Has anybody ever gone to buy something at the cosmetics counter and got caught up in an argument so intense, that other shoppers started to form an amphitheater around you to enjoy the show? I am taking a liberty to assume that for the majority of people reading this post the answer is “no”. I, on the other hand, have a story to share…
I was greeted with no enthusiasm by the two guys at a local mall’s Lancome counter. According to my plan, I was going to ask for Photogenic Sheer Loose Powder in my favorite Light Buff color, pay for it and leave the mall for good. It turned out that I had to spend quite some time with a grumpy pair. One of them, I’ll call him Faux Hawk for his hair style, seemed pretty upset with something the other (he’ll be Prepster in this narration) might have done the day before. When I asked for the powder, Prepster offered to try it on me first, to make sure the shade was right. He dusted a little bit on the side of my face. Sceptically assessing his work, Faux Hawk declared that the color was not good for me, and I would be better of getting it in Translucent instead. They exchanged a few unnecessary non-compliments with each other, while I had to stand there and wait for them to be done with it. I was convinced that Faux Hawk had just been fooling around, until I heard his ultimatum: “You’ll have to kill me before I let her wear Light Buff, it’s not her color”. Needless to say, Prepster and I were less than happy to hear that. I was hardly able to blink my eyes once, when he went for a kill.
All I remember about what happened next, was Prepster’s getting in Faux Hawk’s face and yelling something about being fed up with his behavior, and “For goodness sake, just sell a freaking face powder!” People around us started paying attention, stopping by the counter to find out what all the yelling was about. I was almost ready to pay for two boxes to make them stop that madness. And then, all of a sudden, a fresh thought visited my mind – I didn’t have to witness all that, I could actually leave. And I did.
Five minutes later, having paid for my new Lancome Photogenic Loose powder at a different store, I was on my way back home. I still can’t wrap my mind around what happened with those two guys, and why they decided to scream at each other in front of so many people. Hope they didn’t make any more customers suffer that day.
And by the way, the product itself is one of my favorites, which explains my unwillingness to leave the mall without buying it. Sometimes you just can’t avoid suffering for beauty. The powder stays true to Lancome’s claims: flawless natural-looking finish – check, non-cakey, doesn’t clog pores, and doesn’t turn ashy – check, check and check. I love it because it gives me a good coverage and lasts all day, without the need for constant reapplication. It gives you a perfect matte finish, doesn’t sit on top of the face, but gently blends into skin, making it look velvety. I usually do just a light swipe over my face, so one container can easily last me for more than a year.
