# MAC scarred me for life aka BAD experience



## blueyedlady87 (Apr 17, 2007)

Joking about the title (sort of). Here's my story. It's embarassing but oh well. A couple months ago at a MAC counter I admired a lipstick and the salesgal was like, 'O here let me put it on for you!' And I of course agreed. She then said, 'It was just cleaned' and doesn't wait for a reply just goes at my lips with the tester. 
	

	
	
		
		

		
			





  Red flags should be going up in my head at this point. I buy the dang lipstick. Next day for the first time in my entire life I have a cold sore. I mean huge, red, gaping, hurts like a motha. Seeing as I don't share drinks, kiss anyone, or basically have my mouth anywhere near where anyone elses might have been I am left to reasonably assume the lipstick at the counter gave it to me.   Then I remember that the girl said it was clean but I didn't see her or anyone else dip it in alcohol etc. while I was there (not after me either). I'm mad, but what are you going to do! I wait thinking it's a one time thing. But nope, now I get cold sores every few weeks. My dermotologist said it is like herpes but on your lips. As if that's not bad enough IT DOESN'T GO AWAY! 
	

	
	
		
		

		
		
	


	




  The virus never leaves your body it just sometimes lies dormant. When you have a cold sore you can't use any lip stuff so you won't contaminate it. It's such a pain! I will never use a sample of anything ever again. I e-mailed MAC but they have yet to respond. It just boils me cuz I have spent lots of hard earned money there. 

Rant over, sorry guys.


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## Macnarsandlove (Apr 18, 2007)

I'm so sorry that happened. I have seem girls with nasty pussing cold sores dip an applicator in some lipglass multiple times and ever since then I have never been comfy with trying on makeup in the counters. Most of the counters I go to have 1 maybe 2 artist working at one time so unless she santized in front of you it's hard to believe she could assist customers and make sure everthing is clean. Just next time remember to try on your hand only and it does suck cause I have bought some no-no colors like that but anyway feel better. *excuse the run on sentences cause I'm super tired.


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## mzreyes (Apr 18, 2007)

oh geez... that sucks 
	

	
	
		
		

		
		
	


	




 I'msuper paranoid about things like that. I swatch things on my hand, then I'll buy the l/s, l/g, or whatever product.. try it on at home and if I dont like it then I return it. I know returned things get sent somewhere to be detroyed, and its such a waste that I could have prevented if I had only tried it in the store, but oh well! I just can't do it! sorry bout that love


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## blueyedlady87 (Apr 18, 2007)

Quote:

   Originally Posted by *mzreyes* 

 
_oh geez... that sucks 
	

	
	
		
		

		
		
	


	




 I'msuper paranoid about things like that. I swatch things on my hand, then I'll buy the l/s, l/g, or whatever product.. try it on at home and if I dont like it then I return it. I know returned things get sent somewhere to be detroyed, and its such a waste that I could have prevented if I had only tried it in the store, but oh well! I just can't do it! sorry bout that love 
	

	
	
		
		

		
		
	


	


_

 

Exactly! Thanks guys! Hands it is from now on.


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## n_c (Apr 18, 2007)

Oh man, Im so sorry that happened to you...that's all I wanted to say


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## sexypuma (Apr 18, 2007)

I am sorry that happened to you
	

	
	
		
		

		
		
	


	




 . I hope you are not in pain anymore.


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## syrene78 (Apr 18, 2007)

I am really sorry to hear about that story.
I have seen MAs usually cleaning their l/s after they use it.
If you look at the l/s stands, all of them are either cut or swiped.
They often check the l/s according to what I saw and heard as I asked them the question. 
	

	
	
		
		

		
		
	


	




I don't think that you can get a cold sore the day after you got the virus of herpers transmitted to you.
You can catch this virus through someone who has a cold sore or has the virus dormant in them and a lot of people carry this virus.
You may have had it for years in fact and not have a single cold sore before that.
Many people in fact don't know that they have it and often think that a cold sore is something else. (I don't mean you. 
	

	
	
		
		

		
		
	


	




 )
As your Doctor said, it is a dormant virus and won't wake up until a while. 
Like any virus it needs to go through your body, it isn't just like acne, where a new spot just appears the following day.

Hopefully it will get better soon, at least in appearance and won't hurt anymore!


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## user79 (Apr 18, 2007)

That sucks. But like stbismuth9 said, you can't be absolutely sure that it was caused by that lipstick. For you to get a herpes outbreak the very next day, seems a bit unlikely. As far as I know, it takes a while for the virus to "take root" in your system. If it really was that lipstick, that really sucks.

I have also gotten really cautious with testing makeup over the years. I used to try everything on, now I just swatch it on my wrist. Yesterday the MAC girl wanted to apply some concealer on me, but I told her, no thanks. It was full of gunk. Grossss!


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## zori (Apr 18, 2007)

I'm really sorry to hear this! If you did get it from the lipstick, that was a pretty quick reaction but these things are unpredictable.

I am cautious with testing makeup since everyone's standards is just not the same. I usually swatch makeup on my wrists provided that the makeup is in 'good' condition. If it's nasty looking, it is not I would not bother touch it!


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## Taj (Apr 18, 2007)

Be careful when you guys try on shoes as well.  Remember to wear socks/stockings !


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## Holly (Apr 18, 2007)

Im sorry that happened to you


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## Ambi (Apr 18, 2007)

Hmm, if I'm not completely mistaken, alcohol kills bacteria but not viruses, as in the lipstick may be clean of bacteria but only boiling kills viruses [and sometimes even boiling is not enough].

I know there's probably nothing anyone can do to make you feel better, or make the problem go away but I hope you at least receive some kind of response from MAC, it's really disgusting what happened to you [assuming it was the lipstick that caused this].


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## Raerae (Apr 18, 2007)

And people wonder why some peolpe buy/return instead of trying stuff on at the counter lol...


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## Beauty Mark (Apr 18, 2007)

Many people suffer from coldsores. It sucks that you got the virus, but you aren't alone in it.

There are ways of preventing them, like reducing stress or observing what seems to cause outbreaks.


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## *Stargazer* (Apr 18, 2007)

According to the National Herpes Hotline (1.919.361.8488 ), herpes is not transmitted through inanimate objects, such as soap, towels, clothing, bed sheets, toilet seats, and spa surfaces.

Sucks that you have it, but it may not be MACs fault at all.


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## MACForME (Apr 18, 2007)

Quote:

   Originally Posted by *Ladybug10678* 

 
_According to the National Herpes Hotline (1.919.361.8488 ), herpes is not transmitted through inanimate objects, such as soap, towels, clothing, bed sheets, toilet seats, and spa surfaces.

Sucks that you have it, but it may not be MACs fault at all._

 

LadyBug is correct. The herpes simplex virus lies dormant in your body sometimes for years before popping up. The virus wakes up from either stress, sunlight or other activators and then the process begins. First your lip will tingle/itch, then small bubble shaped blisters will appear. The blisters then break, and the healing process begins. You won't go to bed tonite with nothing and wake up tomorrow with a full blown cold sore. The entire infection process takes 10 to 14 days. Sometimes, these are confused with canker sores too. And most cold sores won't show up for 20 days after exposure.


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## semtexgirl (Apr 18, 2007)

OMG that is terrible! I always test the everything on my hand for that reason.


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## SELFstyled (Apr 18, 2007)

Sorry that happened to you! Hopefully you'll be able to control the outbreaks. 
	

	
	
		
		

		
		
	


	





I've never tried anything on, I'm a total germ-phobe & swatch everything on my hand then immediately wipe/wash my hands after. Better to be safe than sorry I guess.


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## maxcat (Apr 18, 2007)

Might be the lipstick, might not... (you can pick it up anywhere and it can lay dormant for years before you get a flare up...)

BUT... that MA had no business ramming lipstick on you if you didn't want her do do it. We're trained insideoutandbackwards to always have the customer's permission to do ANYTHING, even help another person... if you're "just browsing" I gotta ask you if it's okay if I help someone else while you do that. 
So... yeah. You should bring that to someone's attention.


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## SHOEGAL (Apr 19, 2007)

Oh you poor thing! Those things take for ever to go away too! Alcohol doesn't kill virus's anyways, that's why I never try any lip products on at the counter. I'd rather buy it and try it at home! Hopefully you'll hear back from them!


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## blueyedlady87 (Apr 19, 2007)

Thanks to everyone who replied! It wasn't like the next it was a gaping blister, it started as a tingle and it was weird cuz I had never felt it, then the bubbles, then the blistering. So all in all it took a few days. If I had it but it was dormant up until the point I tried the lipstick then it's a big coincidence, but still possible. If I remember from the 'MAC bible' they're supposed to clean it in front of the customer after using (I looked it up after this all happened). Regardless, she should have cleaned it. Mouth-to-mouth contact is the easiest way to transmit (via my dermotoligist) so lipstick would kinda make sense. MAC still hasn't replied which is annoying. I use Abreva and that works pretty good. But it's still ugly and gross.


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## EmbalmerBabe (Apr 19, 2007)

Yeah they are not very efficient at my local counter with keeping lipsticks,etc sanitized. Once I asked a MA to apply a blush on me.
She pulled out a visibly dirty brush and dipped it in the blush, I stopped
her and called it to her attention. She said sorry, all though I don't think that is very professional or courteous. I have sensitive skin and don't need the oils+bacteria from another persons skin on mine
stirring up a breakout. If I want to try a lipstick I all ways request for it to be sanitized first in front of me, and now reading your story I really will. I am sorry to hear that happened to you. 
Hundreds of people are touching the products and it is probably hard to keep everything sanitized but that is their job.
At the Victoria's Secret it is so gross, everyone applies lipgloss lipstick right out of the tubes onto their lips.And I never see them sanitize anything. Geeze have some couth and respect for others
that is what the tester wands are for!


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## saniyairshad (Apr 20, 2007)

That is the most unproffessional think i've ever heard of. That MA should be fired instantly.


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## hoemygosh (Apr 29, 2007)

that really blows. sorry to hear. =[


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## dmenchi (Apr 29, 2007)

Hi! i just wanted to tell you, just in case your physician didn't: you should avoid stress and get a good vitamin supplement. In addition, the virus 'feeds' of certain proteins ,so avoid meat during an outbreak. a good prevention is L-Lysine (counter active protein) it not only helps healing but sometimes taken in large dose right when you feel a 'tingling ' in your lips , can even prevent an outbreak. 
anyway, make shure to always wear an spf on your lips. it has to have titanium dioxide or parsol/avobenzone in order to be effective
hope this helps


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## Corvs Queen (Apr 29, 2007)

I know this is gonna sound off the wall but what really helps my fever blisters is using a plain yogurt with live and active cultures as a spot treatment when at home. I burns a bit but it really does makes them heal up faster. I am so sorry.


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## blueyedlady87 (Apr 30, 2007)

Quote:

   Originally Posted by *dmenchi* 

 
_Hi! i just wanted to tell you, just in case your physician didn't: you should avoid stress and get a good vitamin supplement. In addition, the virus 'feeds' of certain proteins ,so avoid meat during an outbreak. a good prevention is L-Lysine (counter active protein) it not only helps healing but sometimes taken in large dose right when you feel a 'tingling ' in your lips , can even prevent an outbreak. 
anyway, make shure to always wear an spf on your lips. it has to have titanium dioxide or parsol/avobenzone in order to be effective
hope this helps 
	

	
	
		
		

		
		
	


	


_

 





Thank you! I will definitely try this and also the suggestion with yogurt. Any vitamins in particular? I use the One-a-day brand multi-vitamin daily. Any others I can take? And I had no idea about meat. Thank you a ton!


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## butterflydream (Apr 30, 2007)

im really sorry that has happened to you, I get colds and pink eye because of where I work although I constantly sanitize everything and I carry around a huge bottle of sanitizer. Unfortuneatly some people are just straight up nasty, and do not care about germs. 
I usually get a lot of dirty looks because I sanitize my hands after I touch anything, and yell at my kids not to touch things in the store.


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## bebs (May 31, 2007)

I've had the same thing happen it sucks royally, but now I only get it when I'm majorly stressed out or right before my period. I take fishoil pills and those have seemed to keep it down alot I've talked to many doctors they are just the cold sores but I never got them before trying on make - up and whatnot (my ex husband never got them so I doupt I got it from him) the other thing that helps is abreva, they seem to go away pretty quickly now for me if you keep putting that stuff on every hour or so it will go away within a few days.


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## tania_nia (Aug 8, 2007)

That royally sucks!! My mom gets cold sores from my dad and it's just cuz his body stirs them up. I've only had one in my entire life and that was when I was little. I would hate that to happen again since I bug out when my lips get dry. Anyways, one of the main reasons why I buy MAC is that I can try it all on. I have a wierd skin color and some colors/formulations look good and some don't for example, I'm allergic to EVERYTHING Oil of Olay. This raises a concern that people should be aware of. Make sure the m/a's sanitize stuff or use one of the sample lip brush thingies. I'm sorry this happened to you and I hope that it doesn't happen to anyone else! A helpful tip: my mom swears by Carmax. Bad for chapped lips but good for coldsores!


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## frocher (Aug 8, 2007)

Sorry, that really bites.  I do what Mzreyes does with lip products, I won't try testers either, except on my hand.   I wonder if it would be feasible for the counters to keep a set of l/s behind the counter that they could just scrape a thin layer off with a spatula?  Then you would have a sanitary 1 time use dose.  Maybe it would be too much of a hassle for the MAs, who knows.  I suggest this because I have on a couple of occasions I have returned a l/s that I used once, because the color was horrendous on me.  But more often than not I keep it, and therefore have a section in my traincase for unloved lipsticks.  Maybe I should B2M them.


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## SparklingWaves (Aug 8, 2007)

I hope it wasn't from the darn MAC counter.  Sorry about your cold sore.  They are a pain.  I get them when I am stressed to the max.

I test lipstick on my hands.  I rub on it to check to see if they rub off quickly.  That tells me if they will stay on long.  Also, I check eyeliner the same way.  I have read that the inside of your thumb is a good place to check on how a lipstick will look on your lips.  I mainly check for undertones.


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## Ms. Z (Aug 8, 2007)

So sorry to hear this happened to you.
	

	
	
		
		

		
		
	


	



I have always been concerned about that but brush it off as paranoia; that's it, I am never testing a lip product on my lips ever again.

A cold sore is a form of herpes, and VD’s have been known to show signs the next day after being exposed/infected so probably possible that even a cold sore would show up the very next day.


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## astronaut (Aug 9, 2007)

Ahhhh!!!! MAC needs to give you free makeup for life or something like that!


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## rosquared (Aug 10, 2007)

Quote:

   Originally Posted by *maxcat* 

 
_Might be the lipstick, might not... (you can pick it up anywhere and it can lay dormant for years before you get a flare up...)

BUT... that MA had no business ramming lipstick on you if you didn't want her do do it. We're trained insideoutandbackwards to always have the customer's permission to do ANYTHING, even help another person... if you're "just browsing" I gotta ask you if it's okay if I help someone else while you do that. 
So... yeah. You should bring that to someone's attention._

 
i've only met 2 mac ma's that were that nice.  ever.


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## xIxSkyDancerxIx (Aug 10, 2007)

*huggs. I feel for you honey.. I rather swatch on my hand, buy it, and return it if I don't like it (or sell it or something lol) than put it on my lips. Not to be rude but you just don't know how hygenic other people are, and my immune system has always been a little shaky so I always need to take extra precautions. 

I hope MAC gets back to you and does something about it! Maybe a giftcard or something LOL


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