In a continuation of You -VS- The Makeup Counter (Round One) and Round Two, Round Three will cover the final battle on how to return an item without feeling intimidated or having your name black-listed forever. So strap on your boxing gloves and prepare to win the final round, and then you can be afraid of the makeup counter no longer.

Your Dilemma

Here is a situation we can all be familiar with. Recently you purchased tons of makeup from your friendly sales associate, yet when you got home and tried one of the products it just didn't seem to thrill you like it did in the store.

Let's face it, we have all been there and wondered if it was proper to actually return it only because you don't like it now that it's at home with you.

Another scenario may be that when you open a new product and try to use it, the item was damaged, broken, or just won't work. Or how about the situation where you went shopping while sick or dealing with PMS and "accidentally" bought things that you thought would look great on you. Yet somehow that brighter than bright pink lipstick just doesn't seem as flattering now that you have recovered and truly see it on your lips for what seems like the first time. Or perhaps you felt pressured into buying certain products and now you have buyers remorse and just want to return them without feeling guilty yet again.

So what's a girl to do in order to return any or all of the makeup you just bought without feeling like the sales associate will jump over the counter to force you to keep them instead? Let's walk through the scenarios and figure out how to handle them without feeling like you won't be able to show your face at the cosmetic counter ever again.

The Resolution

Scenario #1: You recently purchased several makeup items, where the total amount spent could feed a third world country for a year, but once you got them home you tried one out and found that it was more ghastly than beautiful. How do you return the mistake you just made without feeling guilty? The answer to this one is simple; you just dropped a hundred bucks or more on makeup and beauty products, so returning one simple product shouldn't make you feel bad. Besides, since you purchased the item because you liked the idea of what it does then perhaps you can find a different color or maybe something else you like. Just remember to go in with your receipt and original packaging, in order to take all of the guess work out of whether you actually purchased it from that store or not. Makeup counters, just like all businesses, have goals to meet and the one thing they dislike is taking a return that was actually purchased from another store that messed up. Sure they will be pleasant about it, but it's not very fair to them in the end.

Scenario #2: You're so excited about the new color item you just purchased, but when you open it or try to use the item it is broken or damaged. Should you just chuck it and buy a new one or what? The answer to this one is easier than the first scenario; put the item back in the bag and drive back to the makeup counter with receipt in hand. If you cannot do this immediately then that's okay, just remember to keep the receipt and everything for an easy return or exchange. For a damaged product that you would like to replace, the sales associate should be very eager to help as well as apologetic. They want to keep you happy as a customer, so the first thing they will do is apology before asking if you want to replace it. Replacing the damaged item is completely up to you, but if you were excited about using it in the first place I would think that you would want to get another. Also, look for maybe receiving a free sample due to the mishap from the company's manufacturing. Not every sales associate will offer something, but the good ones will. As a final note, please don't take the defective item out on the sales associate since they are not the one that made it for you to begin with.

Scenario #3: You decided to break one of the cardinal rules of shopping, by purchasing makeup when you were sick or having PMS issues. Now that the sickness or hormones have leveled out and gone away, you hate some of the items you bought. Since it's not Halloween yet, what are you supposed to do with the bright coral lipstick and neon yellow eyeshadow? This one is really simple; tuck your tale between your legs and with receipt in hand go back to the counter and return it for something you actually want. Don't make a big deal out of it, because everyone has done this at some point. Just tell the sales associate that you don't like the colors and ask them to help you pick out something that would suit you better. I think that since this was your big mistake that not getting something in place of it is not fair to the makeup company that you love to shop at, plus it's bad karma.

Scenario #4: You were lured into the makeup chair and felt pressured by a pushy sales associate to buy half of the cosmetic counter. Now you have buyer's remorse and your charge card statement is laughing at you. Do you give all of the makeup you just bought to your friends and family or do you return everything you don't need? This one is up to you. I would suggest marching into the store with receipt in hand and asking for your money back. If you bought the products while under pressure then you probably haven't used them. So this means that they can resell them and only the sales associate will take the hit. This kind of goes back to karma again, except it will be the sales associate's pushy nature bringing bad karma to them. Whatever you do don't feel sorry for buying what you did or for returning it. Even though it is a sales associate's job to sell you products, it is not their job to be pushy so you feel that you have to buy everything. Some makeup artists at makeup counters can be very good at doing this, so just make sure you have your blinders on when you go for your next makeup consultation.