Best Beauty Counter
I was having a beauty conversation with Patti aka Cavewoman recently. We were discussing what cosmetic counter always has exceptional sale associates who love their product line and are knowledgeable. Wherever we go, the Christian Dior SA's are enthusiastic and know their line inside and out. They are like beauty historians. They remember every discontinued product or hard to find shade. We visited a forgotten mall in Canton Ohio. There we discovered an adorable Dior SA that was up to date on every product including Sephora exclusives. The SA was not bored even though she was in the middle of nowhere. She was just as enthusiastic as a new employee.
I thought it would be fun to pose the question to my readers.
What beauty counter or line has the best sale associates? Grade on consistent performance at every counter you visit. Do they have knowledge of past or future collections? Are they excited to dish about products? Are they cheerleaders for their line?
Labels: Beauty Counter
posted by Annieytown @ 8:00 AM
36 Inspired Comments
36 Inspired Comments:
This is such a cool idea! What I find often though is that SA's oversell.......if you walk through the beauty hall in Selfridges London it's dodge the perfume spray time - like a bullet run. My worst experience was being sprayed with a Paris Hilton fragrance - I thought I might literally die. (!) BBB xxx
I personally have had great experiences with MAC MAs and Benefit MAs--really enthusiastic without being "oversellers".
Definitely not MAC. They are some of the rudest SAs I have encountered, who have had the audacity to tell me that that MAC Pro Product I was looking for didn't exist and that I was insane, and then told my mother she had "crepe-y" eyelids that looked "old"!
Nars wins for me - I always find that the SA's are always talented makeup artists, which really help me to see what a product can do, and usually gets me to buy whatever they offer. :)
The most frustrating thing for me is if the SA can't do makeup very well (where I'm fixing it after I walk away) or if they are reading the back of the displays to see what a product does, etc.
I love the SA's at Chanel and Hermes. They are the best!!
I can't say I've visited many La Mer counters (4 in the Virginia/Maryland area), but their sales associates seem to possess qualities I really appreciate: enthusiasm, knowledge, and restraint. I have never felt pressured, and have always felt welcome at La Mer counters :) In addition, though I don't think this should be a criterion, I've never felt a sense of snobbery either. It's nice to walk into Neiman's in your sweats (designer though they may be) and gossip with the girls behind the counter w/o worrying about what purse you're carrying :)
I love my Fresh SA at The Grove Mall in California. She knows all about the products, exclusives and what's coming up next in the line. She is extremely helpful on all fronts and always lets me know when there is a GWP or special promotion going on (I LOVE GWP's). Honestly I've never had a single bad experience from her and I can't even count how many orders I've placed with her over the last 3 or so years.
Can you suggest a sheer shimmery eye shadow for very pale skiN?
Funny, I've always thought of SA's as being store based and not line based. I have had much better luck with Neimans and Nordstroms SA's than with your average Foley's (now Macy's), reasoning that the best ones get to be in the best stores. I used to put Sephora SA's at the top of that list but I had some very bad experiences there as the store has greatly expanded. If I have to pick a line I would go with Laura Mercier followed closely by Bobbi Brown. Oddly the best SA's often worked at MAC, although I never had a great MAC experience.
mac is the worst!! they always are overdone and orange--too much self tanner. i'm pale skinned and don't like bronzer, i like the white skin/red lip look and they never seem to get it right.
Sadly, I have had nothing but bad experiences at the Lancome counter, which is very unfortunate because they are my favorite line. I always feel like I am inconveniencing them. Now, I go to the counter to see the colors in person and try them out, but then always order from the Lancome website. :(
My SA at Neiman Marcus is the best ever....she is stationed at Laura Mercier but will combine lines to find the best look. Love her!
Thanks, Annie, for posting on one of my favorite and yet most perplexing topics. I'm shopping mostly Florida, Alabama and Georgia cities and I have not consistently found a good SA for a line or a store. I agree that the MAC SAs are the most consistently knowledgeable but will hit you with attitude as often as they hit you with good info/knowledge. Annoying.
My hometown shopping is Dillards with one reliable SA each at Estee Lauder, MAC, and Arden/Dior. Counters r from Prescriptives, Shisheido, Clarins, Chanel, Clinique is a $1M/annual counter, some Fekkai ... I'm just dumbfounded as to why we can't get better SAs??? What do you all think is behind it?? I tell them about what I read on blogs and which blogs to check but they don't seem to have an interest. How can this be? Molly
Most SA's I've talked with are about the same to me, but I don't go to department stores terribly often. Hands down the worst experience I've ever had was a Henri Bendel store- I popped by to have a look around even though I'm a student and would really have to save if I wanted to buy anything there. Anyway, it was an off-time for shoppers and the sales associate barely looked up from her magazine at me, didn't even say hello much less ask if I wanted help. I understand that I do not look wealthy, but there was literally not a single person in the store. Not one. So it couldn't have killed her to ask (I never accept help unless I'm planning a purchase, but still). I looked around for 10 minutes or so and then an older woman in a tacky fur coat walked in and MAN was that SA all over her. She asked if the lady wanted help, fawned over her, ran to get her things, and I was standing there like seriously? If I would ever want to buy something at a Bendel store, I wouldn't do it there after that. Worst experience ever.
Interesting to read all the comments ahead of me. I would like to say Chanel, My Chanel lady is amazing and been with the co. for over 20 yrs. so she knows her stuff. However, other counters haven't been as good. 2 different ones have told my mom they are discontinuing her fav. foundation when they are truly not. It's their best seller.
I think that Estee Lauder has been the best on average. I don't feel pressured browsing which is a big plus.
MAC can be great and not so great.
The SA's at our local MAC counter (Macy's) have from the day that counter opened been gracious, friendly, helpful, and always happy to see us even if we are just stopping by to say hello and dish about upcoming collections. I've never felt pressured to buy there. At Nordstrom, the MAC SA's are equally as kind, helpful, and I love that they just let us play as long as we want there! At Saks in Cleveland, sometimes they're friendly and sometimes they're kind of cold. It depends on who's there. Sharon always greets us as if she's glad to see us, even if we aren't buying a thing!
Dior counters do seem to have the most knowledgeable, friendly and helpful SA's. We were so lucky to find that counter yesterday, Annie, even though I came home with the wrong gloss (I love this one anyway!) And Patty at Dillard's Dior here in our town, who could be sweeter! She's my favorite SA of any counter. No wonder I love Dior so much, it is a pleasure to go shopping at that Dior counter.
For crappy attitude, hands down Bobbi Brown at Nordstrom in Cleveland. They can't be bothered, and gee, well, neither can I.
For fragrance help, Barney's and Bendel get my votes. And Tom at Bergdorf, and our fabulous Shawn at Bond!
I agree with the person who said it was largely store based. Macy's SA's to me have seemed indifferent, bored, and I felt like I knew the line better than they did :( Nordstrom on the other hand... wow. The Clinique and Estee Lauder SA's were wonderful.
The people at all the MAC counters i've visited are fantastic. Clinique SA's are usually kind of rude in my experience.
well, having worked in this job for a couple years, i have to comment! i find that most lines/stores do not pay well enough to sustain a full-time career, nor have enough flexibility to accomodate part timers. hence, without being a hater, i'd have to say that at least 1/3 of the gals i've worked with are either students or "hobby jobbers" (rely on their partners/parents for main income)who are in it for the freebies. while pressure from the employer to sell can be high, most companies do not invest enough in training or development of their employees. tends to be a high turnover of staff. that said, i've also worked with and learned from some great people who are truly dedicated and interested in their field! (sorry to go on so!)
I would say the most helpful & friendly are Benefit's gals, unfortunately every product I buy from that line disappoints me. But I always get reeled in by the SA's.
Most MAC counters are run by SA's who think they are all Kevyn Aucoin's second act, which clearly they are not. The noted and best exception is the MAC store on Burlingame Avenue in the San Francisco Bay Area.
Two words...they rock!
Seriously, if you live close or have the occasion to stop by I assure you they will make you love MAC even more.
In MN the Neimans has great knowledgable SA's at some counter lines (like Bobbi Brown) but then others are extremely RUDE! (YSL) I find that if you go to a dept. store and build a relationship with a SA from a line, they are eager to call you, research past things for you if they don't know, inform you of upcoming products and events and overall very helpful. I have to say, I do hate it when I feel like I know more about their line then them. But be rude to me once, and you've lost me forever.
Unfortunately, Denver is years behind most cities -- the only place to get brands like Laura Mercier, Bobbi Brown, Chanel, etc., is Sephora or Nordstrom's. Our Macy's JUST got a Benefit counter which blows my mind.
So far, I've had the best experiences with Philosophy's SA's, Bobbi Brown, Estee Lauder, and the new Benefit counter.
I did recently buy my first Chanel palette (the smoky quad) after seeing it here...and while my local counter was unhelpful, the lady at the Littleton Dillard's Chanel counter was really sweet to me. I may have to go buy more Chanel. :D
The very first time I visited MAC, I loved them...but after that, it was miserable. I could never get help, and it was always jam-packed with girls and their moms getting made over. Woe be to a girl just wanting some foundation! I haven't bought MAC in years...
I think that hands down, the SA's at Nordstrom are the best out of any other stores. Sephora is usually too crowded and messy for me to want to sit down and have anything tested on me - I'll just run and grab there. I personally think Laura Mercier SA's know their products very well and do great, natural looks. The few times I've been to MAC they have way overdone my makeup - even when I ask them to go easy!
love chanel sa's. bobbi brown sa's at bloomingdales are hit or miss, but there's one at saks that I found in NJ who's really good. not thrilled with yves st laurent sa's, they made me look like a prostitute.
Not for the first time, I made a point of stopping by the GA counter @ Nordstrom when I was in Chicago a few days -- rather than stopping by one of the GA counters here in L.A.
I can't quite put my finger on what makes the difference. Part of it is that the L.A. aesthetic *always* leads SA to put me in a darker foundation or add waaaaay too much bronzer, to "give me a little color."
But a bigger part of it is that the ladies who work the GA counter @ Nordstrom are way more accessible and friendly than their counterparts at Saks, in this or any other city. Maybe they work for GA, but something about the Nordstrom customer service wears off on them in the best possible way.
Shu Uemura hands down for me. We have the only She Uemora in Ohio at the Nordstrom store at Easton. And they are THRILLED to be here. And I am THRILLED to have them here. I used to swoop up their products in other cities but now they are in my backyard. And they are great about sampling products and giving ideas. And not being pushy. I can't say enough nice things about them.
I have to agree with kt about the new Shu counter at Nordstrom, I'm so glad it's there!
And I wanted to add the Chanel counter at our local Macy's. The SA's are always glad to see us, even if we aren't buying a thing. Out come the preview books and we ooh and ahh over things to come. Chris and Paige are always helpful and honest about what they think will work and not work for me. They are wonderful!
The SA's at Chanel are always the best ones for me. They're so informative and helpful and I've never asked a question they didn't know the answer to.
I've noticed that the best MAs are always at chanel but the best *SAs* are Guerlain all the way.
I like the cosmetics counters at SFA in Chevy Chase, Maryland. Lloyd at Armani is particularly knowledgeable, not only about Armani Cosmetics, but also other lines. Many of the employees have been there for years, and they know their stuff.
To Anonymous at 12:40, try Dior creme shadow in Undressed Beige. It's fabulous on my pale skin, very sheer (you can build the color), and it has that touch of gold that is so "in."
I think Kiehl's SAs manage to combine friendliness and knowledge of the line quite well, without being pushy. They will often give free samples, even if you don't grovel.
-SuburbanSue
I loved the ladies who worked the Bobbi Brown counter at the Neimann's in Troy, MI. I just moved to the San Diego area and I can't say the same about the girls about the Bobbi Brown at an unmentionable Nordstrom in the SD area. They were rather unhelpful and actually a bit rude to me.
kiehl's sa's are the best!
A voice from NY, I have worked in the beauty biz for over 10 years and there seems to be a change. I now am just a consumer but there are things I can compare and dislike. For the unfortunate the shop Bloomingdales you are pounced upon the minute the thought of a lipstick enters your mind. Most of the dept. stores are commission based counters so if you have no intention of spending they have no intention of helping. Knowledge also lacks from counter to counter. for the most part Clinique associates are pretty well informed bout their line. MAC is all show.
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