Good Luck Making Up For That

When I am first figuring out how to do nice makeup — more than slapping on some concealer and mascara every morning like I did in high school — I go to a popular, fairly high-end makeup store. I have watched many tutorials on YouTube before even setting foot in a store, but the sheer variety of products and tools is overwhelming so I want someone to give me a hand picking out the right items. I’m greeted by an employee when I walk in, so I decide to ask her for help.

Me: “Could you help me pick out a foundation and a couple other things, please? I’ve never worn liquid foundation before, so I’m not sure what will suit me.”

Employee: “Sure thing. Well, first of all, you’re really pale, so there’s probably only a couple of brands that make a shade light enough for you in the right undertones.”

I brush off the pale comment, which is true but doesn’t need pointing out.

Me: “Right, that makes sense. Could you show me which brands you think would work?”

We do manage to find a shade match, though I note that it doesn’t seem like I’m a particularly rare shade, though I defer to her and her greater knowledge of skin undertones. I need something to apply the foundation, and I know that brushes and sponges are the two most popular products for that at the moment, so I decide to ask for help with that, too.

Me: “This looks great. So, what would you recommend to apply it with?”

The employee looks at me like I have three heads.

Employee: “Um… a brush.”

I’m concerned now because she seems confused now by what I thought was a simple question.

Me: “Right, so a brush rather than a sponge? Can you show me the foundation brushes, then?”

She walked me over to the brush section and handed me the store’s own brand foundation brush without even talking about why it was the better choice or how it would compare to a sponge, which she never acknowledged as an option. In the end, I bought the foundation and the brush, anyway, because I figured I have to start somewhere. Within a week, I realized I hated the brush and ended up going to a big box retail store to buy a blending sponge, instead, making a note not to shop at that particular location of the makeup store again.