This is a short guide to help you buy cosmetics without wasting your time and others. Buying cosmetics and skin care products can be difficult, but only if you don't know how to do it! Before you begin, prepare yourself.
Steps
Step 1. Assess your needs
Do you need a specific regimen for your skin, or do you want to know more about makeup? Do you have any special concerns? Understanding these things before you start shopping will save you time.
Step 2. Establish your budget
Can you spend € 1 to € 25 for the products you need? Go to a more generic store. From € 25 to € 75 you can also choose a small perfumery or the cosmetic department of a supermarket, above € 75 you can consider more well-stocked and specialized perfumeries such as Sephora.
Step 3. Find someone who can help you
Ask if they sell specific brands or if they can help you with particular products. If a store specializes in skin care products, ask if they can help you with makeup or if they can recommend someone who is capable of it.
Step 4. Get advice
Step 5. In a skincare consultation, they will ask you about your skin type, your preferences, any concerns or concerns you have
Step 6. In a makeup consultation, you will try all products
Give information about your preferences: if you only use mineral make-up, for example, or if you want to try different types of cosmetics. Also say if you are interested in learning more about makeup.
Step 7. Use the testers on your hand
They will give you an idea of the texture, scent, color and other characteristics.
Step 8. If you like the recommended product, ask for samples
Samples are typically small packs that contain enough product for at least one application.
Step 9. If you liked the product after trying the sample, come back to the store to buy it
Step 10. Find out about the rules for exchanging products
In general, perfumeries do not allow the return of cosmetics that have been opened and used. Also, don't expect to be able to return the product to a store other than the one where you bought it, even if they sell it.
Step 11. Use the products you have chosen the way they were recommended to you and enjoy the benefits
Advice
- If you don't remember how to use a product or the benefits it brings, don't hesitate to ask the person who helped you.
- Give the product some time to bring out the benefits. A skin care product takes up to a month to regenerate cells and show noticeable results.
- If you choose a general store or a cosmetic department of a shopping center, you will not find specialized people to advise you. Read the labels carefully and pay attention. Learn to recognize the ingredients of the formulas and choose according to your skin type.
- Find a make-up artist to turn to. If you find one with a very eye-catching full make-up, and your aim is to use only a minimal amount of make-up, that's probably not the right person to turn to.
- If you've seen a new product in a magazine and want to try it out, write the name down on a piece of paper and go to the store to try it out.
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Don't buy all recommended products at once. If you decide to purchase a cleanser, toner, and moisturizer, perhaps ask for samples of the scrub, mask, and serum. If you're shopping for makeup, just get the basic ones and then come back later for the brow pencil or highlighter powder. Once you've got the basic products, you can buy all the others individually, later on. This allows you to control which products work and if they cause you reactions, avoiding remorse for unnecessary purchases.
Consequently: build trust with the person who helped you. Ask her for advice and let her know which products did well. Regular customers receive more attentive service than occasional customers. Sometimes they also receive more generous samples as a thank you for the trust
- Don't complain about an entire product line to someone who recommended it to you just because a single cosmetic didn't work well. If you haven't had a positive experience, that doesn't mean no one else will. If you want to share a negative experience, try to do it constructively.
Warnings
- Make sure you have taken a tester before applying it to your hand or face - many people get it wrong and use the products on sale for testing!
- If you want to ask in-store advice, but don't intend to buy, be quick. It's okay to ask about a product, but keep in mind that the people who are there are working, and their sales results are valued just like any other employee's. You're not in a free cosmetics shop, people are there to help you find the right product, not to redo you before a big night out (unless you actually need to buy cosmetics).
- Those who work in a cosmetics shop talk a lot with colleagues. If you make yourself famous for your negative attitude, you may no longer find the welcome and availability you had at the beginning.
- If you buy products for specific treatments (lifting, anti-aging, etc.) do not expect noticeable results if you do not use them regularly, according to the instructions given to you.
- When you buy tricks, the temptation will be to use them right away. This is not wrong, but always make sure to close them well, because if they come in contact with the air they dry up and get damaged immediately.
- Many people use testers in an exaggerated and inappropriate way.
- Be kind to the person who helps you. This person is almost certainly not going to be very helpful to you if you are being rude.
- If there is one giveaway, don't ask for two. This is a gift and you are receiving it for free.
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Don't be over the top with the samples. A sample is more than enough to test if a product causes you allergic reactions and to make you decide whether to buy it or not. You don't have to ask for huge quantities, as if you never need to buy the product again. And they are not even designed as a travel kit: special containers are on sale for that.
- Cosmetic companies typically provide samples of foundation, moisturizers, face cleansers and toners. They do not give samples of lipstick, eyeshadow, pencils or very small products such as concealers and lip balm. Also, the rules vary from shop to shop. Some stores create samples using testers, others do not provide the clerks with containers to do so.
- Sometimes you can find larger samples than the traditional format. Only a few cosmetic companies distribute them: if you receive one, you can be happy with it.
- Do not answer the questions of those who help you with generics "I don't know, you tell me". Nobody can give you advice without adequate information.
- Nobody reads minds, don't expect shop assistants to. Ask specific questions and answer them sincerely and prepared.
