I've had two mall makeovers in my life. The first one was an Estee Lauder makeover for my 16th birthday (almost 15 years ago) -- my mom's been wearing their stuff for years, and it was supposed to be my induction into proper makeup application. We had an appointment.

I don't remember most of the tips I got, but one thing does stand out: some people have no idea what to do when faced with an extremely pale redheaded kid. I came away from the counter with dark eyes, and wine-colored blush and lipstick. I looked like a clown. (in passing, why does almost every makeup professional I've ever seen insist on putting wine-colored lipstick on me? The effect is not unlike the Bratz doll that heads this Delush entry).

My second makeover was from Clinique. I just walked up to the counter and annouced that I needed a professional, polished eye look for my first professional job. The woman was fabulous -- she picked out colors that looked nice on me, was very no-pressure in her sales technique, and actually taught me how to apply eyeliner correctly. No more kindergarten-style wobbly lines! To this day, I have an odd loyalty to Clinique eye makeup.

Sadly, my experience happened several years ago at a Clinique counter, so perhaps things have changed since then... All I wanted was some new eyeshadow in a trendy new color. What I got was a "makeover" that left me looking as though I'd been punched in both eyes by Rocky himself. It was hideous, and I was very, VERY afraid.

I've had several makeovers. I've done Clinique, some brand with "Beatiful" in the name, Origins (I love their stress products but their makeup is very eh to me), and Mac. I keep coming back to Mac.

I've learned one thing in all of this: Do not let someone do a makeover on you if you don't like their makeup. I came away from one Mac makeover looking like Wednesday Addams. She gave me a shade that was 3 shades lighter than my skin and caked it on. But she did give me excellent cream eyeliner tips.

The most recent Mac makeover I had was in a Mac stand-alone store in the Galleria in Houston. A delovely man with luscious lips walked up to me as I was parusing the eye shadows after a new (and fabulous) hair cut and highlight and asked if he could help me out. I said I was looking for some new eyes--tired of the brown shadows I was using. He pulled all these pinks out that made me kinda go "whoa" when I saw them but I figured I'd let him do his thing. (I can always shower when I get home, right?)

Oh my god, girls, I can't even tell you how fabulous this man made me look. He did my eyes (green) in pinks, made sure I knew how he did each one by handing me a mirror so I could see how he was applying it (nice touch!). After that, he gave me concealer tips (concealer OVER foundation--who knew? I didn't!), blushed me up with a different colour, introduced me to pale lip gloss.... I walked out of there feeling incredibly gorgeous (and got compliments ALL NIGHT to prove it) and with a good $200 worth of new make up. I also wrote a letter to Mac, praising this guy--sheesh I wish I could remember his name. He wasn't employed with the store, he was one of those roaming gnomes that goes from store to store like a Fairy Godfather (appropriate) making women look fabulous!

So since then, I'm kinda partial to the guys doing my make up.

I had one at Prescriptives a few years ago. I made an appointment...I think there was some kind of promotion going on that gave me a bag of goodies if I went. The guy who did it was kind of cranky, smelled like cigarettes, and bitched at me for failing to make undereye concealer part of my regular routine.

I did, however, really like what he did with my eyes. I bought the four-color palette and eyeliner he used, and enjoyed them until they ran out. Most importantly, he taught me how to really use four colors of eyeshadow together to make a pretty, polished look. Thumbs up for that, but the experience wasn't too great otherwise.

Oh, there was another time at Dior I let the saleswoman do my whole face when I was looking for foundation. She did a nice job...except that the foundation she sold me was far and away the wrong color. I mean WRONG. As soon as I saw it in natural light (heh, post-purchase), I was horrified. I looked like tan plastic from the jaw line up, which stood in sharp contrast to the very pale rest of me.

Bria,

I hate it when that happens! I hope you returned it!

I have had two department store makeovers, both positive. My first experience was at a Clinique counter. They were doing a promotion and they had special artists in from out of town. I was so impressed, I bought just about everything they recommended. Some of it (like their Quickliner for Lips and their Lipstick in Blushing Nude) are still among my favorites.

The second was at the Bobbi Brown counter, and I've already told you about that :)

i had a clinique makeover once i live in germany on an army base the woman that did it was rough looking with homedrawn tatoos and everything i looked like a clown when she was done i was trying to find a foundation and i was orange like a jackolantern but i did get a great clarifing lotion that helps with dry skin but after that i am not going to get another makeover maybe mac cuz they sound good but probably not

I've had just one. A few months before my wedding, I went to the Chanel counter at Nordstrom in San Francisco. I was getting married in a small town back home in South Carolina, so I wanted to do the makeup myself. I had an appointment, and the makeup artist went through every step from moisturizer, to foundation, to eyes, lips, cheeks. He would do half and then show me the technique to make sure I knew how to do the other half - and if I didn't do it correctly, he would make me redo it! I bought over $200 worth of products, which I've used and replaced ever since (with the exception of the red lipstick I bought, which looked lovely with my dress on Valentine's Day when I was married, but wouldn't work elsewhere!) He spent over an hour on me, and I loved it!

I've only ever taken advice from one department store salesperson, and that was because she had exactly the same colouring as I do. It was winter and I was on the lookout for a good pale winter foundation with plenty of coverage so I wouldn't have to layer on the concealer. She worked on the Chanel counter, but she nipped over to the Estee Lauder counter to get me a tester of the Lucidity foundation in the palest shade. I was instantly converted!

(Okay, so not really a makeover tale, but it's the closest I have to one. I've always been the one to whom friends come for make-up advice, so I've never really felt the need to ask anyone else.)

Most recently, Chanel, last weekend. It was ok. I asked for 'dramatic,' and it actually ended up more mild than my regular evening makeup. The eyeshadow colors were vibrant, but she used no eyeliner! Also, she did not show me any of the application at all- I got to see the mirror when she was done. I did not buy anything, because I have replicas of everything that was used and did not notice any benefit to the makeup used. I did get a nice tip though, for evening, use a shimmery light pink eyeshadow (like Mac Sweet Lush) on the eye and the cheekbones around the eye and even under. It gives a nice glow.