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MUA Hygiene Horror Stories
I hijacked this from another thread because I'm sooooooooo OCD about hygiene when I work. rachelrose wrote: When I get to the "hygiene" section of any of my classes...I use her as an example of WHAT NOT TO DO. The first time I watched her blow on a brush and then put it directly on a woman's eye I screamed at the TV (scared the crap out of my husband and the dog). Aug 07 06 11:30 am Link When I worked at MAC (many moons ago), costumers would just come up to the counter and try on lipstick and glosses straight from the tube without even cleaning it or asking to have it cleaned. Grossss!! They dont even know where those things have been. Talk about a cold sore waiting to happen. Aug 07 06 11:44 am Link My horror stories come form when I don't have control over the problem. Like when I am assisting an artist and they aren't very sanitary... and they send me on set with a touchup kit of mascara (still in the tube) a lipbrush and lipgloss (still in the tube) ad touche eclat still in the tube, or a lip palette and a brush. Those are my horror stories, because I am not in a position of authority to say something. Usually I bring my own brushes on set with me, but I don't want to make the other artist look bad. I have had this happen multiple times with different artists, it kind of amazes me that nobody notices. I did a music video once and a renegade make-up artist showed up on set (an extra with a make-up bag) and started doing all the extra's make-up with mascara still in the tube and using dirty brushes. When I was in make-up school there was a girl in my class who thought it not only novel to blow on brushed but to lick her eyeliner to a point.. needless to say... nobody wanted to work with her and we were too chicken to say something to the instructor. But on QVC a lot of the artists do big NONOs. Mally Roncal blows on her brushes. Not to mention EVERY counter I have been to has the dirtiest shabbiest brushes. Aug 07 06 11:44 am Link I have gone into cosmetic stores and seen people use lipstick, lip gloss, out of the tube, Mascara out of the tube, Eyeliner cap it and put it back, eyeshadows, blushes, everything you can imagine and even use their fingers to rub eyeshadow on to put on their eyes. I have goten to a poin where I do not use testers in the store for fear one of those kinds of people have used it first. I ask for samples instead or I buy it and if I like it great if I don't hey at least I do not get some kind of eye fungus or something. Rachel Aug 07 06 11:54 am Link When I 1st began modeling I had a makup artist lick his liner brush to give me a more presice line on my eye lid. I smacked the brush right out of his hand and told him NO you will not ut that in my eye. Aug 07 06 11:54 am Link Rachel D wrote: The fingers in the eyeshadows/blushes don't bother me nearly as much as using stuff out of the tube. Using your fingers in powder products just makes them hard and ruins them. Aug 07 06 12:06 pm Link This is a little different, but thought I'd add it anyway... I once had a shoot for a girl who was putting together her comp card. She had her hair back in a ponytail and it looked slightly damp. When I went to g work on it, it turned out that it wasn't damp, just very GREASY and smelly. I thought I was going to die!!! I refused to work on her and she got sent home. For me, that was a horror story! Aug 07 06 12:10 pm Link I was doing makeup for a fashion show here a few years ago and one of the other MUA's had one sponge for each shade of foundation. I mean she was reusing one disposable sponge on the models of same complexion. I thought I was going to DIE. Most of the models did not even say anything about it. Aug 07 06 02:14 pm Link anyone got any links to disposal lip brushes? I did a search but the ones I see are synthetic and very blunt looking they do not appear to be very good. I do makeup for workshops where there are multiple models and I find that having them would save time rather than having to sanitize my brushes and wait for them to dry between models and color changes. Aug 07 06 03:25 pm Link Teresa Tatsch MUA wrote: i don't have a link but I get my disposable lip brushes and mascara wands both at Sally Beauty. Aug 07 06 04:33 pm Link Teresa Tatsch MUA wrote: 99% alcohol will clean, disinfect and dry very quickly. Aug 07 06 06:14 pm Link uhggg I Have seen everything from blowing on brushes to double dipping mascaras, I often will call people on their less thena hygenic ways, ( I do so in a descreet manner as to not embarass the make-up artist ) but once I did say "ohh my god did you just double dipp , wow you must be made of money to give every model you work with a tube of mascara" she turend bright red and yes did give that macara to that model. I said this after watching her double did 3 times, lucky for the model she was the only double dipper model ( that I know of) I think blowning directly on the models face to remove the fallen powder sucks too, Same reason why I dont eat brithday cake !!!! Anyooo I need to go and dissinfect my hands now..... Mandy of Deadly Design Make-up Artistry Aug 07 06 09:29 pm Link Double dipping is scary, I don't want to get a big, juicy case of pink eye or more commonly, an annoying sty. Aug 07 06 10:00 pm Link rachelrose wrote: Um, people carry staff infections on their hands from not washing after wiping. That is pretty darn gross to me. *bleh* There have been news stories about women contracting staff infections in their eyes! Aug 07 06 10:00 pm Link I once had a few make up artists ticked off with me because I asked to use my own mascara (they were all using 1 tube of mascara, same brush, for a pretty large group of models). Apparently half of the girls ended up with an eye infection. It was a pretty big event, about 40+ models. Aug 07 06 10:29 pm Link From powder products? I have never heard any of those stories. But you can always just spray the powder with alcohol and shave off the top layer. Aug 07 06 10:30 pm Link One time a model was being so rude to me- so I spit on her face and said "Dont worry, thats how you set the makeup" just kidding. Although one time I was talking and accidntly spit my mint onto the models hair. That was embarssing. Aug 07 06 11:23 pm Link Aug 07 06 11:24 pm Link Here is the link to the story below: http://www.nbc5i.com/health/4442676/detail.html CINCINNATI -- A dab of eyeshadow and a swipe of lipstick may be giving you more than a pretty face. The creepy-crawlies found in cosmetic counters might make some women think twice about sampling makeup. Kelly White, like many women, has always done the same thing when walking past a makeup counter, reported WLWT-TV in Cincinnati. "Before, I would have never thought about it," White said. "(I) would have just gone ahead and used it." There are so many choices, so many colors, and the only way to choose the right one is to test it out. But when shoppers bring home that perfect shade of lipstick, could they also be getting something a shade worse? WLWT took an undercover camera into area department stores and took swabs of counter samples of lipstick mascara and eyeshadow. Dr. Hazel Barton and her medical microbiology class at Northern Kentucky University took the samples and tested them. They found potentially dangerous microbes growing rampantly on the samples. The tests showed a staph infection was growing on the makeup. "It's indicating it's staphoris. It's a skin pathogen that can make you sick," Barton said. The body has a protective waterproof coating, but experts say there are a few places on the body that don't have protection. Those places are the same body parts where makeup is applied -- the eyes and mouth. On a lipstick sample, Barton found a germ that can cause major infections. The same germ was also found on a sample of eyeshadow and mascara. "(It) could cause a disease as minor as pink eye or (as major as) conjunctivitis," Barton said. "You could lose your sight. Beyond that, if that organism were to infect your blood, there are severe diseases you could have. You could even develop a disease that's called toxic shock syndrome." Makeup experts recommend shoppers test colors on the back of the hand. Consumers should use an applicator once and then throw it away. Shoppers should also wash their hands or use a hand sanitizer before and after visiting the makeup counter. Many department stores have a return policy that includes makeup. If a consumer takes an item home and it doesn't work, it can be returned with a receipt. Aug 07 06 11:28 pm Link Here is the link to the story below: http://www.nbc5i.com/health/4442676/detail.html CINCINNATI -- A dab of eyeshadow and a swipe of lipstick may be giving you more than a pretty face. The creepy-crawlies found in cosmetic counters might make some women think twice about sampling makeup. Kelly White, like many women, has always done the same thing when walking past a makeup counter, reported WLWT-TV in Cincinnati. "Before, I would have never thought about it," White said. "(I) would have just gone ahead and used it." There are so many choices, so many colors, and the only way to choose the right one is to test it out. But when shoppers bring home that perfect shade of lipstick, could they also be getting something a shade worse? WLWT took an undercover camera into area department stores and took swabs of counter samples of lipstick mascara and eyeshadow. Dr. Hazel Barton and her medical microbiology class at Northern Kentucky University took the samples and tested them. They found potentially dangerous microbes growing rampantly on the samples. The tests showed a staph infection was growing on the makeup. "It's indicating it's staphoris. It's a skin pathogen that can make you sick," Barton said. The body has a protective waterproof coating, but experts say there are a few places on the body that don't have protection. Those places are the same body parts where makeup is applied -- the eyes and mouth. On a lipstick sample, Barton found a germ that can cause major infections. The same germ was also found on a sample of eyeshadow and mascara. "(It) could cause a disease as minor as pink eye or (as major as) conjunctivitis," Barton said. "You could lose your sight. Beyond that, if that organism were to infect your blood, there are severe diseases you could have. You could even develop a disease that's called toxic shock syndrome." Makeup experts recommend shoppers test colors on the back of the hand. Consumers should use an applicator once and then throw it away. Shoppers should also wash their hands or use a hand sanitizer before and after visiting the makeup counter. Many department stores have a return policy that includes makeup. If a consumer takes an item home and it doesn't work, it can be returned with a receipt. Aug 07 06 11:30 pm Link eek, touche! well I guess this isn't so much a problem that you would find in most MUAs kits as when make-up is sitting out for the general public. I ean I think most cosmetic counters are disgusting- especially the brushes. Aug 07 06 11:32 pm Link Yeah, this is definately more of a "counter" issue. However, as everyone knows, you can't be too careful. I, too, hate seeing people blow on their makeup brushes. How 'bout you just huhhhhh in my face with your garlic breath! And sorry about the double post!  Aug 07 06 11:40 pm Link Of the SEVERAL companies I have worked for I can admit, mac was the most hygenic of them all. When I was freelancing for Lauder they had a "freelance" set of brushes that were supposed to be washed after each event then put back in the brush roll/belt for the new freelancer on the next event. A beauty advisor there handed them to me the next time I visited and said "here you go, all your brushes" one glance and I could tell they had not been washed since the last time I was there- nearly two months before. I had a long talk with the counter manager and borrowed a clean set from the shisedo counter. Several counters I have freelanced at, sephora and ulta stores are all breaking big "sanatation rules" in my book. Aug 08 06 01:08 am Link i don't think i have seen any store/counter that i would consider clean.. even the Aveda stores that i used to manage i have the staff watch the store quite closely to make sure no finger ever goes into the powder products and that they scraped scrape everything onto paper towel first before applying to any customer, lip sticks are scraped off and the scraped off part is what you apply to the client (not the part still in the tube), all mascara and lip gloss wands completely cut off so no one can try it on without having a staff take some out of the tube for them.. but even so i still can't say it's as clean as i would have liked it to be and i still will not put it on my face.. for my own kit all cream products are scraped out of its palette with stainless steel spatula onto a palette before the brush even touches it.. one time i was doing a show and another artist had wanted to borrow my concealer and lip palette and i saw her about to dip her brush into the container i almost died.. good thing i stopped her in time.. that brush had been used on many models that night and i probably would have replaced the palette if she had touched it with the brush.. Aug 08 06 01:33 am Link OMG you ppl are like my wife. I jokingly call her Howard Hughs just for this reason. I personally have never known anyone to catch anything from a tube of lipstick. How about what's in the makeup?? Road kill, euthinized animal byproducts, mineral oil and such. And your complaining about blowing on the brush?! Ooooo K. Aug 08 06 01:37 am Link rachelrose wrote: yeah i screamed out loud and scared my husband when i saw that for the first time few months ago.. Aug 08 06 01:45 am Link Michael Kirst wrote: i guess if you've never caught anything from lipstick testers that's good for you.. but i don't think the model who doesn't have cold sore would appreciate start getting herpes breakouts on her lips because of her dirty MUA Aug 08 06 01:49 am Link liz yu wrote: Well since you put it that way, I guess what you should be talking about is how often the MUA showers or weather they use deodorant. Now if you're talking about makeup hygiene, well that's different. Aug 08 06 02:10 am Link Roshar wrote: haha you ARE TOO FUNNY! fab work also! Oh I hate when ppl spit on me as they talk! Aug 08 06 02:18 am Link Tiffany Journot wrote: Tiffany, I know of "Artists" whose kits *are* traveling makeup counters when it comes to lack of sanitation - yuck. Aug 08 06 07:53 am Link Not to hijack the thread... but I'm curious about what everyone considers hygenic? Everyone has different standards right? Personally, I grew up with a microbiologist mother, who in turn made me into a germaphobe. I think I'm obsessivley clean about my kit. I Just wondering how everyone keeps their shadow and blush palettes sanitary? Aug 08 06 08:51 am Link bleh, gross. echhhhh. can i just say a major thumbs up to you guys for caring about this sort of thing? Aug 08 06 08:56 am Link All of this also makes me think of the environments that we are preparing our models in as well. Many times we are on location or shooting in a studio where the photog might not be as up on how an mua should keep his/her enviroment sanitary. I've learned to carry things like my own lightweight folding tv trays for when tables aren't available, a folding chair (for the model), clorox wipes, clean paper towels, disposable cups, etc..., so that I can make the area I'm working in as clean as possible. This probably just comes from being a mom. I don't want to put my scissors, tweezers, sponges or any other utensil I use on a dirty surface. Just cuz you can't see the germs doesn't mean that they are not there. I do the same for my children. I don't want to be responsible for giving a model some infection and getting a bad rap as an mua who isn't careful.  Aug 08 06 09:10 am Link I don't even share a spoon with my mother. I hate germs, am a self decalired germ-a-phobe. I give each girl their own mascara and eye lashes. (I know, expensive, but they appreciate it and it just avoids the whole mess) Sharing lipstick is the equivalent to me of sharing a cup with a complete stranger. Ewwwwwww Aug 08 06 10:00 am Link I once had a newbie makeup artist SUCK ON her brushes before applying them to my face. AND *LICKED* her fingers before attemping to blend with them. I was so grossed out. If I shoot with that photographer again, I will let him know that he needs to give her some pointers if she's still doing that sort of thing. The makeup itself was fine, but I sort of hope I never have to work with her again. Aug 09 06 04:35 pm Link Glamourpuss Make-UpHair wrote: Your kidding right? That is so gross. I don't blame you for not wanting to work on her Aug 09 06 04:42 pm Link This is slightly different. It's about a model instead of a MUA... I was working with 2 models on a shoot and when I was doing the first girls makeup she would start coughing without covering her mouth and I'd look at her like "ARE YOU CRAZY?" and then gave her some tissue, but she didn't use it. The other model was just staring at her.. So I got to the second model THANK GOODNESS, but as I was doing her mascara, she sneezed in my face, without covering her mouth! I had to leave as soon as I was done with both of them. Didn't stay for touch ups, and didn't even bother asking to be paid. GROSS. Aug 09 06 05:08 pm Link Michael Kirst wrote: Just because they didn't call YOU when it happened doesn't mean it didn't happen. Not everyone you know is going to tell you every detail of their life. Also, once it's done and over with, it may not occur to them to bring it up. Unless they know you have a dirty MUA or considering working with a MUA they know to be dirty, they probably won't mention it. Aug 09 06 05:48 pm Link I was once at a photoshoot in Texas for a formalwear catalog and the makeup artist was REUSING the false eyelashes on all the models. She told all the models to remove the lashes so that she could use them again on the models all week. Luckily I had my own stock of lashes - sometimes it's better to pay a little to save your health! Aug 09 06 06:06 pm Link Meredith wrote: GROSS! The only time I reuse fake lashes is when they are on myself. Hell, I've used one pair over 15 times already, hahah. But to switch them from girl to girl is so disgusting. Aug 09 06 06:35 pm Link |
