MAC vs. Sephora

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In all honesty, I prefer Sephora. ​
 ​
Sephora has a wide selection of cosmetic and skin care.​
The makeup is more natural (sorry MAC lovers...I HATE the cake face look).​
 ​
Make Up Forever and Urban Decay at Sephora is absolutely AMAZING!​
It compliments my skin tone.​
The workers are very knowledgeable and polite. ​
And the price is reasonable! ​
 ​
I've been to MAC a few times and I don't know ... ​
It just seems as if I'm at a puppet shop. ​
Everyone has the same color skin, the same dark lipstick, smokey eyes etc.​
It's like they're systematic. Ugh! No diversity whatsoever.​
 ​
At Sephora, I feel more comfortable going to any associate (dark or fair skin) and have no problem​
with them putting makeup on me or getting their advice.​

. 

 
I have had a few negative experiences at MAC so I would definitely pick Sephora where there is a wider range of goodies and nicer customer service.

 
Your discussion here has inspired this article. When you get a moment, check it out!  https://www.makeuptalk.com/a/mac-versus-sephora 
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Honestly, I found this thread kind of discouraging. Plenty of ageism both ways, and some people even went as far as to use disparaging ageist terms for other women. Disappointing.

I think the point of a beauty community is to lift each other up, not tear people down. If you think that a younger/older person can't do your makeup as well as an older/younger person so be it, but there are less offensive ways of saying so.

Now...let's talk beauty!

I prefer Sephora because of the variety, perks, and ease of browsing for way too long without feeling like a pest. It's so easy to find things there that I didn't even know I needed (but now must have!).

 
I've been a loyal MAC customer for years now, however I've become incredibly displeased with their customer service. I am incredibly fair skinned-- every time I enter the perimeter of the store, everyone avoids me, choosing to talk to other customers, etc. Matching a fair skinned person can be really challenging, and I'm alabaster skinned. I've always made my products from them work. Anyway, every time I've gone in the past few years, the girls are worse and worse-- rude, impatient, snarky, etc. I've stopped purchasing MAC all together due to their horrible customer service. It's not just at one location either, it's as if MAC doesn't prioritize customer service training or maintenance at any of their branches. Really sad. At Sephora, I've always been pampered. Everyone takes their time to assist me in finding my right shade/fragrance/whatever, and I legitimately have multiple strong relationships on a customer/employee basis just after a few visits to a particular store. Sephora has much more to offer, and this isn't coming from my bias because I'm a Sephora Employee, but I got tired of my negative experiences and took my money and time elsewhere.

 
Sephora. I like both, but I prefer Sephora because I like that they have a bunch of different brands to choose from, instead of just one.

 
Sephora, hands down. Such a great selection of products and 9 out of 10 times the customer service is phenomenal.I am a flight attendant and I go to Sephora every chance I get and from LA, to Paris I am always satisfied. The one thing I did find interesting was that the There was a MAC counter at the sephora in Paris, whihc was awesome,like killing 2 birds with one stone.

 
Both. If you don't like MAC's customer service just order your products online. See which ones you like at the counter without ever having to talk to anybody. All the testers are laid out for you to try. Simple as that.

 
I like sephora more it has all the brands I loved compared to just one. Also when I'm I mac the ladies always look at me weird and I get paranoid that I forgot how to use makeup lol I don't like that! Always ignored! -

 
Really I don't think you can really compare them. M.A.C is a brand who sells M.A.C but Sephora is a store that sells make up of many different brands

 
Considering MAC is a makeup brand and Sephora is a beauty boutique which possesses an array of brands + it's own brand, you cannot really compare them. If anything, you can compare ULTA and Sephora more so than MAC and Sephora.

 
Considering MAC is a makeup brand and Sephora is a beauty boutique which possesses an array of brands + it's own brand, you cannot really compare them. If anything, you can compare ULTA and Sephora more so than MAC and Sephora.
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I completely agree. To answer the original question I would pick Sephora over MAC. Not only does Sephora have a variety of brands, but it also carries some additional products that MAC doesn't carry such as perfume (one of my favorite things). Sephora also has a rewards program that anyone off the street can join. In addition Sephora also sometimes has sales and coupons that I just don't see at MAC. An email from Sephora is likely to say, "Get a free whatever with your purchase" and an email from MAC will likely say, "Get this now before it's gone". For me Sephora is the better bet; I love so many products that are sold there, where as with MAC I only buy a few certain things there. I do like that if I am buying one small thing online I can go to the MAC website and get free shipping without having to spend a minimum amount of $. As far as customer service goes I have had good experiences at both, but since I shop at Sephora a lot more I have had many more encounters with their customer service and they have all been great.
 
I only have a MAC counter where I live, but I have a freestanding Sephora store and I would have to choose Sephora! I feel more comfortable in my Sephora store and I love browsing. I also feel like there are less people watching over me at Sephora. If I go to the MAC counter, someone is on me and wont let me just browse! I also dont like in general asking the SA for help, since I dont trust them and I do my own research online. Sephora also has a better rewards program than MAC, so I feel like I get more bang for my buck at Sephora. But honestly, I just shop online for both of these places. I just hate going in and dealing with the pushy SAs.

 
I think that the attention you get at a MAC store or counter is much better than Sephora. Like any department store makeup counter, it's more of a one on one experience and they really try to take care of you. Sephora is more of a self service situation which I sometimes like when I just want to browse. I've asked for some advice before at Sephora and was surprised by how unhelpful they were given that they work in a makeup store. I would assume they would know more about the products but it really wasn't the case. 

 
I think that the attention you get at a MAC store or counter is much better than Sephora. Like any department store makeup counter, it's more of a one on one experience and they really try to take care of you. Sephora is more of a self service situation which I sometimes like when I just want to browse. I've asked for some advice before at Sephora and was surprised by how unhelpful they were given that they work in a makeup store. I would assume they would know more about the products but it really wasn't the case. 
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That's not true. . I've had some of the worst service. . Or lack of service at MAC counters of any shopping experiences. Then again, I've always had great service at Sephora; my salespeople are always helpful, yet not pushy and biggest plus, they are able to offer several brand recs depending on my wants that day. We all have different experiences, so to say service at one store is better is all relative to our personal encounters.
 
Originally Posted by amstern /img/forum/go_quote.gif

I think that the attention you get at a MAC store or counter is much better than Sephora. Like any department store makeup counter, it's more of a one on one experience and they really try to take care of you. Sephora is more of a self service situation which I sometimes like when I just want to browse. I've asked for some advice before at Sephora and was surprised by how unhelpful they were given that they work in a makeup store. I would assume they would know more about the products but it really wasn't the case. 
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I think this really depends on the specific store you go to. My local Sephora inside JCP, is pretty good, the girls are not following you around(which I find super annoying), but if I have a question they know how to answer it and help. One of the girls there matched me to MUFE HD foundation perfectly! So I think it depends on the store and the staff. You might go to a MAC counter where the girls are totally mean and rude and you can find the same thing at a Sephora...it all depends.

 
Ooh! Sephora, because I just -- like literally two minutes ago -- won their Pantone raffle! I don't know what is in the prize package, but whoo!

 
Originally Posted by meaganola /img/forum/go_quote.gif
Ooh! Sephora, because I just -- like literally two minutes ago -- won their Pantone raffle! I don't know what is in the prize package, but whoo!
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:eek: /emoticons/[email protected] 2x" width="20" height="20" /> wow congrats!!!

 
Sephora all the way, out of all the stores they are my favorite. I won't go to Ulta, or MAC counters and probably won't order from MAC online after my recent experience ever again. Sephora the employees are actually friendly and offer up help when you enter or shortly after you enter, which can be annoying but hey at least they are acknowledging you! There selection is way better. Ulta is just flat out rude people that watch my every move when I'm there like they think I shouldn't be allowed to wear makeup or something. They are super unhelpful. It is the same exact way at the MAC counter.

 
I wanted to buy all new make up yesterday since it hasn't been changed since last year. I know yuck.. But anyways I decided to walk in MAC at the mall and I was actually looking for someone to help me because I wanted the best products for me . Well I was completely ignored .noone said hi to me or anything. So I turned around and walked out. And went to sephora. I was noticed when I walked in and maybe a minute after I walked in someone came up to me and asked if I needed help.i got what I needed and spent almost 100.00 dollars on 7 items. MAC lost a nice sale and maybe a new potential customer . I will not go back. Sephora is my choice.

 

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