Very dissapointed with MAC makeup artsts

I have to say that I've always had good experiences with the people at MAC, both in the free-standing stores and the counters at Nordstrom, but it has certainly happened to me with other lines! Most notably, Estee Lauder, many years ago, the counter rep. sold me all this expensive stuff -- I'd had a bad day, I think she saw me coming -- and NONE if it was right for my skin type, color, anything! But for some reason in the store, it looked good.

I have had bad experiences there too. They can never match my skin tone (3 artists told me three different shades for me) while I was able to match it right there in front of them in about 20 seconds. Also, they often seem to have a very stuck up attitude. I always wanna be like...."uh yah sure you work for MAC but you're still just a makeup artist, not a astronaut so get over yourself!" I HATE studio fix and if you told them you are acne and oil prone, they should have never suggested it to you!

I really think that a lot of MAC makeup artists are more interested in making a sale than actually giving you good advice. Before purchasing a full size foundation from any brand I always make sure I get a sample first. If they can't give me a sample, then I won't even consider purchasing from them. Foundation is one of those things that you HAVE to try out yourself to really know if it's a good match for you.When it comes to MAC foundations I have to say I'm not much of a fan. I have a few different shades of Face and Body in my kit but that's it. I used to like their Studio Sculpt foundation but it made me break out - luckily I never bought a full size of that, just got a sample. :PGood luck with Everyday Minerals, I like their foundation! It feels great.

bluedevilkitty - Pretty much every single person I know has broken out from Studio Sculpt foundation. I quite like the concealer at the moment, but the foundation is a definite no no. And that's weird because I use the SPF primer and it hasn't made me break out.. Very strange!I have to say I'm quite often disappointed with MAC MUAs, the attitudes some of them have are quite appalling, why would anyone wanna buy anything off someone who is snobby and unhelpful? In saying that I have come across a few who actually knew what they were talking about and were very friendly. :)

I got turned on to the best product that I never would have found on my own from a MAC artist, but agree that they usually aren't so helpful.  I was using MAC Carbon eye shadow for liner.  I would dip my eye liner brush in water, but the liner would not stay in place and I would end up with black smudges under my eyes.  They have a product called "Fix".  It looks like water in a pump bottle, but it has some kind of magic glue (Okay, not glue, but I'm not a chemist and have no idea what the ingredients are) in it that makes the Carbon glide on flawlessly as eye liner.  It allows you to create a fine line that doesn't move or smudge at all.  You don't need to use much shadow, so the eye shadow pot takes forever to use up, unlike eye pencils which get shorter every time you sharpen them.  You can also use Fix to lightly spray on your face to set your foundation or freshen it up.  It is about $14, but well worth it.  I love MAC since they offer the PPID 30% discount for make-up artists, hairdressers, models and actresses. 

New bad experience at MAC: went yesterday to the MAC counter at Nordstrom to exchange my unopened Studio Sculpt foundation for something without dimethicone in it. (I've heard it's the dimethicone in Smashbox Photo Finish primer that breaks people out, and Smashbox PFP definitely broke me out, so I'm avoiding dimethicone like the plague. My acne prone skin is having a hard enough time without me putting comedogenic ingredients on it! My skin is not usually sensitive to anything either....) (I've also heard reports of MAC Studio Sculpt breaking people out). Unfortunately ALL of the MAC foundations have dimethicone in it. So i'm pretty upset about that, because I have a perfect color match, but I'm not going to risk having a breakout over it. Additionally, Fix+ has dimethicone in it. A gal on another board said that for her, it depends on the amount of dimethicone in a product whether it'll break her out or not, but I'd rather not go through the trial and error... After waiting around forever because they didn't have enough staff....I decided to get 2 eyeliners instead, Macroviolet and Sweet sage. Well they were out of Sweet sage. So the saleslady suggested a cream eyeshadow almost identical to sweet sage. I said, alright that's fine. Guess what? Out of stock too. Then I went through their other cream shadows and picked another color. Out of stock. I was getting pretty frustrated (not at the saleslady, but at whoever at that MAC counter was in charge of inventory), and picked a bright blue green cream shadow that I'd use as a liner. It was the LAST ONE in stock. Thank goodness. So I'm not totally happy with my exchange (I want Sweet sage DESPERATELY), but at least I got that foundation off my hands.Sorry that's so long... but man, I don't know if I'll ever go to a MAC counter again. Maybe I'll just check out the products myself, sans the help of a MAC employee, and order them online. It was ridiculous.

A couple of things,I've used MAC since I had to go over into Canada to buy it from NY!!!: I suggest getting on the email list for MAC...that way you are always first to know about the new colors,promotions,and details of what they are offering.The site is amazing...you can also "ask an artist" online and they are awesome in their suggestions if you have a clue as to what you'd like to look like...I usually make a "wish list" and/or print out a "look",go to the store to see what's shakin' there with the colors "in reality" and then order the colors I love online.I usually buy a brush or something because it's only fair to the in-store people.Usually there is free shipping.I find the stand-alone MAC stores to have the most amazing artists: the ones at Nordy's and other locations seem to focus a LOT on "bridal parties" who walk in and want a makeover and I've only had one artist who was truly gifted at our Nordys.They are spread thin in the department stores.They also really work their "magic" if you print out a "look" online from the current collection because then they modify it to suit YOU! I let them get very creative on me (it washes off,LOL!) and I always lean a new trick or tip! You cannot go into a MAC store and say "I want to look natural" if you are really expecting them to show you much that's fresh,I simply don't think that's their "area of expertise!" Go have lashes applied,buy the lashes and be amazed! MAC foundations: horrible for anyone who breaks out,myself included.I have had a Studio Fix powder compact on hand since dinasours roamed the earth because in a hurry,nothing else will cover and make me pretty faster and yes,usually I pay for it with a bump or two,LOL! The stuff is amazing though...the liquids are all very chalky to me and in photographs,look horrible.Stay clear of them if you have any issues and invest in the "fun stuff" and amazing colors they do so well instead! The line was originally for "artists" so to my way of thinking,it's where I go for color and style and not the "best basics..."

Part of the problem (besides maybe they just don';t know how to properly match a foundation!) may be the lighting.  The weird combination of fluorescent and incandescent lighting in department stores is no match for natural light.Always have them pick three shades that are really close to your skin color.  Put them in vertical strips on your jawline, towards the back where your face begings to turn into your neck.  Then take a q-tip and make a horizontal stripe THROUGH the vertical stripe.  If there's a stripe that you literally CAN'T see anymore --- that's the shade you want.  You can't see it because it's your perfect match!

i'm also very hard to match, at the Mac store or inside of Nordstrom the colors always look perfect when i see it there, but when i get home it's different usually have a orange yellow tinge, when i go there i ask i know ask for samples and have still not found the perfect match with their liquid foundations

I used to hate MAC staff. They were so full of them selves that it almost hurt. But Sephora people are the same, MUFE are even worse.About your foundation: foundations that have some degree of powder or are powder based do tend to get orangey and yes, MAC has a hard time matching people's foundations most of the time. In my 1st time there, I got matched as an NC30 and I had to wear the powder I got as a bronzer (can you tell how dark it was for me?). The same happened with my MUFE HD foundation. They wanted to give me a 140, I insisted that it was too dark and the girl, unwillingly, ended up selling what I insisted in getting, a 130 that it's still WAAAAY too dark for me.

I probably look like your snobbish MAC mua, lol;-) (mentioning the black eyeliner, shadow...EVERY day, day AND night, haha). But well, I think they are indeed a bit unfriendly. Thinking "we're better than you, we're MAKEUP-ARTISTS", or something like that. They don't have to wonder if people are afraid to ask or just check the colors out, as some of them already stare you down right when you're walking towards the counter (in a dept. store like Macy's, e.g.). Makes me feel very uncomfortable, but I'm addicted to their eyeshadows. Sometimes I do order online, just to not have to go through the hassle;-).

My friend had a bad experience at the counter stores in Nordstrom. My friend ended up looked trashy. The foundation was too cakey and she looked washed out. yuck.

A funny MAC story - I was chatting with one of the make-up artists and I told him his bracelet was really nice.  He FLIPPED out and told me not to even think of flirting with him, he was gay and in a long-term relationship, and he was sorry to have misled me.I am ashamed to say I laughed uproariously.  He didn't like that very much either, so I'm sure that's why he gave me a really wrong foundation color.I have never been properly matched at MAC anyway - every foundation they've given me has been too dark, too orange, too colorful.  Plus the foundation sinks into and pools in my pores - disgusting!!I do love their lipsticks though.

LOL... MAC and other department stores usually ignore me because most of the times i go there i'm just out of school and have barely any makeup on.. bunch of snobs !.. The one SA who was sooo nice was a woman at one of the counter in shoppers drugmart.. i looked at the same concealer like 3 times and didn't get it because it was $29 and i couldn't spend that then lol.. each time she was so nice. That's how SA's should be.. no pressure.If i want HE i just buy online.

I had a similar experience a few years ago.  I went to MAC and told them I wanted good coverage cause at the time I was breaking out a lot.  They also gave me studio fix and I went on my way.  For me personally the studio fix was too much.  I did end up using it for a while, but when I saw pictures of myself I switched.  I also found that they always put way more makeup on me than I'm comfortable with.  I do wear a lot of makeup, but I don't think it ever really looks like I'm wearing a lot.  When I left that counter it was pretty obvious that I had a couple of thick layers of makeup on.  I am also in the process of finding the right color for me with everyday minerals. I ordered the sample kit along with a few other colors just to make sure I got it right.  So far I actually feel like 2 or 3 of the colors match me pretty well?  There is no sunlight in my bathroom where I apply my makeup, so my next step is to apply it in sunlight to see if I can find my exact shade. 

BlueDevilKitty- there are probably understaffed because MAC is on a hiring freeze that doesn't end until October! Dumb...I know. Maybe they went over budget on training or something...

My Derm says that MAC foundation is really bad for your skin and it clogs your pores. I agree that the MAC ppl have way too much makeup on boys and girls.

MAC is meant to be stage makeup. So it's thick, heavy, and VERY, well, obvious that you're wearing it. People arent meant to see MAC stuff close up, thats not what it was designed for. And most of it gets photoshopped to death by the time a photoshoot is done, so it does look like it blends.EDM is honestly your best bet. I have just found the colours are a bit darker than the pictures in real life.

My first time at a MAC counter was awful.  The salewoman could not find a match for foundation.  Rather than just testing a swatch she would try it on half of my face.  I had to wash my face so many times that it became very red and blotchy.  She also caked on the foundation and it looked terrible.  She told me it was because my skin was dehydrated and I needed to drink more water.  I wear foundation everyday and it doesn't look terrible like it did when she applied it.  Then I asked for her suggestion for a lipstick for work, explaining that I work in a hospital ICU.  She suggested a fire engine red that was completely unprofessional. She couldn't understand why I didn't think it would be appropriate for work.  Since then I have had much better experiences with MAC, but I still really don't like their foundation.  I use EDM now and love it.

@sangus- i hate benefit because i cant stand beinghounded by sales ladies! "leave me and my shadows alone already" I totally agree! I end up leaving with nothin gbecause they try to sell em every product and i get flustered and Im like "i need space" It totally puts me off going there! Am i right in thinking that its normal in the usa for a sales assistant to come "help" while you are trying to shop?