The last time I tried to do my own cat eye, I ended up looking like a mix between an ancient Egyptian princess and a goth. No matter how many times I tried, I cannot do a cat eye. And no, not even the tape or the spoon trick works for me. I’m sure there are plenty of other girls out there who have the same problem as me.

Which is why I am so glad that MAC Cosmetics has come to save the day.

This month the beauty giant known for its high quality makeup and beauty products is opening its first makeup studio in New York. Think of it as just like a regular salon, but for makeup instead of hair.

The idea isn’t exactly new — you can go to spas for makeup services or hire a stylist to just do your makeup for you if you lack the skills. But at these places you’re looking at high prices and you have to work around the schedule of the stylist.

With the MAC studio, beauty never rests. The store plans to be open seven days a week, Monday through Friday, and opening at the crack of dawn, a.k.a 7a.m. Say goodbye to those dark circles and hello to perfect looking makeup before you can even order Starbucks and take a selfie with it.

Makeup artists at the flagship studio will laquer your lips with bold colors for $10 (which I do have to admit is a little steep since applying color to your lips can’t really be that hard), contour your face so you look like a supermodel for $15, and create a super sexy cat-eye and add false lashes for another $15. Other services that the salon provides include creating the perfect brows, a variety of eye looks and creamy, perfect skin. Not to mention you can also get makeup lessons and services for special events, in addition to throwing beauty parties for you and your friends. Prices for those more luxurious amenities range from $50 to $90. Not a bad deal.

Plus with each lesson or makeup application, the stylist will give you a face chart so you know what products were used on your face and so you can recreate the same look at home — although it will probably look nothing like what they actually did.

Since we’re still in the age of the do-it-yourself, I see most people going to these salons for the lessons with their friends, so they don’t have to rely on someone else to make them look good. After all, YouTube videos can only give you so much information and don’t give you the hands-on help you may need.

When it comes to the actual makeup applications, I think most people will only use the services for weddings and special occasions or even a girls’ night out. But maybe as shops pop up over the city and they become more popular, people will be more willing to have their makeup done for dates or weekend parties. But we’ll just have to see what happens.

If all goes well there are rumors that MAC will add other shops to the city and even an at-home-on-call service — something I could see many people using for weddings and other on-site special events.

What the store will really cater to though is New Yorkers. “We expect some tourists, but it’s really New Yorkers here,” said Gordon Espinet, MAC’s senior vice president for makeup artistry in a New York Times article. “New Yorkers will ask a lot of questions, and New Yorkers can be demanding. They know what they want.”

Alexis McDonell is a junior magazine journalism major. Her column appears weekly in Pulp. You can email her at [email protected].

Published on July 16, 2015 at 9:59 am