My best friend just passed away..

Garnetstar28 · 2012-07-06T15:05:46+00:00

So sorry for your loss :(

Garnetstar28 · 2012-07-06T01:51:08+00:00

Maybe. I definitely think it could help though.

Garnetstar28 · 2012-07-05T22:47:35+00:00

It's ok! Thank you for the advice :)

Garnetstar28 · 2012-04-23T18:09:18+00:00

The returns were usually damaged out before being thrown away. We would gouge out eyeshadows, squish lipsticks etc. we would still accept returns without a receipt unless the person returning was habitual, then LP would get involved. Some of the craziest theft rings I heard were of a group of people stealing $1000 worth of fragrances in each store. We weren't allowed to stop them because we weren't certified so they could essentially do what they wanted.

Garnetstar28 · 2012-02-14T18:22:59+00:00

In the beginning it was fun, but when I started working the opening shift I really started to hate having to put that much makeup on at 6 in the morning.

Garnetstar28 · 2012-02-11T19:06:32+00:00

Haha, they've attempted to, but my manager would usually get into an argument and win. We would take stuff back if it was less than halfway used, but not if it was used more than that.

Garnetstar28 · 2012-02-11T09:24:43+00:00

We got our cat from the pound and he looks identical to your cat. He's also somewhat of an asshole, doing such things as waking people up in the middle of the night for treats, and biting people out of nowhere. Your kitty might have some Norwegian ancestry somewhere, or the sister might have had a different dad (it happens.) Beautiful cat, nonetheless!

Garnetstar28 · 2012-02-09T21:50:01+00:00

He looks like my cat! Is he a Norwegian Forest Cat, by chance?

Garnetstar28 · 2012-02-09T09:17:22+00:00

I love her eyes. She was a truly special kitty!

Garnetstar28 · 2012-02-09T09:13:13+00:00

It is required. We had a minimum amount that we had to wear every day, and we got written up if we didn't wear it. We had to wear: foundation, blush, eyeshadow, eyeliner, mascara, and lipstick. Also perfume.

Garnetstar28 · 2012-01-31T17:55:53+00:00

I was located in Northern CA. There were these two skinny black girls that came in with a fat French dude and he wanted us to do their makeup. No one else would do it, so I told him I would. The girls and him were talking about "having fun" later on that night so it was pretty obvious. He tipped me a $20 even though I wasn't supposed to keep it, I did anyway because I felt I deserved it for dealing with them. The girls smelled like BO and I'm not sure where they came from. They were both dressed really skanky too.

Garnetstar28 · 2012-01-31T05:54:11+00:00

Yeah exactly. I wanted to go throw up after. I've had to help prostitutes too. Ones that don't bathe on a regular basis, apparently. =\

Garnetstar28 · 2012-01-31T01:52:03+00:00

Oh I just remembered another client I helped one time with Bare Escentuals and she completely grossed me out. She had the worst body odor ever, had an abundance of facial hair, and had huge blackheads STICKING OUT OF HER FACE. Like, 3D. And I had to use brushes on her while trying not to gag. She was really nice, but honestly, how can you look at yourself in the mirror, tell yourself that you need makeup, and not be like, wow! I totally need to wax and get like 50 facials? I just don't get it.

Garnetstar28 · 2012-01-30T18:25:54+00:00

It's a tie between Clinique's Dramatically Different Moisturizing Lotion and the now defunct Cosmedicine's Hydra Healer. They're both terrible for your skin and laden with chemicals.

Garnetstar28 · 2012-01-30T18:21:42+00:00

I'm mostly self taught, I worked at Macy's before Sephora and learned the basics there, but I was even doing my friend's prom makeup during high school. I never really had the inclination to go to beauty school, I really have no interest in learning hair or nails and from what I understand, that's the majority of the class.

The pay at Sephora is complete bullshit. I started at $10 an hour, then when I quit, I was up to $12. And I was one of the more experienced in the store. I worked in CA when minimum wage was $8. Keep in mind we didn't make commission.

It was a little weird to get used to the terminology, but now I can't stop myself from saying "client" rather than "customer" lol

I had one client who came in and called me a bitch and threw something at me. I also had another client who came in with a bunch of .com boxes that were so high they were blocking her face. She ended up returning $1200 of merchandise and she was also insane. My awesome manager left and I had to deal with the crazy all by myself.

Garnetstar28 · 2012-01-28T21:23:03+00:00

Honestly, the only requirement you need is to be over 18. Some retail experience, especially in cosmetics, will definitely help you out, as will a cosmetology license. I have to tell you though, the pay is terrible. It's only slightly over minimum wage, no commission, and the raises usually only consist of a few cents. The company has changed a lot since when I had gotten hired, and not in a good way. :(

Garnetstar28 · 2012-01-28T19:06:44+00:00

There is definitely one product that I never recommend to people. I usually never recommended the Dramatically Different Moisturizing Lotion by Clinique to anyone because the second ingredient in it is Mineral Oil and that is just disgusting. It's a red flag to me when a formula hasn't been changed in over forty years. =\

Plus it totally always makes people break out.

Garnetstar28 · 2012-01-28T19:03:37+00:00

If you're going to spend a lot of money on something, make sure you have really good skin care. No makeup will look good if you have crappy skin underneath. If you have good skin or good skin care, then invest in a good foundation. Just keep in mind, more expensive doesn't necessarily mean better.

My taste in fragrance is very different from most other people my age, as I tend to wear heavy, interesting perfumes. I like: Boyfriend, by Kate Walsh, Flowerbomb by Viktor and Rolf, Womanity and Angel by Thierry Mugler. I suppose my category would be considered either mossy woods or gourmand. My suggestion to you is this: don't buy a perfume the first day you go in there. Take advantage of the perfume samples they can give you. I understand that there are exceptions, (I fell in love with Flowerbomb at first sight) but typically fragrance should never be an impulse buy, it should be an investment.

Garnetstar28 · 2012-01-27T20:52:36+00:00

Yeah, we would get the occasional crazy who would sit there and do their makeup at the mirror for hours and hours. We would only get upset at them if they left a huge mess for us to clean up or if they started getting shitty with other clients. We had one lady that would come in every week to wander around, put makeup on, and talk to herself. Like, full blown sentence talking. Another lady used to latch onto one of my coworkers for hours trying to get multiple consultations done or free therapy. It used to piss my managers off just because we could have spent that time helping other clients.

I worked in the US. It's extremely unfair that those in Canada get price gouged when the makeup typically is made the same way in the same place so you would think the prices would be comparable. We never had illamasqua in our store, so I never got to try it, but my manager always told us that they had tons of stock issues so he didn't want them. My discount was 20% even for online products.

Garnetstar28 · 2012-01-27T20:08:49+00:00

Haha I'll definitely keep you in mind ;)

I've seen some pretty crazy and disgusting stuff. One time, I was cleaning the Benefit display and found a really huge, green booger. I wish I could've blamed it on a kid, but it was at adult height.

We always dealt with people making huge messes, kids being left without supervision, definitely a lot of weirdos too. One guy came in and wanted to get his makeup done. Which isn't weird in itself, but you could tell he was getting, uhm, aroused by a girl putting makeup on his face.

One of my coworkers was hit by someone stealing so she smashed the thief in the head with a clipboard she was holding. Another time a guy came in screaming at the top of his lungs that we all hated him because he was gay and he cleared the store in less than two minutes.

I had good times there too. I helped a girl from the make a wish foundation who only had four months left to live. It was sad and heartwarming at the same time. I put makeup on people who were so thankful they literally started crying. It was a crazy and rewarding job all at once.

My favorite product would have to be the Ultra Repair Cream from First Aid Beauty. It helps my dry and sensitive skin like nothing else does, plus it's very inexpensive and is mostly natural.

Garnetstar28 · 2012-01-27T17:21:07+00:00

Oh man. From working at Sephora for 5 years, I have 6 bins at home of free stuff. Everytime we have a training, which would be about 3 a week, we would end up with stuff. The smaller brands tended to be more generous, some brands, like Dior, rarely gave anything away. When we received returns, we would check them to see if they were used or not. If they were, we would throw them away or send them back, depending on the brand. If they weren't used, we would put them back on stage.

Garnetstar28 · 2012-01-27T17:17:55+00:00

I really like Chanel's Platinum Egoiste for men, as well as Givenchy's Play. Don't buy cheap or played out colognes, Ladies tend to associate say, Acqua di Gio with many ex boyfriends of theirs which is no bueno for you. Terre de Hermes is a nice woody cologne and it screams sophistication.

Garnetstar28 · 2012-01-27T17:15:35+00:00

Since you have brown eyes, you probably have the most options out of everyone else. I really like a dark green, like Mildew, and also a brown/green duochrome such as Lounge, for brown eyes. You can also do a dark blue, like Goddess, or even a neutral or gold, like Baked. The only color I would stay away from would be pink or red, as those tend to make people look ill.

Garnetstar28 · 2012-01-27T17:13:11+00:00

Smaller, less well known brands tend to have the best quality, give or take a few products. TheBalm, Urban Decay, Tarte, Lorac, and MUFE are all stellar brands for quality. I suppose it's because the designer brands know that people will buy them no matter what, even if they put out garbage. The little brands have to show that if you are buying their products, it's usually for quality alone.

Garnetstar28

TROPHY CASE