Stock Image (not Makeover Essentials Products)

Last week I was having a bit of a browse around my local town centre, and walked past a stand that was showing makeup. I'm not a fan of people selling me things on the street, but I did try to have a sneaky look as I walked past- however I must have just looked like a walking target to the sales girl and I was quickly roped in (damn my British politeness!) The initial way they get you when you're walking past is by holding out a bag saying 'have you had your free makeup goodie bag yet?' I love discounts on makeup products as much as the next person but automatically knew this was too good to be true. After blogging about beauty for a number of years and having a good understanding of makeup, I quickly caught onto the lies she was telling me, and after the presentation I managed to make my excuses and leave without parting with any cash. Once I got home and did some research on the brand I was even more disappointed in them, and I wanted to share my experience of Makeover Essentials. As soon as they rope you in and you're stood there holding one of their bags the lies begin:

A quick skim over the products told me that this was the most misleading statement ever. This annoyed me right off the bat; I might be familiar with makeup and could see what a blatant lie this was, but there are plenty of regular non-blogging makeup lovers out there who are potentially going to assume the brand is better than it is based on these claims. I could see with my own eyes that the products she showed me werent good quality, and later on I discovered by researching that Makeover Essentials make very basic, mass produced products in factories in China. For reference, MUA's £1 range in Superdrug perform better than this. I have had Makeover Essentials sales reps commenting on this post, still claiming that Makeover Essentials are made by Estee Lauder/ Mac.  I want to make this crystal clear, Estee Lauder is the parent company to many brands, the full list can be seen HERE on Estee Lauders own official LinkedIn page. Please take the time to have a look, you will be able to see that they are NOT associated in any way with Makeover Essentials.

Firstly Mac do no such product, my thoughts were if you're going to throw around names of high end brands at least have your facts right? Also NO makeup should be used for seven years, not only will that little illuminator last a year max of regular use- even if it didn't makeup expires way before the seven year mark. The sales rep kept emphasising the 'soft' bristles when frankly they felt incredibly rough, and to top it all off the colour she was insisting looked great on me looked terrible- dark gold speckles on my pale hand. Of course, different shades will suit different people, but it was clear at this stage that she was saying anything to try and make that sale.

Makeover Essentials are absolutely NOT a high end brand, nor are they coming to department stores (for anyone who doesn't know, department stores only sell 'high end' makeup brands- so things like Chanel, Mac, Estee Lauder etc). They present themselves as a new brand coming from the US (or say they're coming from Europe to people in the US) when really they've been around for years selling makeup from their shady little stalls. Reviews as far back as early 2013 show that people were being told Makeover Essentials will be coming to department stores, and it's fair to say that they still have not (or ever will) grace the shelves of Debenhams. Quality wise, as I've mentioned you can get far superior products from budget highstreet brands. The palettes are low quality, contain cheap filler ingredients such as talc and mineral oil and lack in pigmentation. Plus the fact that they've put a mix of cream and powder products in one palette of course leads to dark eyeshadow sprinkles all over the cream lipsticks. The brushes were possibly the worst thing I was shown and really were a joke- literally like something you'd find in a child's play makeup kit. Completely the wrong shape, way too small and overall truly useless.

The kicker- the final lie and the way they get you to part with your cash is tell you that the goodie bag- (the one that they've ALREADY put in your hands, pressure selling or what) is worth £200+ and is 'free' when you buy the £35 illuminator brush they showed you in the beginning. Just for reference here, Avon used to do something similar that cost about a fiver and even BareMinerals (which is a high end brand) version is only £22. Part with that £35 for the illuminator and you get the 'free' goodie bag which contains the awful palette, the useless brushes, another equally rubbish travel palette and a book of generic 'makeup tips'. In all honesty, the value of everything in that bag can't be more than £10. They tell you the reason you're offered this 'fantastic' deal is because there are only a couple of bags left, and/or it's the end of the day. This is a LIE, a way to trick you into thinking you're getting a great deal for being in the right place at the right time. I've worked in sales in the past and am well aware that a company is going to present their product in a way that's attractive, but misleading people is extremely unfair. Had the sales rep just been upfront and said 'it's £35 for this bag of makeup, here's what's inside' then that would have been fine (still an absolute rip-off but at least you know where you stand) but instead the whole thing was very sneaky.

I've contacted Makeover Essentials and stated how I was disappointed with the sales tactics that were used, the brand wasn't presented in a transparent way and I feel as though they're lying to their potential customers. Even if this would have been a good brand selling high quality products (which it's not) I still would have felt the same way- the sales tactics are shady and you're basically being deceived. You're being tricked into buying really rubbish, low quality products under the pretence that they're as good as the high end brands mentioned in the pitch- when they absolutely are not. Any self respecting brand doesn't need to con you into buying their stuff. If you ever spot a stand with someone selling makeup from this brand bear in mind that they'll tell every lie necessary to get you to part with that £35, it's scammy and dishonest. The bag of makeup isn't free, they're not a high end brand, they're not going to be sold in department stores and the fact that you're offered a goodie bag isn't some wonderful coincidence because you're in the right place at the right time. Every person that the sales team speak to are offered the same thing, and that £35 illuminator just paid for the products in that bag three times over.

I urge you to read the comments of this post, where previous Makeover Essentials sales staff have spoken up about the dishonest tactics used and provided more information.