For lipsticks, moisturizers, toners and blush, you've got the Targets, Walgreens and Body Shops. If you have allergies or a fatter billfold, there are the higher-end options at department stores — along with helpful but often hard-sell counterwomen. But if you buy Clarins at the Prairie Village Macy's, you've got Carolyn Yates hawking the goods. Only, she's not such a hawker. Sure, she highlights product benefits and special offers, but she's been known to tailor customer need with customer budget. "You can buy that one when the economy improves," she says, before steering a particular buyer to a different item. She posts monthly calendars so you know when she's in and mails informational letters — all artistically hand-decorated. She regales with stories — of home redos, her needlework designs, a new white cat that's deaf, prior careers (including a role in the design of Kaleidoscope) — and dishes out compliments. "I love your hair," she exclaimed one breezy day. "It looks so ... free!" And though the cosmetics aren't, the conversation is.
