MAC Cosmetics

Overall Mac Makeup is great. For me personally I have been hit and miss, loyal to a few of their products that although are a bit pricey are a great value for the longevity and quality. In recent history it has been the pot NW 20 concealer that I have been fully loyal too — great blendable coverage. I love the pink MAC blush I have. Their foundations have caused me to break out which is just my personal sensitivity. They have nice blushes, eye shadows and lipsticks. It is worth testing their products out to see what might suit your needs and taste. Their products are well pigmented so I think that is why they are such a good value. The Mac store is fun to browse and as long as they are not too busy the staff has been helpful but not intrusive. They have seasonal special and colour trends which at the very least are fun to admire.

What friendly and wonderful staff. They helped me find the perfect shade of red lipstick for my red themed birthday party. As an ex-​competitive dancer I’m picky when it comes to lip stick shades because I really don’t want anything close to what I had to wear on stage. These girls were able to identify which lipsticks were like that and point me in the direction of something completely matte and opposite. They also gave me a few recommendations of places to shop in Calgary since it was my fifth day in the city — I’m really grateful for that. I’ll definitely be back to see these girls.

I am a MAC-​aholic. Plain and simple. There are days when I avoid going into this store because it is IMPOSSIBLE for me to go in and not leave with AT LEAST one bag. On a normal visit to a Mac store, I’ll leave having dropped at least $ 200. But you know what? MAC is the one place I don’t mind paying the big bucks. It’s pricey to buy the best, and TRUST me, MAC is the best that money can buy.
Coming from a ‘face artiste’ as I like to refer to myself, MAC makeup not only has the widest selection of colours, tints, shimmers, coals, and overall product, but their merchandise is the highest quality. It’s made from the finest products and it is not tested on animals.
I have super sensitive skin and MAC is the only makeup that my skin can tolerate (go figure).
Yes it’s expensive, but it’s the best there is. Take it from a make-​up connoisseur — Once you go MAC, you’ll never go back.

I have to agree with Dinah, MAC is the sweet of the sweet of makeup. Walking into the MAC store is walking into a flow of vibrant, unusual colours, and it is a little piece of makeup heaven. I love the MAC makeup brushes, I can’t exist without the «Coffee» eyeliner, and I own a ton of eyeshadows.
One of my favourite aspects of being a regular MAC customer is that they encourage you to recycle. If you bring in six empty containers, they give you a free lip colour of your choice. Now that’s green!
Thee makeup artists are always willing to assist you and tend to be much more knowledgeable than others. Sometimes they are a little bitchy and pretentious, but most of the time they are super friendly and will help you out. Always try out the colours before you buy them — it is much better to get the colour right the first time. Put it on where you would be wearing it.
The foundations are lovely too, and the gift sets are so pretty. MAC is definitely Canada’s claim to makeup fame, and it doesn’t get any cheaper than here.

I was elated upon hearing that there was a Mac Cosmetics store here in Calgary. I have been an actor in the Film and TV industry for years and most productions have used Mac Cosmetics on us as on-​camera makeup. My skin never reacted badly to it, and it always gave me a very natural glow, so I continued using it as my own personal makeup.
The store in Chinook is a nice space, it’s a smaller store than what I am used to and this affects the stock that they can carry. The girl assisting us was extremely friendly and informative and even so I couldn’t help but notice that the staff here had overt amount of makeup on, and dare I say it, they looked like clowns. Mac always prides itself on having natural looking makeup so I don’t know why these girls were packing on the goods; the lighting is also very bright in this location so the results are even more heightened. Perhaps this is intentional on Mac’s part, I am not quite sure. I have used Mac for years so I know the benefits of MC but if you are new to MC these faces may scare customers off.
There are also mirrors and make up chairs in the store, and MC offers make-​up makeovers free of charge if make-​up stylists in store are free and have the time to make you over. For $ 55 you can make an appointment for a personal makeover and you get a free mascara or for $ 110 you can actually have MC teach you how to apply your own make-​up. Making over one half of your face and you are encouraged after the class to apply your own make-​up on the other half of your face from what you learned. With this $ 110 package you also get a free mascara.
Another perk that Mac offers is a 30 to 40% discount to professional artists, you just need to ask for an application, be reviewed by Mac Pro central and upon approval they then can send you a Mac Pro card.
Chinook is a convenient location, I would like to compare it to the other stores in Calgary and to the counter at the Bay, but all in all the service was good.