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NYC's Best Makeup Salons

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There will always be someone at the department store beauty counter happy to do your makeup for a date, a scary job interview, or whatever event you've got to look great for—but they'll also likely be pushing you to leave the store with a bag full of designer products. Booking a makeup application that doesn't come with a side of salesmanship? That's a little trickier.

That's why we've rounded up ten of the best places in New York City to have a customized makeup application where you can be sure you a) won't have to hear a sales pitch, and b) leave looking like your best self. Bonus: The majority are all around just $50.

Photo: Shutterstock/Africa Studio

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Home of the famed unlimited monthly makeup pass, Rouge also offers services that don't involve a 30-day commitment. Take, for instance, their signature You... Only Better package, where for $50 you'll look like you just happened to #wakeuplikethis. Look out for a second location coming to the Upper East Side this November. [Photo: Bryan Sansivero]

Blushington

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Consider this the Drybar of beauty salons. After finding success with its Los Angeles outposts, Blushington has finally brought its beloved $55 full-face makeovers to New York. With a glass of champagne in hand, guests choose from lookbook styles like the bronzed and beachy Simply Glowing or the no-makeup makeup Pure + Natural. Special services for kids ($15) and teens ($35) are also on the menu. [Photo: Blushington]

Kimara Ahnert

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This Madison Avenue studio offers makeup applications for everyone from brides-to-be to actresses on the red carpet. Customized applications can either be booked with Kimara herself ($150) or one of her team members ($110). Along with the basic offering, she also offers on-location applications starting from $265. [Photo]

M.A.C Makeup Studio

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What's the difference between having your makeup done at a regular M.A.C store and making an appointment at the the cosmetic giant's first-ever studio? Here, the makeup artists won't push you to purchase anything, and services range from a 60-minute full face application with contouring ($60) to a "theatrical" application—think Halloween or drag looks—for $90, as well as á la carte services like a simple cat-eye for $15. [Photo: Getty]

John Barrett Salon

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Whether you're in a rush or have all day to get gorgeous, the uber-luxe salon on the top floor of Bergdorf Goodman has an option for you. There's an hour-long full application starting at $150 as well as a 30-minute "fast face" starting at $80. Bonus: You'll be treated to this killer view. [Photo]

Birchbox

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The beloved subscription beauty box service went IRL for the first time last summer, and along with the seemingly endless rows of products are expert makeup applications, from a 60-minute full face ($55) to just eyes ($30) or a simple makeup refresher ($30). [Photo: Driely S.]
While this Soho salon offers the usual $60 full-face fare, there's also the option to upgrade that to the airbrushed look ($75), where a stylist uses a Temptu water-resistant formula that promises to last 8 to 12 hours without touch-ups—even when there's rain and humidity. Eye makeup applications ($35) and off-site treatments starting at $250 are also available. [Photo: Pucker]

Benefit Cosmetics

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The San Francisco-based brand's newest NYC store also includes a salon area for makeup services. While its bread and butter is in eyebrow care, there's also the option to have your full face done, from $50 to $60. [Photo]

Shen Beauty

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Brooklyn's coolest beauty boutique specializes in natural, organic, and hard-to-find international brands from Kjaer Weis to Amanda Lacey, and its makeup applications are no different. Over at the beauty bar, applications are $55, and other brow, eyelash, and waxing services are also available. [Photo]

Obsessive Compulsive Cosmetics

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A new face comes with a side of environmental friendliness at Obsessive Compulsive, the NYC-born brand of entirely vegan beauty products. Applications at the Lower East Side flagship are $75, but great news: It's completely redeemable in OCC product. [Photo]

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Rouge

Home of the famed unlimited monthly makeup pass, Rouge also offers services that don't involve a 30-day commitment. Take, for instance, their signature You... Only Better package, where for $50 you'll look like you just happened to #wakeuplikethis. Look out for a second location coming to the Upper East Side this November. [Photo: Bryan Sansivero]

Blushington

Consider this the Drybar of beauty salons. After finding success with its Los Angeles outposts, Blushington has finally brought its beloved $55 full-face makeovers to New York. With a glass of champagne in hand, guests choose from lookbook styles like the bronzed and beachy Simply Glowing or the no-makeup makeup Pure + Natural. Special services for kids ($15) and teens ($35) are also on the menu. [Photo: Blushington]

Kimara Ahnert

This Madison Avenue studio offers makeup applications for everyone from brides-to-be to actresses on the red carpet. Customized applications can either be booked with Kimara herself ($150) or one of her team members ($110). Along with the basic offering, she also offers on-location applications starting from $265. [Photo]

M.A.C Makeup Studio

What's the difference between having your makeup done at a regular M.A.C store and making an appointment at the the cosmetic giant's first-ever studio? Here, the makeup artists won't push you to purchase anything, and services range from a 60-minute full face application with contouring ($60) to a "theatrical" application—think Halloween or drag looks—for $90, as well as á la carte services like a simple cat-eye for $15. [Photo: Getty]

John Barrett Salon

Whether you're in a rush or have all day to get gorgeous, the uber-luxe salon on the top floor of Bergdorf Goodman has an option for you. There's an hour-long full application starting at $150 as well as a 30-minute "fast face" starting at $80. Bonus: You'll be treated to this killer view. [Photo]

Birchbox

The beloved subscription beauty box service went IRL for the first time last summer, and along with the seemingly endless rows of products are expert makeup applications, from a 60-minute full face ($55) to just eyes ($30) or a simple makeup refresher ($30). [Photo: Driely S.]

Pucker

While this Soho salon offers the usual $60 full-face fare, there's also the option to upgrade that to the airbrushed look ($75), where a stylist uses a Temptu water-resistant formula that promises to last 8 to 12 hours without touch-ups—even when there's rain and humidity. Eye makeup applications ($35) and off-site treatments starting at $250 are also available. [Photo: Pucker]

Benefit Cosmetics

The San Francisco-based brand's newest NYC store also includes a salon area for makeup services. While its bread and butter is in eyebrow care, there's also the option to have your full face done, from $50 to $60. [Photo]

Shen Beauty

Brooklyn's coolest beauty boutique specializes in natural, organic, and hard-to-find international brands from Kjaer Weis to Amanda Lacey, and its makeup applications are no different. Over at the beauty bar, applications are $55, and other brow, eyelash, and waxing services are also available. [Photo]

Obsessive Compulsive Cosmetics

A new face comes with a side of environmental friendliness at Obsessive Compulsive, the NYC-born brand of entirely vegan beauty products. Applications at the Lower East Side flagship are $75, but great news: It's completely redeemable in OCC product. [Photo]