This Is What It’s Really Like To Be The Person Actually Selling You Makeup

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It’s more stressful than one would imagine it is. The majority of our work must take place in the background. You would never see lineups or piles of returns when compared to the rest of the store where we’re stationed. We get paid to wear makeup each day and look good while closed off from the ambient madness and chatter.

In reality, nothing we do is enough when we’re selling. When we ended our free gift with purchase this month we were $2,000 short of our specified target. The whole reason for that was the stock no one sent us… and in spite of that fact they withheld our incentives. Of the $56,000 we sold of their products, L’Oreal couldn’t cough up a few gift cards to thank us. We get blamed if our clients don’t answer their phones and if they can’t afford to spend hundreds on crème, it appears we’re not being persuasive enough.

We’re supposed to harass all our clients by phone for pre-orders, appointments, promotions, and galas. If you have ever been offered to be in our file, we were secretly hoping to snag a new number. I’m astonished whenever their husband or sister who’s come to the phone has been asked to assure us they won’t like our offer.

If that’s you keep in mind that you gave us your number and that if we had a choice, we would not want to call you. Rather than hiding behind other people, avoiding your phone, you could just ask us to get taken out of our book.

I’ve seen people come in to receive their free gift and refuse to spend more than they’d have to to get it. First, they would ask for the price of the powder. If the price is too high, they move on to mascaras. If the price is too low, they move up to the shadows and then they would keep trying until they find something that works. When we notice you bounce between items like this, we can’t help but to think that your logic is flawed.

Once you tailor your purchase to get your free gift, it’s not free anymore…you are paying to get it! It is free when you come to replenish your products. If you don’t leave with products you first had in mind (like a cleanser instead of high-coverage powder), you’ll receive your free gift but for $35. And so what if the powder costs $51? Is it worth buying something you don’t really want to avoid over-paying for sample-sized products?

I would also advise against trying our products for the first time at home and assuming that you can exchange them forever. You see testers, all colors and alcohol spray. We have beauty advisors that offer to help you. We’ll refund any products that made you break out but it isn’t our fault if you don’t like the color. Not that you care, but we can never re-sell them. You’re returning a shirt, that’s okay. No one knows it.

It’s all right if the necklace you wore isn’t scratched. Do you know what becomes of used skin care and makeup? They’re considered a loss and sent back to the warehouse. No one is going to buy a used product from us and we can’t even sell it to people for hygienic reasons. While it’s true you’re insured for reactions or lack of results, if you don’t try our testers it’s merely your fault.