whistle while you work

You all know where I work. I try not to say the name specifically because heaven forbid someone googles the name and land on my blog and I've said something to offend.

That being said, sometimes I enjoy my job, sometimes I don't. I've been with the company approximately a year and a half, which is impressive for retail and me. Retail and I don't get along. I could not have imagined being with a retail company for so long but this store is different. They have a fantastic education program, and I saw that as my opportunity immediately. When I was applying for jobs after moving back to Pittsford, one of my priorities in the search was to find a job I would learn a lot in, because that makes everything more interesting, and usually more worthwhile. I was looking for a filler job, something that would make me enough money to move me out of upstate NY. And my current job has done more than I would have expected, I kind of hit the jack pot for filler jobs. I have learned an incredible amount. First about makeup, then about skincare, obviously about teaching/training with last month's experience, and a lot about general interactions in a work environment. In the last year and a half I have moved myself up a totem pole, from clueless holiday hire, to Skincare Expert, to being considered as a Color Lead in Pittsford (I would have been selected if I hadn't moved away), to Product Expert in the first flagship store of Manhattan. All in a year and a half. And trust me, I think I should be more. It is frustrating to work with certain leads on a daily basis at my store and I'm pretty sure I could do their job better.

Daily, my job is frustrating. I love the idea of teaching my clients about skincare and changing their lives when they finally find a skincare regimen that works for them and gives them the results they want. It's extremely gratifying to help someone with something that so immediately boosts or drags down their self-confidence, or the way they see themselves. But the majority of clients I interact with at the store don't want my help, and make it rudely obvious, or simply demand a sample be made for them (no 'please'), seeing me as a Retail Worker, far lower on the human social ladder than themselves. I am an actual person, you know.

I thought becoming a P.E. would alleviate some of this frustration-- giving me other projects to work on, projects that tapped into my enthusiasm for teaching. And to some degree it has. I've been back a month and there have been a couple of incredibly frustrating glitches in my leadership's communication, resulting in a couple of missed OPPORTUNITIES for me. But whatever, I try not to think about it, fix the problem, and move on. And I find that there are a few new fun job requirements I've made for myself.

In addition to trainings I do at the store, last week I conducted a class at NYU on basic skincare and makeup. Myself and a makeup artist from Soho spent 2 1/2 hours teaching a group of about 25 undergraduates, ending up with a Day-to-Night look. It was a lot of fun, and I hope these things happen more often.

I volunteer for Earth Day NY who is having an EcoNight coming up. An eco fashion show will be involved so we thought Seph0ra may like to get involved. The last month has been Naturals month at the store, I am the designated Naturals Captain. I am in general passionate about Natural skincare and makeup, and am very impressed by how the company has supported this movement in the last year. We have 11 Natural skincare brands, 5 Natural color brands, and 2 Natural fragrance brands. That is incredible! And the widest diversity in Naturals of any retail store I've heard of. 2 of those companies are organic, even better. So with all of this Natural love flying around, I proposed to my store manager that the our store get involved with EcoNight. Do the makeup for the fashion show, and set up a little Makeover Station so that some of the 400 attendees could get a Natural quickeye done, and peruse our selection of Natural skincare and makeup. A fantastic opportunity to get awareness of our Natural selections out to the crowd who generally prefer it-- the eco-conscious. This is basically a big, fun, networking event. My manager thought is was a fantastic idea, sent my proposal to corporate, and I just spoke with the corporate marketing manager for Seph0ra. Corporate is supporting, sending the Seph0ra Pro Team of makeup artists, and samples for everyone!

And I've got to say, I'm a little impressed with my initiative and innovation here. This has turned into much more than just a retail job lately, even though 9 days out of 10 that's what it feels like. Damn rude clients. Here's to trying to make going to work more fun, more compelling, less of a daily dread. Because while I'm here I might as well be making the best of it, building up my resume, and learning the most that I can.