Beauty retailer expands in U.S. with flagship

A 33-year-old make-up brand is looking to make inroads in the U.S. market with a jazzy-looking store that is big on interactivity.



Make Up For Ever opened its first global flagship — and sixth location in the United States — in Manhattan, near Bloomingdale’s. The store features the Paris-based company’s Go Pro Makeup format, which allows up to seven customers to learn and play with various makeup techniques. The setup is unique: Customers sit around a three-sided counter — located in the middle of the store — with a moving conveyor belt. Various sets of products grouped to create specific makeup looks rotate slowly around the bar, allowing customers to hand-pick the makeup skill they want to learn.



Each station is outfitted with a makeup mirror, disposable wands and other beauty tools, along with a USB port for charging mobile devices and hooks for bags and coats. Anyone can sit at one of the bar's seven seats and select a technique of their choice. The store's professional makeup artists ensure that shades in the customer’s chosen set are the best match for their skin tone and preferences.



In addition, the Go Pro format offers complimentary group classes by professional makeup artists. The classes, offered twice daily Monday through Saturday and once daily on Sundays, include a lead artist who conducts a live tutorial from the opposite side of the rotating bar, guiding the group through self-application. During the class, other artists can modify techniques to flatter each person's unique features, allowing for personalized education within a small group setting.



Other technologically enhanced elements include a digital lash bar, allowing guests to virtually try on the brand's 50 false lash styles, and custom-designed overhead lighting specifically designed to be optimal for makeup application. Full makeup application and waxing services complete the store's self-service to full-service model.



"Opening the global flagship on Lexington Avenue is a hugely significant moment for us," says Laure de Metz, general manager, Americas, Make Up For Ever, Americas. "Between the digitally enhanced store design, broad product assortment and unique educational experience of Go Pro Makeup, we're bringing the core of our brand to life in a way that our customer has never seen before."