My husband’s company was having a party on a Friday evening. We were supposed to be at the party at 7:00 p.m. I work until 4:30 p.m. and it takes me about a half hour to get home so I thought it would be nice (and less rushed) if I just went somewhere after work to get my hair and make-up done.
I called Blo at the Four Seasons. I’ve gotten a blow dry there before and they’ve done a good job. When I called to book my appointment, I learned that they also offer make-up services. I told the girl on the phone that I needed to be done by 6:00 p.m. and she said that would be no problem.
I received a confirmation text, but it was only for the make-up appointment at 5:15 p.m.. My appointment was scheduled for 4:45 p.m. for hair first and then make-up at 5:30 p.m. I called them to make sure that they had me down for both appointments and they confirmed. I again, checked that I would be done by 6:00 p.m. I was told that it would be 6:15 at the latest. Even with the half hour it would take me to get home, I figured it would be fine since my hair and make-up would be done. I could quickly change and then hop in a cab with the hubby. I decided to keep my appointment. The girl on the phone recommended that I arrive early as they may be able to take me right away.
On the day of my appointment I arrived about 20 minutes before my appointment time. I was asked to sit in the waiting area outside the shop. I was greeted right on time and brought in. The stylist asked me what I was looking for. I had photographs of the hair style I wanted and some example photos of the make-up look I wanted. I told her I didn’t need exactly that make-up – we could play with the colours and change it up, but I wanted that sort of glam. I mentioned that I wanted to focus on my eyes because at the time I had a bit of a break-out on my skin and I wanted the main focus to distract from my skin. She said okay.
We went over to the sink for my hair washing. She used this shampoo that smelled amazing, so I told her I thought so. I felt she could have used it to her advantage and upsold to me, but she didn’t. I pushed further having to ask her the name of the line she was using. She muttered “unite”. I asked her if they sold the products there and she said “yes”. I totally would have been interested in purchasing it if she used the opportunity to tell me about it.
Now, I should share a bit of my background in the beauty industry. Although I work in a different field now, I am a make-up artist and worked for almost a decade of my life in a salon and spa setting. I know the main purpose when people come to a salon or spa is to feel good – whether for just some self-care or for a special event. People want to leave feeling like a million bucks. In this example, I did not…
We went back to her station and she began to blow out my hair. I wanted my long bangs or the shortest layer of my hair to swoop and fall a certain way to the side as in the photograph I showed her. She didn’t do this. When she was almost done she asked me what I thought and I again mentioned that I wanted the swoop that was in the photograph. She said because my hair is a bit fine on top she can’t really do that, but she would do her best. I didn’t protest, but when I got my hair cut (just three weeks before) I showed my stylist the exact some photograph I was using here and my stylist cut and styled my hair exactly like the picture. I have also styled my own hair this way many times. After seeing that it just wasn’t happening, I thought I would just fix it when I got home as I felt we needed to get started on my make-up. The time was just ticking away.
As she was spraying down my hair, I told her I thought we should start my make-up soon and reminded her that I needed to be out by 6:15 p.m. She asked me a few more questions about the make-up I wanted. I mentioned that I love trying different looks so I’m pretty comfortable with make-up. I told her I wanted to be glammed up and that I need a bit more coverage as I have a small break-out. Her response to me was to ask me why I’ve broken out. I just feel like that’s a huge no-no. Your job is to make me feel good about myself. Your job is to make me forget I have any blemishes. Your job is to say no problem, then make my eyes pop so I feel awesome. I have had my make-up done a million times – in times when my skin is perfect and also in times when it’s not. I’ve never had anyone ask me why I’ve broken out. How awkward for someone to answer a question like that from someone they barely know. I’m not sure what she was expecting me to say. Did she want an explanation? As if I’m a dermatologist and know why…probably stress because my life has been stressful for reasons x,y and z…or it’s probably hormonal, or who knows. How uncomfortable to be asked that question. Plus, now you’ve she’s got me thinking about my skin and feeling insecure. Just awful etiquette.
So anyways, the hair is all sprayed down and it’s fine, but also nothing special. I don’t think it was worth the cost as I’ve done better for myself numerous times and still wanted to go home to fix it afterwards.
So now it’s time to start make-up and she asks me if she can just put make-up on over top of the make-up I’m wearing. Yes, that’s right…the make-up I’ve been wearing since 7 am. This is another huge no-no. I came to get a fresh face of make-up done. I am actually shocked that someone in this line of work has asked me this. Anyone who wears make-up knows it looks best when it’s fresh. She knows I’m going to a fancy corporate party and still asked me this? Wow. I feel the whole thing went on a downward spiral at this point. She took off all my make-up and reapplied without adding any moisturizer. The contouring was awful with visible stripes of white powder above my chin on both sides. She asked me if I wanted my eyebrows filled in to which I answered yes, of course. She just added color on top of my brows instead of filling them in/shaping them. I had to ask her to properly fill them in and she took forever on this. She obviously was not very confident. Time was completely running out. It was past 6 p.m. and I reminded her that I needed to be done by 6:15 p.m. She said she was almost done. She hadn’t added my lashes, blush or lipstick and this point and was saying she was almost done. She’d shown me in a mirror the eyeliner that she was doing for me to get my approval and I kept telling her that she could do more as it was barely there and I told her that I’m not scared of it so she can go to the point where it’s more visible, but she would add just a tiny bit and then make me look again. I eventually told her it was fine just to get the show on the road as I was getting late. She put on my lashes. I told her I would do my blush at home and she wanted to put some lipstick on me so she could take an “after” photo. The lipstick she chose was awful, but even if it wasn’t, her words after applying it were unacceptable – “oh that actually looks great”…well surprise surprise, it actually looks great. I did not leave there feeling good about myself at all.
I ended up cutting it off early, telling her I had to go even though no blush was done, I didn’t look blended (although I don’t think she noticed) and had an ugly lipstick on. My hair needed fixing, my make-up needed fixing and it was almost 6:25. I went to pay and the bill came to around $150.00. Not a penny of it was worth it. Well maybe the shampoo was nice, but the rest of it was awful.
It took me half hour to get home. Then, I had to fix my make-up and hair and get dressed. We were almost an hour late for the party and I was out $150.00 that I spent on absolutely nothing.
Bottom line – this place really blows and not in a good way.
