Why are beauty counters so stingy with their foundation samples ?

[cannotfuckingbelievethis]

2nd thread in 5 minutes....you can see I'm bored...

I just don't get this. If they're seriously expecting you to part with £25-£30 (or in some cases even more) for a bottle of foundation why can't they give a sample ? I've even been refused when I've had my own clean sample bottle with me. I know Estee Lauder are pretty good but the rest of them seem pretty hopeless. I asked at my local YSL counter and was given some blab about hygiene and allergic reactions. Then she offered to give me a full make over using the foundation so sure if I was going to have an allergic reaction to it then that would be just as likely to cause it too.

Yes it annoys me when they put a bit on your chin and expect you to buy it there and then. I don't think you can tell if its a good match until you have used it all over. I have loads of hardly used foundations because I have allowed myself to be convinced by the orange ladies that they are perfect.

I spent 10 years working on beauty counters.. we're not all orange :) (some are though!)

I agree samples are stingy..I guess the idea is to get a customer to sit down for a make over and sell them about 20 things as well as the foundation! (The aim is to always sell at least two things per customer).

We were told to never put product into a customers pot as we couldn't be sure what had been in it before even if the customer said it was clean as if we filled it and they had an allergic reaction they could complain and say it was our product when it might be a chemical combination of what was in the pot before mixing with the product.

This really irritates me too.
Foundations have a tendency to change colour on me after I've been wearing them for 30-45 minutes - they turn orange. Or turn into a greasy mess.
I've spent hundreds on foundations over the years and only ever found a couple that have really suited me.
What particularly annoys me is that in the U.S. if you buy any cosmetics from larger department stores, Saks and Nordstrom come to mind in particular, they will refund without question even if you've opened and used the product.
But here we can't even get a sample before we're handing over our £30.

Have you tried Mac? Admittedly it's a while since I've been but they've definitely given me a couple of decent samples before, about four applications worth. Same goes for clinique. Although I strongly suspect it's down to the individual selling, I've been refused a sample from Estée Lauder before, and just simply went back an hour later and got one off her colleague no bother!!

Clinique have been good in our local debenhams.

Fairlea - That sort of makes sense I suppose although I have even on occasions got a clean pot from another counter in the same store and then went to the counter where I want a sample and they've said no. And I'm sure you're not orange

Herdy - From what I've heard ( I may be wrong) the overall customer service is better in the US in terms of returning items and samples etc.

Insert - I forgot to mention MAC actually. Although they're good with the samples I've never, ever had any luck getting a foundation that suits me. They always seem to change colour on my skin.

Guess I'm just feeling bitter as I bought a new foundation this week, YSL Youth Liberator, and thought initially it looked beautiful on my skin it lasted all of about 3hrs before turning into a greasy mess. Give the counsutlant her due though, she did offer an exchange for their long lasting foundation Teint Resist which I've used for two days but I'm not overly impressed with that either. It's separating on my face and going patchy by the end of the day.

Wish I was a man or at least not such a bloody vain woman !

clinique are good and gave me some in a pot to try of their cc cream.

looks like I may be going to terrorise my local Clinique counter then

It might be my fault.
30 years ago and utterly broke I managed for about two years at work with just the samples pots they used to give at Estée Lauder and all those dept store concessions

Pagwatch - ha ha ,yes it's your fault !

Stanton - aye, very good....but how exactly does that help me in my quest for the perfect foundation ?

I recently got a very decent sized sample from Mac recently; has lasted 2 weeks and counting, although it won't last for more than another couple of days.

If you buy the foundation and its the wrong colour, just being it back. Cosmetic counters aren't exempt from the sale of goods act. If they recommend a foundation and it turns out to be no good then it's not fit for purpose. Took years to figure that out . Now, of something doesn't work or isn't right I bring it back. Haven't had a problem yet.

What the jeff does someone say to get deleted on a thread about foundation?

I've always found YSL to be great for foundation samples. Earlier this year I went to buy the touché éclat foundation and they gave me a small bottle which lasted about 2 weeks. When I bought it I asked for another sample bottle to take on holiday to save me taking the full product and they gave me 2 bottles which lasted for ages before I actually had to open the one I'd bought.

I think it depends on what counter and what time of the week/month you go. They all have certain weekly/monthly targets to meet, so presumably end of the week/month will be more of a 'hard sell'? I found going on a quieter weekday (Mon/Tues) helps. The Boots No7 ladies always give generous samples as do MAC.

(Fairylea, don't know if you remember I asked about counter work once? I'm now working at the Body Shop and love it! - and I ALWAYS give big foundation samples )

YSL gave me a very generous sample of the foundation when I bought a touch éclat.

Moomin that's great! So glad you're enjoying it! :)

I'm tempted to go back when ds starts nursery, it was the best job I ever had :)

MAC may have given me a generous sample, but when I went back in today to see if they had it back in stock, which was over 4 weeks since they said they would let me know when it came in, they were less than helpful.

I was the only person in the store, so its not like they were rushed off their feet. However they were not the slightest bit interested in keeping my custom.

If you have a wee pot you could just squirt a bit in from the tester? I've a friend who's done this plenty of times.

The nice lady on the No7 counter in my local Boots gave me two ma-hoosive samples of the foundation her machine insisted "matched" my skin tone. Which was a shame because when I got them home and stood them next to my perfectly-matched-but-too-expensive-for-casual-use Armani LSF it was pretty clear they were at least six three shades too dark.

My friend unexpectedly got about a year's supply of her usual Estee Lauder Double Wear as a sample when the counter had run out of small sizes, store was almost closing and bloke behind counter just gave her a massive bottle of the stuff

I think she'd purchased other stuff too but can't be sure. I never seem to get decent sample sizes of things I like. Things I dislike on the other hand...