Working at MAC isn't always so glamorous...

Yeah, I don't know what happened either! I'm just clumsy, I guess, haha :)

Good thing I have Marie-Louise there to take pictures when things like these happen! :D

Where have I been?! :O

I know I've been MIA and I'm sorry!!

So... What's my excuse? ;)

• My work schedule has changed (more hours = more money but also less time to blog and do other fun stuff), but I'm getting used to it, so if I just start being more productive when I'm not at work, it should be easy to keep the blog going! ;)
  
• Product specialist. If you haven't worked for MAC, you probably don't know what that means, so I'll just full you in real quick :P
  The Product Specialist basically has to inspire the other artists to sell more limited edition products.
  She/He has to arrange meetings every time a new collection is released.
  She/He also has to do a lot of facecharts for the new collections and come up with ideas for theme days or make sure that someone else is arranging a theme day.
  I've been product specialist for the past month (or maybe a little more) and am going to be for the next two months as well.
  
• It was my birthdayyyy! Nah, that's not really an excuse, is it? :P
  I did spend a couple of nights doing fun family and friends stuff instead of sitting in front of my computer though, so I guess the birthday is to blame for a couple of missing posts ;)

I have some MAC pictures and some sushi pictures to share under the cut! :D

MAC Update thoughts

So, as I promised yesterday, here is a little update on the MAC Update ;)

For those of you who don't know, MAC Update is something that all the MAC Retail artists go to every three months. We're told about new collections and get to try out the new products!
We also talk about current and upcoming makeup trends which I plan include more about in different posts on each trend!

I was lucky enough to go to Update with Stine from ShowYouMakeup who is just amazingly sweet and who I always have a lot of fun with! Good times :)

Keep reading to see my thoughts on each collection!

The MA(C)scara experiment

Working for MAC just got better: They're giving all(? At least all here in Denmark) their retail artists one of each of their mascaras and are having us use each one for a week and then write what we think about it.
This is, of course, a great way for the company to get to know what their artists think of each mascara, and then make better products in the future.
It's also a good opportunity for me (as the artist) to give all the mascaras a fair chance.

As a blogger, this is of course an opportunity for me to share some MAC love and some MAC thoughts with you all :) I'll be sharing with you what I think of each mascara, and I'll try to take pictures for you to see the results that each one gives! :)

First one up is Fibre Rich Lash, which I'm wearing right now, and I'll let you know what I think when the first week of my MAC Mascara Experiment is over! :)

Hello Kitty event!

You're probably all sick of hearing about Hello Kitty but you can just skip this post then! :)

We've had free Hello Kitty makeovers all week at our counter and it has been so much fun! I've done makeup on MAC addicts who bought most of the collection, on young teenage girls who were gigling the entire time and weren't interested in the makeup but only in the free makeover, on girls who were just starting out with makeup and wanted to know everything about everything and on a middleaged women on her way to a belly dance class wanting a bright purple+blue eyeshadow look :D
It's been crazy but fun!

And it wasn't only the makeovers that were fun... I've been really excited about dressing up as Nice kitte on some days and Naughty kitty on others! You should have seen my naughty kitty makeup yesterday... I really wish I had gotten a picture :(
I did crazy eyeliner on the bottom lashline using Deep Blue Green pigment winged out really long, the neutral Creme Royal eyeshadow on the lid with the purple Strayin' eyeshadow on the inner lid and Reflects blue glitter all over. I had Cyber lipstick with Nice Kitty lipgloss on top. Wild but fun :D

... I must have looked like a freak when I walked home wearing that "crazy makeup", neon pink thights with fishnet stockings and huuuuuge pink earrings. Oh, and I had a HK balloon with me too, lol :D

MAC Update!

I went to update yesterday, and let me tell you... It was AWESOME :D
I probably don't have any more collection-info to share than Specktra has already but I'll share my experience ;)

I tried the new Prep+Primes that are comming out with the Colour Reday Collection (North America - April 2/International - April) and let me tell you... WOW!
There's a powder, a line filler and something called "refined zone" that will help control shine, cloak visible pores and make skin super smooth and ready for foundation.
The line filler made all of us say "wow" out loud when we tried it inside our hands and literally watched the lines dissapear! I don't really have fine lines (yet) so I don't think I'll use it a lot but I'll defenately use it on costumers! It's so exciting! :D
The "refined zone" is something I'll have to try out for more time before telling you how I feel about it but my first impression was really good.
I only tried the powder on my hand so I can't tell you how that's going to look throughout the day but it was amazingly soft and smooth :)

We played around with the new creamteam glosses + lipsticks and the girl who did my makeup for that did the coolest lips ever :) She used Cranapple lipliner, Lickable and Lavender Whip l/s and Ever so Rich cremesheen glass. It was soooo pretty and I'll have to redo it and show you! ;)

Another thing that I'm really excited about is Sugarsweet! I love the concept and the new shadesticks were so soft and smooth :) And honestly... How can anyone resist a displayer with cupcakes on it? ;)

I know that Hello Kitty is old news to those of you living in the States and Canada but we haven't gotten the collection yet so that was included in the update as well.
I'm really excited about the collection since I love Hello Kitty and think it's all crazy cute but I'm a little disappointed that a lot of the things are repromotes and I have a lot of them already. Out of the 8 eyeshadows, 5 are either repromotes or permanent and I have 3 of those. I still seem to want both palettes though, since Too Dolly and Stylin' would be amazing colors to have ;)
Of the two pigments I already have Deep Blue Green since it's a regular PRO color and I think Milk looks an awful lot like Kitchmas which isn't exactly my favorite pigment ;) But hey, I'm a total sucker for pigments and will probably end up buying Milk anyway xD
I already have the glitters and while the lipsticks and glosses are qute they don't really excite me.
I think I'm most excited about the glitter liners! I'm a sucker for glitters and these liners are just SO pretty :)

Oh, and I got two Hello Kitty MAC t-shirts that I can't wait to wear, yay :D

First day at MAC :D

I had my first day at MAC the day before yesterday!
I was super excited but really nervous at the same time.

Everything went well though! The girls I worked with were super super nice and I'm looking forward to next time I'm going to work! :D

I got the MAC employee necklace, a brush belt w/ brushes and I got to borrow the "MAC Bible" to read at home if I wanted to! I know there can be found illegal copies of the "Bible" on the Internet where the seller claims that this book will teach you how to do makeup and become a MAC Artist. While there sure is a lot of useful information in the book there's nothing that'll turn you into a makeup artist. It mostly contains information on the products, information on what ingredients do what in which products, costumer service when working for MAC and a little about makeup and color theory. All those things are really helpful when you have to know enough about the products to sell them but please don't buy the illegal copies on the Internet - the book itself is not going to turn you into a makeup artist so it's not worth it ;)

I don't think I have more to add right now but I'll keep you updated when/if something exciting happens with the job :b

Starting at MAC!

I got a job at MAC! Woohoooo!

If you're interested in the process... Keep on reading ;)

Back in May I put in my resume at the local MAC counter. I got a call a couple of days later telling me that they didn't need anyone right now but that they'd keep me in mind when they had a position.
Months went by and I kinda forgot they had my resume until a day last month when I was shopping at the counter and the manager came up to me and asked if I wanted an interview! I was sooo excited! I got an interview the next week and was told to bring a model for a makeup demo.

The day of the interview I was super nervous! I didn't know how to do my makeup... Bright? Bold? Something to reflect the newest trends and collections? I ended up doing a look with the Cult of Cherry collection that had just been released here in Denmark and this is what I looked like:



I made sure to wear all black (even shoes) to look the part.
The manager greeted me and my friend and told her to sit down in front of the mirror. She gave me a brush belt and introduced me to the regional trainer who would be looking at me during the demo. The trainer took over and made it clear to me that she was there to help me and not to judge me. She was super nice and actually made me feel comfortable ;)

I have never used any of the MAC skincare products and the trainer was happy to help me choose the right products for my model and explained to me why she chose what she did.
I was told to do a look that I thought of as "day-time". It could be bold if I wanted to but I chose the Spiced Chocolate quad from Cult of Cherry to compliment my model's blue eyes and red-brown hair.
I made sure to explain what I was doing and why I used the products that I did.

After the demo the trainer told me that she loved the look I had done and that I was good at explaining what I was doing, which was important.
Both the counter manager and the trainer was there for my interview and they both asked me questions. I don't remember everything they asked but here are two of the questions as well as my answers:

Q: Where do you get your inspiration from?
A: Pretty much everywhere. I often look at what I'm wearing but since I would be wearing black at MAC I'd have to get my inspiration somewhere else ;) I spend a lot of time on the Internet looking at makeup looks and I get inspiration from new collections.
Q: Why do you want to work for MAC?
A: I love makeup in general and would love to work with it. What I think seperates MAC from other companies is all the variety they have in products and colors and that gives both artists and costumers a great opportunity to be creative. Creativity in makeup is really important to me and I think that's what I'm good at. I also think that Viva Glam is a great program and I love that MAC has that.

The interview was actually really comfortable and it felt more like a conversation than an actual interview. I made sure to point out that even though I don't have an education in makeup I love being creative with it and I have a fair bit of product knowledge about MAC and that I love to learn more. I also think it's important to be eager to learn more because you never learn everything about a creative profession.

I was told that I would get an answer within a week but got a call two days later telling me the job was mine if I wanted it :D Yay :D
The manager asked me if I was interested in going to update and of course I said yes! :D

Update was great and I got to know my new colleagues and got my first makeover by a MAC MA... Can you believe that? I've been so into MAC for more than a year but have never gotten a makeover at the counter!

I've just got a call from the counter manager telling me I can come pick up my schedule :) My first day is the first Thursday in November and I'm super excited to start :)


Since I now work for MAC I get access to all the products and I get even more knowledge about them when I go to basic training. However, I'm not going to make this a MAC blog! There are many good brands out there and while MAC is my favorite I like to try other things as well and be creative with all the different products on the market :)