A makeup sales insider says there are certain things that customers do at makeup counters that shops do not like.

Firstly she tells us never to assume every employee is trying to sell us the most expensive product possible because they do not work on commission. I have never had a sales assistant try to sell me anything. But I have seen them follow customers around hoping to get that sale. Why? Two reasons really. One, they are showing their bosses that they are trying to sell in order to keep their jobs. And two, in some cases they are actually working on commission. On the other hand, rather than trying to sell the makeup, I’ve found many shop assistants resigned and disinterested in their job and seem to ignore customers. There’s never a smile, a hello or even an approachable demeanour.

The insider also tells customers to not damage testers or apply them directly to their faces. I agree with this advice entirely. Aside from the fact that, after time, a tester may end up looking unusable there is a more serious side to makeup testers. In this day and age when hygiene is of the utmost importance, I think it’s better to keep away from testers altogether. Given the current health-related circumstance around the globe, perhaps it’s best to stick to a colour or shade that you already use and buy that off the shelf. Stay away from foundations, lipsticks and eyeshadow testers even if you are just intending to try them on your hand. And don’t forget that, in some places, like lone carousels in shopping malls, the girl manning the stand has most likely given herself a complete makeover using those testers; this is not my guess but an observation. She might have a flue, a cold, a cold sore or a skin infection that you don’t know about. That is how germs and viruses spread.

The makeup insider also tells people to not be afraid to ask for help. This is a very good point but is hard to do especially in some places around the world. In some countries, women manning makeup counters can be very rude or look down on customers who come over looking at foundations or lipsticks. Some have even told customers they wouldn’t be able to afford a particular brand, just by looking at them. And in some cases women who are dark or olive skinned have been told not to pick anything light since it won’t show up on them. Ordinarily this advice goes down well but in cultures, where being dark-skinned is taboo, this advice can come across as an insult.

However, in some cases, shop assistants are nowhere to be seen. I once waited for a shop assistant for nearly an hour just so I could find out how much something cost. There were endless calls on the loudspeaker for the assistant to come to that section but no one appeared. Nearly an hour later someone did appear and that person ended up being the cashier who was at the far end of the shop. The person responsible for manning that makeup area never showed up. You could say I was very patient but I really needed to know the price.

Now the insider tells customers not to give themselves a full face makeover using the tester. I do not believe I have ever seen a customer do that. But, as I said above I’ve seen plenty of girls manning the stand do just that. Maybe they believe they are saving money on makeup. Plus when no one is around they also do their touch-ups with those very same testers. Perhaps a lesson in hygiene might deter this type of behaviour?

I think this next piece of advice is totally uninformed and seems like it’s coming from someone who’s never bought or tried to return makeup. She said don’t be afraid to return items you didn’t like. She said that if you bought a product, tried it and didn’t like it you should return it. Most shops will never accept opened and used products even if you’d bought them an hour ago. Rightly so, it says clearly at the bottom of the receipt that, due to hygiene reasons, opened products will not be exchanged or refunded.

Some go even so far as to say that all items are subject to a refund or exchange except makeup. So she forgot to add, ‘unless you’ve opened it’. This is vital for hygienic reasons. If I discovered that a shop was prone to accepting returns of makeup that had been bought, tried and returned, I would never buy anything from that shop again. Because I don’t know if that bought, tried and returned item has been resealed, recycled and put back on the shelf for resale after someone had bought it, tried it and returned it.