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Mirror Mirror? No, Makeup Makeup

Mirror, Mirror: No buckets of makeup

A salon owner makes points at a March Madness event.

By Elizabeth Wellington

Fashion Columnist - Philadelphia Inquirer

Sherry Alindogan of University City rolled a hard, sky-blue travel case - think 1970s Samsonite - into Ursula's About Phace Makeup Studio.

When owner and makeup artist Ursula Augustine asked the thirtysomething to dump the contents on the card table in front of her, dozens of eye shadows, liners, lipsticks, creams and bronzers rolled off the table.

"Look at all my stuff," Alindogan said.

Alindogan and several others had decided to check out what Augustine is billing as her March Madness event. At the Bring Your Own Makeup Bag party Monday night, Augustine promised that we would learn how to cut our beauty clutter down to the elite eight, or possibly, the final four of items.

"Why not open up the studio and show women that in these financial hard times, they don't have to buy everything new," Augustine said. "They can work with what they already have."

Augustine is one of a handful of local salon owners offering free, educational events to lure new customers and romance the old ones - this, in addition to a 10 to 20 percent discount on products and services.

As unemployment numbers continue to climb, the recession stands to rip the fun right out of spring shopping season. That cloud looms darker over salons because, as we all know, maintaining beauty usually stands at the bottom of the necessity totem pole.

That means the free classes and tips that salons are offering make business sense.

In the last 10 years, owners of small beauty businesses revved up their revenue by offering products they formulated. Customers stocked up when they came in for services. As the trips between maintenance visits have dwindled, owners need to keep foot traffic up. These freebies are ways to get clients into their stores. And they often bring friends - potential new customers.

"It's about looking down the road," Augustine said.

The trend is big in New York, and Philadelphia salons have started offering similar incentives in recent months.

In Center City, CL Studio is offering beauty and grooming tips and discounted services for job seekers.

At Bala Cynwyd's Haig & Co., Alan Gold is offering free makeup-bag consultations. Like Augustine, he offers tips on what to keep, what to toss, and where to get the most bang for your buck. (For example, go cheap on lip pencils, but pay for foundation.)

Blow-drying boot camps are doing well, too.

On the second Tuesday of every month, customers at Verde Salon in Collingswood bring blow dryers and products to learn how to achieve perfectly straight manes at home.

Owner Kevin Gatto, along with a team of stylists, provides patience, wine, cheese, and serious technique. Women are treated to a free wash, head massage included.

"It has helped with business," Gatto said. "We get to show off our personality, show off our salon talent, and it really doesn't cost that much."

Because I have locs, blow- drying is definitely not my thing. So I opted for a finished look.

When I dumped my makeup bag, out fell 13 lip glosses, one black eyeliner, and one turquoise and purple eyeshadow combo.

It took about an hour for Alindogan, two other classmates and I to come to grips with our product addiction.

Augustine gave us the makeup tips first: It's important to store makeup in a cool, dry place - that means not the bathroom. We should label all our products so we know when to throw them away - she provided a cheat sheet. And mascara isn't the only makeup that can go bad - lipsticks can get rancid, too.

Other than that, everyday makeup application should be kept simple. All we need, Augustine said, is a good foundation, a favorite lip gloss (not 13, you say?), eyeliner - which is better when applied with a powder - mascara, and a brow pencil. Bronzer is optional.

"I have all the stuff. I just want to learn how to use it," said Jennifer Robbins, 38, of Center City, concealer freshly applied under her eyes.

We left with a 15 percent discount on product, which I will use to buy another lip glo-, er, foundation.

Mirror, Mirror: If You Go: The March Madness Bring Your Own Makeup Bag event will be held Monday and March 30 from 6 to 7:30 p.m. Ursula's About Phace is at 1700 Sansom St., Suite 201. For more information and to RSVP call 215-557-1562. Bring unopened makeup to donate to Career Wardrobe.

Sherry Alindogan brought heaps of makeup to the salon, where owner Ursula Augustine helped her narrow that collection to four essentials: Compact, mascara, lip gloss, and eye shadow.