I have been employed by MAC Cosmetics as both a freelance and a permanent artist over the past two and a half years. I love their company. I love their products. I feel like to be a MAC Artist is a coveted position, one that garners a fair amount of clout and prestige. And I have been lucky to be a part of their organization.
With that being said, I am sad to report that I put in my two week notice last week and will be working my last shift as a permanent artist for MAC this Friday. As much as I have loved the job and loved my MAC family, it has been a hard adjustment for me to make in terms of retail hours versus the regimented schedule of a full-time teacher. After being a teacher for the last eight years, I have grown accustomed to a regular schedule, spending holidays with my family, and enjoying weekends with my friends. Retail is SO not that life. I have more respect than ever for retail workers. We (they) are required to work 'round the clock, year round, on holidays, after hours, every weekend, etc. It is a hard schedule to keep, especially if one is used to the opposite of that. And it is for that reason, along with a few others (to be divulged in time), that I feel that it is time for me to leave.
But as I said, I have learned SO much over my time with MAC. I have been blessed with an awesome work family who has kept me laughing and growing through the good times and the bad. I have learned a ton of business knowledge - things about marketing, merchandising, bookkeeping, inventory, mix of business, scheduling, etc. This was a world about which I knew very little, having had no prior experience in retail and no courses in business. Now, hoping to venture into business myself (more info to come) I have learned some valuable and useful skills that will help me run my business more effectively.
Okay, so enough of that. My main purpose in writing this post is to share with everyone some of my ALL-TIME FAVORITE MAC products. To be clear, I am not being paid by the company for this promotion, these are truly just my opinions about products that I love from a company that I adore.
1. Prolongwear Paint Pots:
I tell my clients every day that this is single-handedly my favorite product at counter. And here's why. First of all it's a cream shadow that can be worn on its own. One swipe and boom, out the door you go. But even better than that is that it is 15 hour wear, water and sweat resistant, crease-proof eye shadow that makes for the most AMAZING shadow primer I've ever seen. (Especially the opaque, matte colors.) The translucent shades are nice but I prefer the opaque colors because they have greater color payoff and they neutralize any discoloration in the lid. That's I think the characteristic that most shadow primers lack. Most are completely transparent and thus, the eye lid tone (which most often carries shades of blues, purples, and reds because the skin is so thin) competes with the eye shadow color. So instead, if you use a neutral matte shade like Soft Ochre, Painterly, or Layin Low on the lid first, it enables you to use less shadow and it displays the truest color of the shadow. Lastly, I love that it really helps the shadow to stay on all day! Any time you seal a liquid or a cream product with a powder product, it elongates its wear-time. This product is what enables me as a makeup artist to makeup a face at 10:00am and feel confident that it will stay for a party at 7:00pm.
What's not to love about that?!?!
2. Cleanse Off Oil -
This is my favorite face cleanser/makeup remover. Personally I have dry skin so I love how moisterized it leaves my face and neck. But it is even great for oily skin as well! I know that sounds crazy, but the science behind it is similar to that of oil-cleansing, which has been getting a lot of hype lately. Basically, if you have oily skin, you do not want to strip your skin of oil or else you skin will fight to just produce more. So if you keep your skin hydrated, your oil levels (ideally) will balance better.
For me I love it because it starts as an oily consistancy, which I use to rub away my eye makeup, even the tough to remove, waterproof kinds. I mush that around my eyes and on my whole face to loosen everything up and then I wet my hands and rinse it off. The cool thing about it is that once it mixes with the water the consistency changes to a milky white liquid and that oily slip disappears - like magic! Then I just lightly towel off my face and voila, clean, moisturized, glorious skin!
3.
Prolongwear Eye Liners -
I have leaky eyes and terrible allergies so when I say I've tested out a hundred different eye liners, I ain't kidding! This is by far the best for staying power. It is safe for the waterline (the inside rim of the eye) and boasts 6 hr wear on the waterline and 12 hr on the skin. It is water resistant and sweat resistant and I love the intensity of the color! My favorite is Definedly Black, Mac's blackest black pencil. So long raccoon eyes!
4. Matchmaster Foundation -
This is the foundation I keep in my makeup kit for when I freelance and do event makeup, like weddings, proms, and photo shoots. The reason I love it (and I've heard dozens of my clients agree) is because it has nice coverage but has a great natural matte finish. I have so many clients that are thrilled to have such a flawless coverage without looking cakey and fake. I love that it is not broken down by tone due to its true-tone, self-adjusting technology (brilliant I tell ya!). It makes finding your shade so much easier.
5. Harmony Blush -
This blush is pure magic. It is a beautiful matte, brown toned blush that is a PERFECT contour for light-medium shades. I do not leave the house without wearing this blush. Bonus: it is also a beautiful neutral eyeshadow color! Versatile and awesome!
