Mac Makeup Xmas present

PaddyCar

im looking for a mac makeup set for the girlfriend for christmas. we are heading away for year in feb and said we would only spend a few quid on each other but she really loves this stuff so wanna get her a big gift set. anyone know were i can get this in dublin. havent a notion myself so help please..

Diamond007

Brown Thomas is probably your best bet.

Larianne

Brown Thomas, Grafton Street; BT2 Blanchardstown or Dundrum, Debhenams, Belfast. But be quick as the sets sell out near Christmas time. Or if you know someone who works in the airport or will pass through before Xmas, there's a MAC there and it's 21% cheaper than high street.

PaddyCar

thanks a lot. im actually heading over to her in england for xmas on 23rd so i could get it then or would i be chancing my arm leaving it that late.

Diamond007

Ooooooooh thats a bit late..

Would you rather pay a little extra to get her what she would like..

Or risk saving a few euro and end up getting something else last minute..

Id get it sooner, im sure she's worth the extra bit!

Slaygal

I try to buy all my MAC stuff in the airport cos it's a lot cheaper, the girls on the Mac counters are lovely and really helpful. I suggest you bring a photo of your girlfriend and let the ladies chose colours that will suit her. Unless you can get access to what foundation she wears I'd avoid buying that and stick to lipsticks and eyeshadows.

LadyMayBelle

Wow, is it really 21% cheaper in the airport? I hadn't noticed that much of a difference tbh..must find someone who is going travelling this christmas then!

PaddyCar

yeah. think i will buy it before then. how much would a top set cost roughly??

XXNikXX

oh get her a set of mac make up brushes.... they're loverley...

Pythia

PaddyCar wrote: »

yeah. think i will buy it before then. how much would a top set cost roughly??

There isn't really a 'top set'. They bring out a lot of similarly priced sets at Xmas. They could make a set up though.

cmcsoft

I had to get mac stuff for my sister for xmas. Brown Thomas or Debenhams.

Larianne

I'd get the sets as soon as possible. They usually sell out.

If you go to the MAC website you'll see the sets they have for Christmas. They're usually compacts with either eyeshadows in them or lipsticks. Or they have a bag with a few bits- mascara, blusher, lipgloss. Getting the 2 sets would be coool! I'd go for smokey eye set of eyeshadows. The brush set would also be good. (But be warned the brushes aren't the same quality as the regular sized brushes).

And just on a side note: The girls in the airport are the best.;) They train in London, separate to the other shops (they're trained in Dublin) and do their best to rid the nation of orange faced ladies.

and... (sorry).. the cosmetics and fragrances in the airport are 18-21% cheaper than the high street. Tis why it's called Travel Value.

ams

the Mac christmas brush sets are really nice -they had tons in BTs lst night - theyre around 60 quid for a set.

moonflower

ams wrote: »

the Mac christmas brush sets are really nice -they had tons in BTs lst night - theyre around 60 quid for a set.

Avoid the brush sets!! They're machine made and no where near as good quality as the individual brushes.

eth0_

cmcsoft wrote: »

I had to get mac stuff for my sister for xmas. Brown Thomas or Debenhams.

Debenhams don't sell MAC...

Larianne

eth0_ wrote: »

Debenhams don't sell MAC...

They do in Belfast!

metalfest

not in the south lol,
my gf got the barbie loves mac set off her great friend in america,
lol but that's nothing compared to the next set mac are releasing, hello kitty mac collection.:D:D

hm, i've to get mac stuff for the gf at christmas, but i've noticed brown thomas don't have sets do they?

eth0_

They should have the holiday sets in BT's!
These are lovely: http://www.maccosmetics.co.uk/templates/collections/collection.tmpl?CATEGORY_ID=CAT15928

Maybe you can order online.

Seraphina

moonflower wrote: »

Avoid the brush sets!! They're machine made and no where near as good quality as the individual brushes.

really? i bought a brush set off the website for my sister for christmas, it said they were the same, handmade brushes. i'll be disgusted now if they're of lesser quality!!

Seraphina

also, stuff is only cheaper in the airport if you're travelling outside the EU, so don't leave it til last minute if you're only going to england!!!

LolaLuv

moonflower wrote: »

Avoid the brush sets!! They're machine made and no where near as good quality as the individual brushes.

Unfortunately, this is true. The brush sets are a plain waste of money; I have one of the SE brushes, and it sheds like mad. Avoid, avoid.

Seraphina

awh shoot!!! so i have to buy them separately?? its already been dispatched, too late to cancel, and it'll be such a pain to return.

awh she'll be so disappointed if they're not the same quality, i'm going to email them and complain. no where on the website does it say that the brushes in the set are any different to the ones bought separately.

LolaLuv

Seraphina wrote: »

awh shoot!!! so i have to buy them separately?? its already been dispatched, too late to cancel, and it'll be such a pain to return.

awh she'll be so disappointed if they're not the same quality, i'm going to email them and complain. no where on the website does it say that the brushes in the set are any different to the ones bought separately.

You should e-mail and complain. They'll likely deny it, or offer to exchange, but from personal experience and the experiences I've read on the makeup messaging boards I'm obsessed with, they're definitely inferior. However, if your sister is just starting out with brushes then they are good for beginners; they'll allow her to experiment with different brushes and find out which ones work best for her. Also, MAC has a great exchange/return policy, so if she finds they just don't work for her, it isn't the end of the world. I despise the SE brushes but I certainly wouldn't mind receiving them as a gift. They're pretty and exchangeable, so don't beat yourself up!

Larianne

Seraphina wrote: »

also, stuff is only cheaper in the airport if you're travelling outside the EU, so don't leave it til last minute if you're only going to england!!!

Nope, travel value means it's cheap for everyone! There's only duty free on cigarettes and alcohol.

Regarding the brushes, they aren't the same quality but as a starter kit and something that is easy to carry around they're great. You can't really expect to get the same quality for the price you pay for the set. Your sis will still be thrilled! She can build from there. It will be a much nicer gift than the foundation brush on it's own.

Seraphina

yeah i'm just disappointed, i suppose i should have known the deal was too good to be true!

its a pity, for the same money i could have bought her two separates so thats annoying, i would have preferred two good ones rather than two crap ones but for christmas its too late to return them now. they did come with a lovely pouch and make up bag, i think she only really has cheapy brushes right now, so hopefully she wont notice/they'll still be much better than the ones she has.

mizzzy

mac pigments sets are sold out in bt2 dundrum(they had a 21%saving too!..funny...thats never happened before!)...the rest were there...incl brushes....try bts in town....or poss the airport...good to know they have discount!

LolaLuv

Seraphina wrote: »

yeah i'm just disappointed, i suppose i should have known the deal was too good to be true!

its a pity, for the same money i could have bought her two separates so thats annoying, i would have preferred two good ones rather than two crap ones but for christmas its too late to return them now. they did come with a lovely pouch and make up bag, i think she only really has cheapy brushes right now, so hopefully she wont notice/they'll still be much better than the ones she has.

If she has the cheapy brushes, then they'll definitely be a step up! And like I said before, they're excellent for n00bs because they'll let her try out lots of different brushes and figure out which ones work the best for her before she spends the cash on the full-sized ones. Really, it's a good gift!!

Larianne

Seraphina wrote: »

yeah i'm just disappointed, i suppose i should have known the deal was too good to be true!

its a pity, for the same money i could have bought her two separates so thats annoying, i would have preferred two good ones rather than two crap ones but for christmas its too late to return them now. they did come with a lovely pouch and make up bag, i think she only really has cheapy brushes right now, so hopefully she wont notice/they'll still be much better than the ones she has.

I'd be pretty happy if I got that as a present and I have millions of brushes! Like Pillypen said it's collection she can build on, get used to using them as it can take a while!

ncmc

I wouldn't bother buying a pre made set, there's always something in there that you don't want and they charge extra for the privilage of having it all nicely wrapped. OP, why don't you go to a MAC counter in England and get her a selection of stuff and make up your own set. It will take a bit more effort, but you'll be getting the stuff a lot cheaper than over here and you can get her really nice stuff that she'll use.

Try having a peak in her make-up bag before you go and see what kind of stuff she uses eg gloss or lipstick, colours of eyeshadow etc.

E.L

you dont know what your talking about the girls in the airport do not get anywhere near the trainiing the rest of the country gets .

they do not train london
i trained in athens, manchester, london e.t.c with mac

Larianne

E.L wrote: »

you dont know what your talking about the girls in the airport do not get anywhere near the trainiing the rest of the country gets .

they do not train london
i trained in athens, manchester, london e.t.c with mac

I think I do! The girls use to get training in Dublin but they switched it to London to train with the rest of the Travel Retail stores. (i.e. counters in airports). Also, the trainer comes over from London to see how the counter is doing and to suggest improvements etc. and also to supervise certs.

Back on topic, OP what did you end up getting????

herya

Is training in London automatically better than training in Dublin and why? Genuinely curious!

eth0_

Larianne wrote: »

Nope, travel value means it's cheap for everyone! There's only duty free on cigarettes and alcohol.

Last time I bought a MAC item in Dublin Airport it cost exactly the same as in BT in town....

eth0_

herya wrote: »

Is training in London automatically better than training in Dublin and why? Genuinely curious!

Probably because they have MAC Pro stores in London with professional makeup artists, not the dollybirds in BT who would be better working in a circus applying the clown's makeup.

Those girls in BT are the WORST ADVERT FOR MAC I can think of.

Larianne

eth0_ wrote: »

Last time I bought a MAC item in Dublin Airport it cost exactly the same as in BT in town....

It did happen on one occasion when I worked there that the price of the long wear lipstick was the same as the high street. A customer pointed it out so I rang BT's to confirm and it was the same price! Informed my manager, who in turn informed the buyer-type person to adjust the price. It should be cheaper than the high street.

As regards to training in London better than in Dublin - I never trained in London as they changed the training procedure after I left but I've heard from the girls it's better. They train above the PRO store. London would be more up to date on trends with the make-up artists there frequently going to fashion shows/shoots than the odd Arnotts/BTs fashion show.

The head trainer in Ireland, although an experienced make-up artist always did the same look (dark eyed tranny look) on the model any time I went for training. They brought in a 2nd trainer who once helped choose a foundation for my skin while a make-up artist practised on me. It was yellow! And I told him so. I don't think they want you to progress too much or you'll be taking their job. It seemed very much you got the job (in the Grafton Street branch) by having the biggest gob or being incredibly good looking and less for your artistic skill. I did meet some lovely girls who work there though so it's not all...

They have such a big turnover of staff at that counter and need a lot of staff that only half may have any artistic/make-up training whereas at the smaller counters in BT2 and the airport they tend to hire people with a background in make-up or beauty or art. That's why I always suggest going to the smaller counters.


Sorry for the long off topic post but just replying to the above.

eth0_

That's dreadful. I've had my makeup done by some of the staff in Brown Thomas MAC counter and I would never have purchased MAC makeup based off of those experiences.

I was going to say people would be more inclined to buy the makeup if the "artists" were real makeup artists who could apply the products correctly, but they are usually pretty busy in there so I suppose it doesn't affect their sales..