Perks of being a beauty consultant

One bonus to working for Clinique, which I never knew until the holidays, is that they send all of their consultants a gift for the holidays...Forgive me for being a bit late on posting this :)

I got a text from my mom one afternoon saying that a package arrived at her house. I wasn't expecting a package since I hadn't ordered anything so I rushed out there to check it out.

I open up the big shipping box to find a cute little blue Tiffany&Co. box with this inside:

Cute right?

Thanks Clinique!

What I've been up to

Hello beauties!

Sorry for being MIA lately :( I've been so busy though! At Clinique we've been getting ready for our gift with purchase event so I've been working super long days. It'll pay off when I get my pay check. Good news though: I got my MAC Pro card today!

After months of waiting...

I can't wait to stock up on more makeup.

I went shopping on Sunday and got a bunch of MAC lipsticks that I'll need to review.

Pervette

Cyber

Chatterbox

I also got a NudeTude palette from theBalm on Hautelook.

And I've found my Holy Grail foundation and concealer.

You babes will just have to stay tuned until next time!

-Erin

Work Update: Week 2

Hello beauties!

So today is my second week at my new job with Clinique. Last Friday was my very first day on the floor, and it went pretty smoothly! A manager from another region came in to train me since my manager was out on her honeymoon. She was super easygoing and helpful. She taught me a ton about the products and got me comfortable around the counter. I even rang a few sales! 

Then I had Saturday and Sunday off and went back to work Monday. On Monday the regional manager (who I had a phone interview with) stopped by to meet me! It was really nice to get to meet her in person. She is so caring and genuinely nice and honestly wants us to succeed. She gave me some great feedback and suggestions.  I worked from 9:45-6:45 so it was a super long day but I learned a ton!

Tuesday we had training. We carpooled up to the Twin Cities for this seminar and got 10 paid hours on the clock! We learned a lot about what we need to do meet our yearly goals. They also gave us 3 free meals and Clinique goodies!

So here's what we got:

I will for sure be reviewing these products in the near future- so stay tuned!

That brings us to today! So today I put much of what I learned at the seminar into play. I started using more of the tools, skin-typed every client I could and booked a bunch of appointments! And I sold almost $1,000 of product...on my third day. Even I'm impressed!

-Erin

Work Update: My First Week

My First Week With Clinique

As some of you may know, I recently started working as a beauty advisor at a Clinique counter in Herberger's. Since I know there's a lot of questions out there as to what the job entails (I know I had them!), I plan on updating this blog as I go so that everybody who wants to become a beauty advisor can have a more clear picture of what the job will look like.

The first day I was asked to come in was pretty basic. I was asked to sign paperwork, read through employee manuals, tour the store, got a key/nametag/employee id card, etc. Easy stuff right? Since I've had jobs before I thought to bring in my Social Security card, a state issued id, and a voided check (for direct deposit). These definitely came in handy because even though they didn't ask me to bring them, they still needed to have them. So be sure to come prepared...wouldn't want to make a bad impression on your first day!

The second day was training on a computer. It was store training, not necessarily Clinique training. It was a lot of learning how to ring things up, how to sell store charge cards, store history, things like that. At the end of each segment they had you take a quiz to make sure you learned everything. The computer training took about four hours.

The next day was all about Clinique! I had my own office for the day to watch videos about the brand. I always suggest taking notes. The more you know and remember, the better. Thankfully I was provided with a little Clinique workbook that had some extra pages for notes. The videos were about the history of Clinique, product knowledge, how to skintype each client, how to do consultations, etc. It was a lot of information so I was glad I took notes! The videos probably took about two hours to complete, tops. They went by pretty fast.

Now, onto yesterday. It was my first day behind the counter! I got to meet and train with a regional manager. She was so nice and pleasant to work with. I also got to meet some of the staff. Right now it's just me and two other ladies working at the counter! I learned so much product knowledge and even got to try on products. I also made a few sales and got to experience working with customers.

I think I'm really going to love this job. They're sending me off to training in the Twin Cities on Tuesday, so of course I'm very excited for that!

Weekly Wishlist

This week I've been drooling over tons of products.

Here's a summary:

NARS Beach Lover

This 5 piece travel set is perfect for summer!

Plus it's a great way to try out some NARS products at a reduced price.

It's $49 at Sephora

MAC Hey, Sailor! Lipstick in Sail La Vie

It's a beautiful orange-red shade that's sold out online!

Hopefully my store still has it.

$15.50

I'm so mad at myself for not purchasing it last time I was at MAC!

MAC Fluidline in Waveline

$15

I LOVE a beautiful navy liner and I love Fluidline, this is a priority!

I'm also super excited to get to try out tons of Clinique products at my new job. I will definitely be doing Clinique reviews when I get the chance to play around with all of the products!

That concludes this week's wishlist.

-Erin 

Clinique Beauty Advisor

Well you guys and gals, I got the job!!
I am now a Clinique Beauty Advisor.
I'm super excited to get started in my new career!
I will keep you all posted on how it's going.

Clinique Interview

So I had my Clinique/Herbergers interview on Friday, I think it went pretty well.
I was pretty nervous because I don't have a lot of sales experience and having a passion for makeup isn't always going to make a sale. However, I think I would succeed in a sales environment.
The manager was really nice. She took me to her office then started the interview by watching a video to get a feel for the job. After the video she interviewed me, and asked a few questions I wasn't necessarily expecting. She asked me a lot of situation specific situations. Like "describe a situation with a difficult customer and how you handled it" "describe a time when you provided great customer service". Maybe I should have been prepared for those types of questions, but I've interviewed with plenty of jobs that haven't asked those. I even interviewed with a full service salon and they didn't ask me those kind of questions. Same with a marketing firm I worked with. So I guess I thought a department store interview would be about the same/ easier. WRONG. It was probably the most difficult interview I've had. And I've done a technical interview at a salon where a manager watches you perform services as the interview. That was way more laid back than this. So basically Clinique/Estee Lauder is going to do an over the phone interview with me they call Talent Plus. I'm pretty nervous for that, but I've been preparing.
So here's my overview of information about this job so far:
PROS
You get to work in a sales driven environment
You get paid training and advanced training from Clinique
You get gratis
You make base plus commission, the more you sell the more you make
You get to work with makeup and skincare
You get to perform makeovers on customers
You get a great discount throughout the entire department store
CONS
Very strict dress code- All black, shirt must be above collar bone, no jewelry except earrings that need to be smaller than the buttons on your jacket, natural hair and makeup. (I went into the beauty industry to have the freedom to do my hair/makeup how I like and wear my jewelry, etc...It's supposed to be less conservative)
The commission is very lousy. An experienced salesperson is expected to make an extra $2/hour from commission.
Wages start low as it is 7.50-8 dollars an hour (I was making more than that at Panera Bread)
Somewhat stressful job. You need to make and exceed your sales goals.

I'm just waiting for my phone interview from Talent Plus to hopefully get the ball rolling.
In other news, I'm starting to plan out my professional makeup kit. This is something I really want to pursue.
I would love to do editorial work, bridal work, fashion, runway, prom, special events, etc. So I really want to get my freelance career going, and I can't really do that without a kit! There's an agency in my area who works with freelance artists and gets us bridal gigs. I also plan to contact photographers to get my portfolio started since that is huge in this industry. And of course, searching for whatever gigs I can in my area!

Got a lot on my plate for now, wish me luck :)
-Erin

6/20

What a day today!
So first I went to the dentist with my mom, dropped her off at the doctor, and while I was waiting for her I got a call from the manager of a Clinique counter in my area for an interview!
I would love love love to be a representative for any makeup line- but how lucky would I be to get started with Clinique! I'm gonna need to be super prepared for this interview since my dream job is to be a makeup artist, which I will get to do some of at the counter. I'm sososososo excited for this and really hope I get the job! better get studying ;)
-Erin