Last week, my roommate and I were victims of something that tricked a large majority of Penn State students: the Maybelline pop-up. What was supposed to be a small outing before class turned into me skipping class, all for a small bag of free makeup products.

Now, don’t get me wrong. I enjoyed every minute of my time once I was inside the pop-up. The staff was super friendly, the ambiance was incredible, and all of the activities included were very fun. The wait, however, was one of the most insane things I’ve ever witnessed in my life. It felt like I was waiting in line for a ride at Disney World, although I’m not even sure I’ve ever willingly waited three hours for a ride.

However, I’m pretty sure I would do that all over again. Getting full-size products for free as a college student who goes through a lot of makeup is amazing. I’ve already implemented the lip combo in my rotation, and actually convinced another one of my roommates to pay for the products. Still, that doesn’t change the fact that I was a little mad that I wasted a good portion of my day in a line.

In the last few semesters, Penn State has welcomed a plethora of brands to do pop-ups at various places around campus, including Stanley, Uber Eats, and Pepsi. Most of these pop-ups required students to sign up for a subscription service or pay for what they actually bought. While the lines were long, they were usually manageable, and students were out in less than an hour. Still, waiting an hour for a product you’re paying for is something most college students can’t fit into their schedules.

At the end of the day, while students are choosing to stand in them for the products, no one has the kind of time in their day to spend three hours in line.

In terms of Maybelline, there was not really a need for half of what was in the pop-up. The chances of someone actually landing on their foundation shade to receive a free product are so slim, and this extra “game” was just creating extra lines. Without the game, the line probably would’ve gone a lot faster, and I would’ve been able to go to my class that day (apologies to my professor for skipping).

So, if you’re a company planning to do a pop-up at Penn State, be mindful of the lines that you are going to create, and please choose to do things a little differently than Maybelline did. We seriously appreciate the free stuff you give out, but no one wants to wait three hours in line for that.