Something extra

Every few months I walk through an area of Nordstrom that feels like another world to most guys. Yes, I’m hooked on several products from Clinique which is located on a tranquil island where women wear white lab coats and smile a lot.

See, I don’t mind spending 25 bucks on facial soap when I’m treated as well as I am here. Even though I am clearly out of my element when approaching one of these foreign islands, I’m never treated like an illegal alien and asked to leave because I can’t recite the benefits of a mud mask.

I’ve been using the same kind of soap and scrub for years, but I can never remember the exact name among the dozens that sound pretty much the same. The products may have similar names. They might look the same to the layman. They probably even smell the same. But that doesn’t mean jack squat because it’s critical to match the right product to my type of skin. At least that’s what I learned by watching America’s Next Top Model.

I’m getting off topic here. My point is that the women (there may be men but I’ve never seen any) who work for Clinique understand how to make me feel welcome instead of feeling stupid because I can’t remember if my soap is “Normal Oily”, “Moderate Oily” or “Heavy Oily” formula. They play 20 questions with me until they’re able to deduce what I have at home.

The one other thing they do is leave me with something extra. Whether I spend $15 or $100, they always toss in a few sample products. This always leaves me feeling like I’m special and got more than I paid for. They take this habit to the extreme at Kiehls where it’s possible to leave the the store with twice the volume in sample products as the product you made the trip for.