It seems like everything in life requires little tips and tricks. Whether it's shopping for a car, or redecorating your home, I always recommend seeking advice from a professional. In my case, people ask me about beauty. Makeup mostly, but sometimes hair color etc. I have been hearing horror stories and have witnessed a few of my own about people shopping for cosmetics, and I just want to try and shed some light on the situation, as obviously there are alot of people who don't understand how to properly shop for cosmetics.
A popular cosmetic store that opened recently has been the setting for my newest horror story. This is the scene. Customer A and Customer B are asking about mascara, and the Beauty Advisor simply offers to try the mascara on both of them. Fair enough right? Well, clearly this clerk did not have cosmetic knowledge, knew nothing about bacteriology, and proceeded to hand the mascara wand (the real mascara wand, NOT a disposable!) to customer A, who coated her lashes thoroughly on one eye. The mascara wand was then dipped back into the tube, and passed back to customer A, to coat her second eye. Once again, the mascara wand was reinserted into the tube, and passed to customer B, who did her eyes one by one. The clerk then returned that tube of mascara to the shelf, and didn't blink an eye. I was FLOORED! So, that mascara wand is permanently contaminated, and even if used with disposable wands, will still create cross contamination on everyone who decides to try that mascara on. Even if disposable wands are used, you need to be cautious not to reinsert the disposable back into the product. This can cause eye infections, pink eye and that's just the beginning!
Same goes for the lip glosses! Again, I thought people would just know not to share lip glosses, but I see it all the time. People grabbing for the bright colored lipstick tubes and smearing them ALL over their mouths without even wiping it on a kleenex! (Not that wiping it on a kleenex will properly disinfect anything!) If you are in a retail setting and would like to try a lip color, ask for help. The staff (ideally) will know how to properly disinfect the product before use. That being said, glosses with wand applicators are almost ALWAYS contaminated, so I recommend looking for lip glosses that come in squeeze tubes. They are much more sanitary for use on multiple clients. Not only could you catch a cold, or the flu by using these products, but you could catch herpes simplex, which has NO cure and you will have to live with cold sores for the rest of your life! Is it really worth it?!
So, here are the basic things you need to watch out for while shopping for cosmetics:
1.) If you MUST try a mascara, make sure disposable wands are used, and not reinserted into the tube. (Please understand there is never a guarantee the products are clean, all it takes is one person to apply the mascara directly to their eyes for the product to be contaminated!)
2.) If you MUST try a lip color, try to choose lipsticks that can be properly disinfected, or lip glosses that are in a squeeze tube, which are more hygienic.
3.) Any brushes that are used on your face during a makeover (Powder brushes, shadow brushes, lip brushes ...) NEED to be disinfected with a brush cleanser. This is very important! Even if the makeup artist says they are clean, insist that they are sprayed down in front of you so you can rest assured you are not getting bacteria from other peoples faces all over your skin. If any brushes are dropped on the floor during the application, ensure they are once again disinfected before touching your skin.
4.) Make sure before the Make up artist touches you, that he or she have properly sanitized their hands. (After handling money, coughing etc hands need to be sanitized again!)
5.) This one is NASTY, but I have seen it done many times before and the client's never seem to say anything. If your Makeup Artist blows on a brush to get excess product off, or sticks a q-tip in their mouth before blending your shadows do NOT let them put the utensil back on your skin. This was done to me once and I literally grabbed the girl by the wrist. My wonderful teacher Donna Bramley once said "If you blow on a brush, you might as well spit on their face."
I hope these five tips help you guys out when you go shop for cosmetics. I apologize if alot of this was information you already knew, I have just been seeing these kind of things more than usual lately. Make sure the staff taking care of you are knowledgeable about the products they are using, and knowledgeable about the proper was to use them without spreading germs! It can be bad for your skin, and your overall health!
Do you guys have any horror stories!?
Peace, Love, and Juicy Couture!
-S
A popular cosmetic store that opened recently has been the setting for my newest horror story. This is the scene. Customer A and Customer B are asking about mascara, and the Beauty Advisor simply offers to try the mascara on both of them. Fair enough right? Well, clearly this clerk did not have cosmetic knowledge, knew nothing about bacteriology, and proceeded to hand the mascara wand (the real mascara wand, NOT a disposable!) to customer A, who coated her lashes thoroughly on one eye. The mascara wand was then dipped back into the tube, and passed back to customer A, to coat her second eye. Once again, the mascara wand was reinserted into the tube, and passed to customer B, who did her eyes one by one. The clerk then returned that tube of mascara to the shelf, and didn't blink an eye. I was FLOORED! So, that mascara wand is permanently contaminated, and even if used with disposable wands, will still create cross contamination on everyone who decides to try that mascara on. Even if disposable wands are used, you need to be cautious not to reinsert the disposable back into the product. This can cause eye infections, pink eye and that's just the beginning!
Same goes for the lip glosses! Again, I thought people would just know not to share lip glosses, but I see it all the time. People grabbing for the bright colored lipstick tubes and smearing them ALL over their mouths without even wiping it on a kleenex! (Not that wiping it on a kleenex will properly disinfect anything!) If you are in a retail setting and would like to try a lip color, ask for help. The staff (ideally) will know how to properly disinfect the product before use. That being said, glosses with wand applicators are almost ALWAYS contaminated, so I recommend looking for lip glosses that come in squeeze tubes. They are much more sanitary for use on multiple clients. Not only could you catch a cold, or the flu by using these products, but you could catch herpes simplex, which has NO cure and you will have to live with cold sores for the rest of your life! Is it really worth it?!
So, here are the basic things you need to watch out for while shopping for cosmetics:
1.) If you MUST try a mascara, make sure disposable wands are used, and not reinserted into the tube. (Please understand there is never a guarantee the products are clean, all it takes is one person to apply the mascara directly to their eyes for the product to be contaminated!)
2.) If you MUST try a lip color, try to choose lipsticks that can be properly disinfected, or lip glosses that are in a squeeze tube, which are more hygienic.
3.) Any brushes that are used on your face during a makeover (Powder brushes, shadow brushes, lip brushes ...) NEED to be disinfected with a brush cleanser. This is very important! Even if the makeup artist says they are clean, insist that they are sprayed down in front of you so you can rest assured you are not getting bacteria from other peoples faces all over your skin. If any brushes are dropped on the floor during the application, ensure they are once again disinfected before touching your skin.
4.) Make sure before the Make up artist touches you, that he or she have properly sanitized their hands. (After handling money, coughing etc hands need to be sanitized again!)
5.) This one is NASTY, but I have seen it done many times before and the client's never seem to say anything. If your Makeup Artist blows on a brush to get excess product off, or sticks a q-tip in their mouth before blending your shadows do NOT let them put the utensil back on your skin. This was done to me once and I literally grabbed the girl by the wrist. My wonderful teacher Donna Bramley once said "If you blow on a brush, you might as well spit on their face."
I hope these five tips help you guys out when you go shop for cosmetics. I apologize if alot of this was information you already knew, I have just been seeing these kind of things more than usual lately. Make sure the staff taking care of you are knowledgeable about the products they are using, and knowledgeable about the proper was to use them without spreading germs! It can be bad for your skin, and your overall health!
Do you guys have any horror stories!?
Peace, Love, and Juicy Couture!
-S
Ok it has been too long since your last post and I am looking every single day. Sometimes several times a day!
ReplyDeleteEwww! This also applies to makeup artist, so many say they are professional makeup artist, but they don't know the first thing about cleanliness! Lawsuit!! lol
ReplyDeleteGreat post by the way.
feel free to check out my blog!
makeupbydarcie.blogspot.com