Keeping up with the Customers! Nordstrom Inc. is giving its beauty departments a fresher, more contemporary look designed to give customers more individualized ways to shop.
photo: Stefanie Keenan
This is good news because what I don’t like about buying cosmetics at most department stores is 1) the hard sale 2) feeling that the sales girl (who works on commission) from the line that you just wasted an hour of her time talking about is watching you go from one counter to the next to check out the competitors. 3) too many other distractions in a department store – stuff like shoes, clothing & accessories. Usually I tend to gravitate towards the smaller independent boutiques for most things in general. But this might make me change my mind for a time or two.
Unveiled at stores in the California shopping centers (The Americana at Brand in Glendale and The Sh20ops at Mission Viejo) and expanding to a total of nine stores by January, the most dramatic modifications are to color cosmetics areas, where customers are encouraged to shop how they want, whether it is on their own by opening drawers brimming with makeup or with guidance from staff dedicated to specific brands. Nordstrom is also simplifying beauty shopping by breaking down its vast selection by trend and key product no matter what brand, and offering shoppers access to beauty concierges, trial sizes and applications, consultations and other services so they can more fully experience the products.
lengthen, volumize, curl + define. I want ALL 3 in 1! photo: Stefanie Keenan
The refreshed approach recognizes that the traditional behind-the-counter model of selling beauty products doesn’t work for everyone. Acknowledging Sephora and e-commerce have impacted shopping for beauty products, Pete Nordstrom, president of merchandising for Nordstrom, said, “The best ingredient to success is to be reflective of what the customers are interested in. Customers evolve and change over time, not only in regards to the product, but how they like to be served. In the beauty segment, there is an opportunity to serve the customer in a different and a better way. We have to allow our stores to be able to evolve to be able to appeal to customers, not just to legacy customers, but to our new customers.”
With Bite Lip Lab it’s pretty easy to find your perfect lipstick match.
Facing up: Lipstick is a pretty important (possibly ‘the’ most important) part to perfecting our makeup look. Otherwise we wouldn’t be Eating on average 4-7 Pounds of Lipstick in our Lifetimes – would we?
It can’t be all too healthy but we do it anyway – because we’re rather lipstick obsessed.
How many times have you come across that ‘perfect’ color and then the next time you go to buy it the company has decided to suddenly discontinued it. And you have to wonder – were you the only person buying it? This can be very upsetting – as many colors as there are it’s not that easy trying to find a great shade to suit us. So don’t throw away your last tube just yet.
You can take in an old or discontinued lipstick toBite Lip Lap & have them re-create it for you. They can make a custom made lipstick using a magic lipstick machine in just 7 minutes – which involves melting down the different bullets of lipstick (they look like chocolate truffles!), adding a scent (like cherry, violet, peppermint, or superfruit), pouring the mix into lipstick molds and allowing the formula to harden on a cold plate. It’s as simple at that! Then all you have to do is buy two. Looking for the perfect red for a night out? How incredible is that?
Bite Beauty Lip Lab, 174 Prince Street, at Thompson Street (646-484-6111)
You can always stop by in between visits to museums & art galleries but to some, this alone might be worth the visit to New York.
IN THE RED:
A 2012 study found that waitresses who wore lipstick got higher tips from men, and scientific research from 2010 found that women wearing red lipstick received the “most prolonged gazes” from men. And yet we’ve know plenty of guys who say they simply hate the stuff. We can’t please everyone.
Designer Bill Blass once said : “When in Doubt Wear Red.” What exactly did he mean?
‘Red lipstick is a source of strength,’ says Poppy King, creator of Lipstick Queen. ‘You put it on and suddenly you feel more capable than you did without it.’
Consider Jean Harlow’s pointed red pout in the 1930s, Veronika Lake’s in the 1940s and Marilyn Monroe’s in the 1950s. None of these actresses was known for playing the girlish ingénue. They were women with overtly feminine power. They were knowing.
The lure of looking feminine but remaining powerful was such a glorious notion, it’s little wonder women started to use red lipstick as a tool to communicate their own self-possession.
The thing about red lipstick – it’s a beautiful case of chicken and egg. It may require confidence to wear, but confidence can actually be a result of putting on red lipstick – and no one needs to know which comes first.
The Japanese are known for being steps ahead when it comes to technology and trends, and the same goes for their skin care. Japanese skin care products are some of the best in the world.
Many of the products are not easily found here in North America. Of course we already know about Shiseido, Shu Uemura (we swear by their eyelash curler) & Clé de Peau (the Concealer is a perennial makeup artist favorite).
A friend recently returned from a trip to Japan and brought me this little bag containing *rice bran extract which is used to hydrate and tone skin. It’s from a store called “Yojiya” in Kyoto (the area where I once followed Geishas). The Japanese name is Nukabukuroand it’s a face/body wash in a small cotton bag with an excellent cleansing & moisturizing effect when you massage your skin with it. The rice bran extract is filtered through the cotton bag which gradually moisturizes your skin while the gentle massaging effect of the cotton fiber helps to tone your skin texture. First you must run the bag under warm water until it fully absorbs and you keep using it until it’s all gone. *Rice Bran Extract is a natural botanical rich in vitamins and antioxidants.
Also, the best blotting papers ever – of course, the Japanese invented them. Centuries ago, in the early 1600’s, the women and men in Japan discovered the benefits of oil blotting paper for keeping their complexions smooth, flawless and oil free. An essential item to keep in my handbag.
I love cake in all its forms – flourless, vegan, fully loaded, red velvet & with lots of icing. Now I can put cake it in my hair.
Tell me you haven’t tried dry shampoo! Maybe you haven’t found the right one yet. Who washes their hair every single day anymore? We’re constantly on the go, washing daily will dry out your hair and styling all the time is a pain. Enter dry shampoo – not like the old days.
I think it’s a must unless of course you break out a sweat like crazy. For non wash days I just sprinkle a little cake satin sugar glistening dry shampoo on my roots, work through a little with my fingers & let sit a few minutes before brushing out. It doesn’t really clean your hair but it will take away the greasy look for emergencies or just days when you want to give your hair a rest. It also smells nice – a bit like icing sugar. The packaging is very so-so but the product works. Available at Sephora for $20.00
Can you believe they have a dry bar at Sephora? I’ve been wanting to try “Oscar Blandi” but the girls at S convinced me that cake works better for less $ – so far so good. This was their TOP pick (at least for now).
If you’re looking for something a little less pricey then try the volumizing spray from John Frieda which works fine for about $7.00.
Girl Who Would be KING on Life, Style and INSPIRATION. 
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