What a terrible experience! I've tried to give this location the benefit of the doubt on too many occasions. I'm the ideal shopper, I rarely have free time so when I'm out shopping I'm easily swayed to buy, not on a budget, and easy to please. Even more rarely, I have time to go to an event which I did in early November. When I booked my appointment, I noted I wanted Halloween makeup which has never been an issue and I actually got my make done there by an awesome artist named Alex the year prior (whom has since left for greener pastures) . There was an accident on neighboring streets and I was stuck, so I called the store and told them I'd be approx 10min late. Unfortunately, it ended up being closer to 15min which I acknowledged. When I arrived, there were 3 artists on the floor, only one actively doing someone's makeup. The store was not busy. It was shocking when I arrived to be told that I was asking for "special effects" makeup. To be clear I wanted a joker look (corners of lips pulled and a a triangle above one eye brow, triangle below lower lash--- nothing complicated, same exact look Alex had done for me ). I was told they needed to talk to the store manager (Sharita? ) . When she finally came out from the back after 10 or so minutes, she couldn't have been in a worse mood. I've never felt so attacked! Wow! She's belittling, condescending and rude is an understatement. Rolling of eyes, attitude for miles, raised voice so the entire store could hear. The amount of times she said that she couldn't plan around someone else's fault for being late. I was so confused when she's said you can get your "eyes , maybe brows, and no lips , no Halloween makeup and if there's time , maybe foundation". She said I'd have to get 1/2 done and purchase the same amount of products as even though I wouldn't get the full time. Again, the cost wasn't my concern but it's the fact that she was trying to make it impossible for me to agree. She was visibly upset when I said "sure, okay". She then said "you know you need to pay for products, right?!". Rude. Again, it wasn't busy, 4 employees and I only saw one person after me get their makeup done. The artist that did my makeup was sweet, her name is Beige . She's the only redeeming quality. She was rushed, nervous and was constantly hawked by the store manager whom would literally walk by with nasty, snarky looks and say things like "hmm, shocked you got so far " , to which Beige stated she was "making her so stressed" and she was afraid not to meet her expectations. My makeup was okay, I don't blame the artist under the conditions. I had to do my own makeup at home after and it turned out well but essentially I should have just done my own. The only reason I stayed was because I was in a time crunch and I thought it would cut down time to get ready.
Once my makeup was done, I had no lip makeup so Beige put out lip liner for me to put on myself, which I was being watched by the store manager while I did so. When I was done, the store manager said "ugh hello, you need to buy items $90 worth of items!". I told her I had picked out some items that Beige placed at the register. Apparently another artist put them back. Not my fault but the store manager huffed and puffed which was so uncomfortable. I then started over and was so uneasy that I picked things random things simply to get out of there, items that I don't use. What a waste.
Another Prior Experience:
On July 4th I made an appointment to get my makeup done for a wedding (I was 10min early to my appointment). The artist informed me they were running behind and asked me to come back in 30min. I did. Then I waited another 30min. Over an hour past my appointment time and they finally started my makeup-- final result was okay but the foundation match was pretty off which I had to blend out at my neckline. Also, they closed their doors while I was getting my makeup done, while the rest of the mall was open for 2 more hours. It seems strange. I barely made it to the wedding on time. I thought this experience was a one-off but now I'm realizing why the best artists (originally from the Hollywood location) have left. It's a poorly run store, terrible customer service.
I wish I knew where Alex went, I'd hire him as a freelance artist.
I guess I'll have to go to the Culver City MAC going forward. It's obvious why that location has such better reviews! You'd think such a high profile store (Century City) would have the best managers, artists and customer service and it's the opposite!! I feel bad for the workers as well. read more