A Guide for Those Lost in the Aisles

My makeup routine has existed longer than many marriages. For the last 10 years, I’ve swiped my cheeks and lids with a two-in-one blush and eye shadow from Nars, lined my eyes with Laura Mercier’s black liner and used DiorShow mascara on my lashes.
The only deviation has come from the lipsticks and glosses I’ve picked up on impulse in drug and department stores. I craved a major change, but I have minimal knowledge about cosmetics and little interest in navigating through the thousands of products available on my own. And the pros at makeup counters are obviously interested in pushing only their own lines.

Luckily for me, there are now personal shoppers for not only fashion and home décor, but also cosmetics.

I met Raychel Wade, whose New York-based business, Cheek to Chic, matches women with makeup, at the Nars counter of Barneys New York. There, thanks to her relationship with the salesclerks, I was able to shed several layers of winter wear and leave my handbag behind the counter, and I was offered bottled water. I told her I was time-pressed but wanted to look chic and pulled together, and then we walked through the floor, where she recommended a few new colors of eye shadow, including a sparkly one for night, blush and lipstick from a variety of brands. She also insisted I pick up an eyelash curler from Kevin Aucoin, which she promised would be a game changer.

An hour later, I had a whole new look.

Ms. Wade is part of a growing industry of personal shoppers around the country who have found a niche helping women navigate an increasingly littered maze of lipsticks, blushes, foundations, eye shadows and other cosmetics (Prestige makeup sales were $3.8 billion last year compared with $3.3 billion in 2008, according to the NPD group). Unlike many professional makeup artists who are widely quoted giving advice in magazines but affiliated with brands, like Gucci Westman for Revlon, these professionals make a selling point of their neutrality.

Source : https://makeuptipsbymerry.wordpress.com/2013/03/15/a-guide-for-those-lost-in-the-aisles/