RMT Grooming Workshop

Felix Zemdegs from Australia is able to solve a Rubik’s Cube puzzle in 7 seconds. In that short period of time, he has also created the impression on the audience that he is, as far as we can tell, a genius with remarkably dexterous fingers. For the rest of us, those 7 seconds can also be used to create positive impressions on the people we meet, even if not of the intellectual kind. Juniors from the Diploma in Retail Management learnt how to do just that with two grooming workshops held in May.

The L’Oreal Makeup Workshop was conducted on 14 May exclusively for the female students. Although we did lament about the need to remain in school for the workshop while our male friends could leave early, some of us were probably secretly pleased to experiment with the palettes of shimmery powder and plastic tubes of creams and gels that greeted us when we entered the room. The trainer from L’Oreal shared many helpful tips on makeup applications and choosing the right colours for our skin tones. For instance, I never knew that foundation had to be applied with your ring finger and with a downward motion. Several student models were selected for the demonstrations, even those who were not known to put on makeup, which drew cheer from the rest of us. Each group was given a set of cosmetics for practice after each demonstration, where we jumped at the opportunity to ‘harass’ our friends by practising on their faces instead of our own!

And yet looking good with makeup is only the aesthetic part of leaving a good impression. On the morning of 25 May, all Juniors attended the ZA Personal Grooming workshop, which touched on etiquette and general personal grooming. We were taught the Do’s and Don’ts of creating a good impression. It soon became apparent that some of the boys were the very victims of the dressing faux pas that the trainer shared with us— trousers without a proper break, ill-fitting shirts and too-short shorts. For the girls, chipped nail polish, messy hair and VPLs topped the list of improper dressing (I will admit that I am guilty of one of these!). There was another round of demonstration, this time to show the importance of skincare. We watched intently as the ZA trainer showed us the steps of basic skincare on our friend, from cleansing to using BB Cream as the final step.

The two workshops proved to be fun and a rewarding channel from which we picked up relevant skills (the fact that they replaced our normal lectures was only a bonus). As future retailers, the importance of looking presentable cannot be undermined seeing as ‘employees embody the product and are walking billboards from a marketing standpoint.’ As an individual, looking presentable can only be considered as doing oneself a favour.

Now please excuse me while I touch up on my nails.

Credits to Simin