I once went for the Bobbi Brown Pretty Powerful makeover contest and well… it look BAD. The blush was too pink and the nude pink lippie made me look dead >.<
The last makeover I went to was the Wonder Woman one by MAC. THAT was a good one heh heh ^.^ I remembered that it taught me that green eyeshadows actually worked on me.
Hahaha the danger with nude lipstick is always that of looking like a walking dead. Honestly, I wish they’d stop foisting them onto us. I usually request for a brighter lip colour, no matter what anyone says 😀
Very interesting post. It has been ages since I last went for a beauty makeover. I enjoyed the experience the first time I went even if it meant I had to post like a model and wait for my photo to be photoshopped. LOL. I was just too lazy to go for more of these since like you said it takes up a lot of time and if you have no where to go after the session, it seems such a waste to be all dolled up walking around the mall. I prefer attending makeup workshops which teaches on proper makeup techniques and would probably also allow me to experiment doing makeup on my own with guidance.
I know what you mean about the first time, Victoria! I went for one waaaay back and it was actually a lot of fun although I felt so stiff and awkward. It actually turned out looking quite nice… after the photoshop LOL! 😀 I don’t go for a lot of workshops either because sometimes, some of them are too basic, but I can imagine that the latter is infinitely more useful to the majority since it actually allows you to try and learn, instead of just having someone do the makeup for you.
Hey, that’s Z 🙂
Oh, I never ever go for those sessions where you get your hair and makeup done and then get your photos taken. Like you said, with feather boas and stuff. *cringe* That takes courage. Oh, and then, have people vote for you. That takes even more courage. *applause*
Yeah, that coming from a blogger.
Before I ventured into blogging, I’d shy away from all these things, but now, I’m curious to hear what the makeup artist has to say. Pick up a tip or two, to hear things I already know, and sometimes even finding out the makeup artist is more of an amateur than we bloggers. LOL!
Haha ya, this is an old photo 🙂 Oh the photo competitions thing? Ooh that scares me silly LOL I’d never enter those 😛 I think I prefer talking to a primary makeup artist who usually has the skills and the knowledge to impart, as opposed to the minor artists who sometimes feel like they just want to do their job in silence so they can concentrate. I do have to admire their skills though. I can just about put makeup on myself but rarely on anyone else 😀
I don’t do makeovers at all. First off, and I apologize if this turns people off, but I don’t know where their brushes have been! I know that there are many, many artists there that are diligent about cleaning their brushes, but when you are going to one of those beauty events at dept. stores, where there are lots of people lining up for makeovers, you never know. It’s not that the artist won’t clean their brushes, it’s more about how thoroughly. Secondly, since most are using the testers, I don’t know what the testers have been through. I know my local Sephora looks like a war zone after a weekend, through no fault of their own. Some customers are just gross and don’t think about contamination. (Unfortunately, I’ve seen people snack in the bulk bins at the grocery store, lick their fingers, and then double dip.) Thirdly, I sometimes feel like I’m ready for a cabaret and feel absolutely silly when I walk away from the makeup chair. I would much rather swatch colors on my hand (yes, I will walk around with streaks of color on my hand… I keep handi wipes or lotion in my purse or pocket to remove it after I have a good idea or the color) or take home a little sample and try products out in different forms of lighting, especially foundation. Having said all this, I think I may be tempted if I know the artist, or I have paid someone to do my makeup and they have the time to clean their brushes with cleaner or alcohol and carry products just for use on clients. With so many tutorials, YouTube, books, etc. I would much rather try techniques out at home with my new samples or my own makeup (even if you don’t have the exact colors), then go back a purchase what I need.
I’ll get off my soapbox now.
Totally agree with you… ^_^
You don’t have to apologise, Rose 🙂 I know exactly what you mean, which is why if I have to try a makeover, I go first thing in the morning. This way, I’m the first one in the chair and the first person the brush is used on 😉 A proper makeup artist will ensure that their brushes are properly sanitized and clean and I find that looking at their kit and how they behave is a good indication on how hygienic they are. I’m only really paranoid about mascara because that’s the hardest to sanitize but your fears are perfectly valid ones!
Now that you mentioned this, I realised that I didn’t like any of the makeovers that I’ve gone for!
Once I told the MUA that I wanted a natural look, but when I opened my eyes, ta daaaa, it was too heavy. There was once I did an eye makeover, and when I approached my hubby thereafter, he squinted and asked: “What happened to you??” X_X
hahahahaha!! Funny stories you have there applegal! LOL 🙂
Hahaha I know exactly how you feel! Few people can do “natural” well and then I feel weird walking about with all this heavy makeup on my eyes.
One word: malas.
Haha! To the point! 😉
I don’t think I’ve done one before. I’m not comfortable sitting at the counter and letting the MUA worked his/her/both magic on me. :p
I’m more the experiment-it-at-home type. 🙂
I sometimes like seeing how a MUA will interpret the type of makeup I could use. Some work, many don’t LOL! I have noticed that in Bangkok, many women seem to enjoy makeovers at the counters. Every counter will have at least 1 person having a makeover done! By contrast, we don’t see that happen as often here.
Bangkok ladies are more “ai swee” than us. Uni students already wear heavy makeup!!! How do they find time to study? :p
Maybe due to language barrier, the MUAs don’t speak English well here. So I’d rather consult books and youtubes. And I don’t think there are any famous MUA stationed in the beauty hall near by house. It’s better learn from the real master in the internet. hahaha
Haha yes, I can imagine the language barrier would be a deterrent. And have you noticed the number of young bloggers and youtubers on makeup blogging? I wonder where they find the time! School, college and uni used to take up so much time for me although that said, th Internet was also in its infancy so less distractions 😉
I have!! And the age is getting younger and younger!! Today I stumbled upon a makeup tutorial in youtube, done by a what… 5 or 6 yr old girl. OMG!!! I cannot believe my eyes! Why are they playing with makeups already??!??!!???!!
When I was studying, my mum would constantly brain washed me with “young girls do not need any makeup”, “lipsticks often contain mercury and it makes your lips black”, “foundations make you look older”, “if people are used to seeing you wear foundation and one day you don’t wear it they will think you are sick” etc etc… well these sounded like horror stories then but now I think most of it is true… hahaha… Mums know EVERYTHING!. :p
When I attended my first prom (age 16 or 17), I asked mum to put some makeup on me. All she did was whipped out a sample size lipstick in sheer pink and said: here. This is all you need… And I remembered envying all the other girls with pretty eyes and I looked pale compared to them… >.<
It always used to be the same awkward cycle of – sit down for makeover, suppress horror at being transformed into a show girl, politely resist SA’s insistence on buying multiple products to replicate said show girl image at home and then discreetly sneaking to another counter to steal their MU remover.
Too stressful!! Especially when the makeovers happen over lunch on a work day (I know I know … bad planning)
The only makeovers I do now are with Burberry simply because it is almost impossible to overdo application with their products 🙂 Also it helps that every Burberry SA I’ve met has been absolutely lovely.
Hahaha I love your description, Gwen 😀 I’ve been through that too so I don’t go for makeovers a lot unless its by an international or top MUA. Those are absolutely worth going for because the magic they weave is super impressive! I was a little ho hum about Burberry products before but they are growing on me. As you said, they are hard to overdo and sometimes, that’s what we really need 😀
Nope! I’ve gone and tried but I always leave there looking 10 years older! No thank you!
Oh yes they do have a knack of making us look older than our years… as if we needed that! 😛
i used to love getting makeovers done at counters, but now I don’t do it really anymore… I don’t ever go anywhere, so I feel like it is a waste of makeup and time, lol! plus, it always used to encourage me to impulse buy, so I convinced myself to not do them for a while! I’m better now, but that habit just stuck and i never go for makeovers anymore… 🙂
Oh yes! Here, they sometimes do a “free makeover” with purchase of RMXX worth of vouchers that you can redeem for products. The trick of course is that you will always end up spending more than the voucher value and may as you say, end up with something you don’t want nor need just to use up the voucher. I wised up quite quickly so I don’t do those anymore 😀
I’m not a fan of it but I would love to watch someone else getting theirs done. So, when you next have one, please let me tag along and gawk 😀 What gets to me is when MUAs point out flaw after flaw in my skin and features in the hope that I would purchase that miracle product that will work like a magic wand. B*tch please! *complete with the hand gesture* 😛
Come along! I’ve found that a good MUA will not point out the flaws but will tell you the best way to enhance the complexion. And then there are those who go by the “If I insult her, maybe she’ll have low enough self esteem to buy up my counter” erm… no thank you!
I have had 2 lovely Chanel makeovers done but tbh, i know what colours suit me and they all tend to do what i knew they would, although ok; they never do my eyes the way i like them. I went to have a foundation colour match done by YSL last week. Without asking me the ‘makeup artist’ started taking off my carefully applied makeup. When i started to protest, she said she would put it back on. OMG! She had one cheek darker than the other and i left the shop horrified while rubbing it off my face. Iwould love to have a makeover by a real makeup artist, rather than a sales person with minimal training.
I totally agree with you. Unfortunately, I wanted to try the Chanel Perfection Lumiere foundation and told the woman at the counter I am a B10 and she kept insisting I was a BR30 and I did allow her to swatch a tiny bit on my jawline. (Very rare for me to allow that.) Had the most horrible salmon color on my jaw and couldn’t get it off till I got home and washed my whole face!!
Yes, it does depend on who you get at the time i suppose. I prefer a foundation to match my skin tone exactly and then add bronzers etc to bring some warmth into my face.
I am B20 and 020 in Dior, 2 in Guerlain and NW20 in MAC so anything with 2 in it is good for me. When they start saying 30 i panic
Oh dear, that’s such a horrible experience you had! You hit the nail on the head though when you mentioned a “real makeup artist”. They are the ones who know whats going on and they rarely push sales which is what I appreciate because if I like what I see, chances are, I’d get it anyway!
Hahaha remember that makeup artist at the Stage event we met at for the first time? He got his eyeshadow techniques confused and put the darker eyeshadow on the inner corners of the eye. The poor model looked cross-eyed!
Oh dear yes I do! Haha that was quite a mind boggling time to be honest 😛
They don’t really do makeovers here in my little town. I had one done in Rome once and I really loved the result. The MUA was lovely and very talented. I would love it if we had the chance to have makeovers done in Senigallia too, but only if the MUAs were really good. Otherwise, makeovers could go really bad.
I love having a nice makeover too, it always makes me feel so good 😀 I’m glad you had a good experience, Gio 😀
Hi Paris! Yes and no. No when they don’t seem to know what their doing – I’m half Asian with Asian colouring and I live in Europe, so some MUAs here just cannot get it right with the colours and I end up dying to get home to wash it all off. Another thing I don’t like (which has nothing to do with my features or colouring) is when they pile on way too much foundation and/or eyeshadow and it just looks cakey.
Thankfully other MUA are I’ll be pleased with having learnt something new… oh dear and walking away with a new product, but at least tried on me and that I liked.
Hi there Sofia! 😀 I’ve heard a lot about how European MUA don’t really understand how Asian skin works, so I’m sorry you haven’t had a good experience with makeovers. The good ones can really sell us everything can’t they? And the bad ones? Well, they just turn me off the brand eventually LOL
Most of the time, I love makeovers because I usually learn a lot of tips from the makeup artists … But no, if I don’t like the end result, hihi…. 🙂
I’ve learnt to only go for a makeover if its a proper makeup artist or a visiting international one. Those really know their stuff and we can learn so much!
LOL at Kahani’s comment – gosh that was a long time back! One clear incident comes to mind – first was that SA at Benefit who kept insisting the pink-based “That Gal” would work with my skintone just because she wanted a sale…I ended up looking orangey (quite a nightmare with coral lipstick!), and she still had the audacity to say “it looks fine, so do you want to buy it?” I ended up frantically rubbing it all off before I even left the counter!
Oh Oh! I remember that Benefit incident! OMG you were a bright pink! LOL!!!
Oh, I love love love love it!
To me, it’s more like pamper than anything else. I know how to do my own makeup, but still… I know how to do my own nails, but still… haha!
I do pick up a couple of tips each time, because different artists have different styles and tips and tricks. So I never find makeovers wasted.
That’s great to know, Jyoan 🙂 A good makeup artist can really teach us some time saving tricks or just make us look so much better. I love when I pick up a new trick because sometimes, that makes the difference between a good look and an amazing one! 😀
I hate makeovers simply because the brands hire bad artists who don’t know how to apply makeup based on our facial features. One only had ONE eyeshadow palette (green.. which many people cannot take) and practically one of everything. She caked on the foundation to look better for the camera but forgot I’m still walking around the mall after that. Rushed home immediately to take it all off!
Hahaha oh dear, it sounds like you’ve had some really bad experiences, Isabel! 😀 I know what you mean about caking on the foundation. On the very first time I went for one of these makeovers, they made me up really strongly for the camera. The photo looked great of course (who doesn’t after photoshop right?) but I went straight for dinner thereafter and the whole time, I had these strange looks from everyone around the dining table. It wasn’t until I went to the washroom that I noticed how thick my makeup was. They must have thought I was terribly vain >.<
I did several times.. At first it was ok, after awhile its so uncomfortable when people starts to watch u.. I felt so uneasy.. They usually do a photoshoot (very awkward posing) and ask do u want to touchup the pix after that..i never really like the way the makeover looks.. But the price are reasonable cheap bcoz u could exchange for other stuffs in their brand.. Will i do it again? Hmmm…
OMG yes! I don’t mind people watching the makeover as much as when they stop to gawk at you trying your vainest to strike a pose -_-“” Such a nightmarish experience that I never want to relive 😛