A Beauty Consultation (FREE) & Date Night #BeautyScoop #CBias

This past weekend, I headed to a Walmart here in the Dallas/Ft Worth area.

Did you know that Walmart now has expert beauty consultants in select stores across the country….in DE, MA, MD, NH, NJ, NY, PA, and TX?

When I first heard about this, I thought it was a brilliant idea.   I have always been a bit intimidated by cosmetics.  Can you relate?  With such a huge selection of brands and products, sometimes it can be overwhelming.  Then there’s color.  I’ve never felt that I select the best colors…..for lips, eyes, etc.

I never really learned about makeup growing up.  My mom rarely wore any and I don’t recall much guidance.

A beauty consultant was just what I needed.  Best of all, the service…..FREE!

As I browsed through the cosmetics aisles at Walmart, I met Carlie, a beauty consultant with a background in modeling.  She explained that the consultants have different backgrounds, yet all receive the same training to stay on top of the latest trends and products.

It was clear that Carlie loved this.  I found her helping so many who had questions about hair care, skin care, and yes, cosmetics.  What a benefit for those shopping at Walmart.

Another benefit, the consultants stay in particular stores.  That means I can easily find Carlie again…..same time, same place, if I have any follow up questions about a product.

While Carlie was there to help anyone with a quick question, she could provide others with a full beauty consultation, which began with a simple questionnaire to find what areas were of interest or concern.  Areas included skin care, cosmetics, hair care, nail polish, and teeth whitening.

We focused on skin care, cosmetics and hair care, but you could do as many or as few as you wanted.  The application was wonderful, and at the end recommended products based on my answers.  Carlie would then go further, explaining each product in detail.

One product I was particularly interested in…..the BB Cream from Olay.  BB Creams are all the rage right now.  I’d hear about them on tv and see them in magazines, but what exactly was a BB Cream.  I wanted to know.

BB actually stands for “Basic Beauty” and its popularity began in parts of Asia.  With just a hint of color, it’s a moisturizer, yet also protects skin with an SPF 15.

Olay has a line of BB Cream products, but I soon learned I was more interested in the CC Cream line.    Now I’ve got you curious, right?  CC stands for “Color Correcting”……so it moisturizes, protects skin with an SPF, adds a hint of color and focuses on tone correcting.  Now that is something I could use now that I’m in my 40s.

Perhaps I learned the most when discussing cosmetics.  As a professional career woman, I was always conservative with my makeup.  Now as a stay-at-home mom, I’m pretty conservative too (when I do even put on makeup).  But Carlie was about to teach me a thing or two about products and color.

Eye Shadow: When you have an eye shadow product with three colors (as with CoverGirl)…..

• Center color goes on the lower part of your eyelid
• Lighter color (usually on the right) goes on the top
• Darker color is for the crease and/or to use as a powder eyeliner

Can I just tell you how amazing it was to learn this?  I’ve had several packaged eye shadow products with some crazy colors……..now I realize the crazy color is not to go on your eyelids (unless you are really going clubbing!).

Lip Color:

• Test the color (yes, there are testers at Walmart….just look for them)
• Test the color on the back of your hand
• Get a color that is darker than your lips look naturally
• You will be surprised

My fair-skinned beauty consultant actually wears the darkest looking lip color….yet on her lips, it looks quite natural.  I would have thought it would be dramatic….no!

The color we picked for me……I was shocked.  But I understood once she tested it on my hand.  I showed her what I normally would have been leaning toward, and she explained why they wouldn’t be a good fit.

WOW!

Ultimately, these were the products we selected together based on the recommendations.  A great variety of CoverGirl,  Olay and Pantene. It had been a while since I’d bought new cosmetics, so I was due for a bit of pampering.  But hey, we are talking low Walmart prices (and there is a great Olay rebate)…..stay tuned, I’ll tell you more on that soon!

I can’t tell you how much I learned thanks to the beauty consultation.  It was exciting and filled with many A-ha moments.  I spent about 1 1/2 hours with Carlie……time well spent.  I still can’t believe it was FREE!

Next, it was time to put the products to the test!  My little helper (aka 5 yr old) helped Mama get ready for Date Night with Daddy!

From the CC Cream (which was so lightweight) and eye shadow to the brand new lipstick color, I got many compliments.

Best of all, I had a wonderful evening and dinner out with my special guy……..a rare treat!

Be sure to check out my entire shopping trip on Google +.

I am a member of the Collective Bias®  Social Fabric® Community.  This shop has been compensated as part of a social shopper insights study for Collective Bias®, CoverGirl and Olay. #BeautyScoop #cbias #SocialFabric”