Yesterday morning, amidst trays of green juice, coffee and pastries, Barneys New York unveiled its new beauty floor to a group of editors and bloggers at its New York flagship. The space is incredibly bright and clean lined. There are LED panels and lights on both the counters and the shelves so you can clearly see all of the products and there’s plenty of seating so you can get comfortable whilst deciding between the various creams, lotions and potions — of which there are plenty, given that the new space has expanded by about 1,000 square feet. Among the new additions are MAKE, a socially conscious line, celebrity makeup artist Troy Suratt’s namesake collection, the debut fragrance by photographers Inez van Lamsweerde and Vinood Matadin created in collaboration with Byredo, a fragrance collection by Terry de Gunzburg, the beauty expert behind By Terry, a new selection of exclusive cloche bottles by Serge Lutens, and Greg Lauren‘s first fragrance (yes, that Lauren…he was on hand at the event and fittingly looks like he just stepped out of a Ralph Lauren ad). Every bottle of Lauren’s fragrance is hand-embellished by Lauren himself.
Some of the most popular brands like Frédéric Malle — who was also at the launch looking oh-so-French in fitted bright yellow trousers — and Mila Moursi Skincare Institute for facials and massages will get more floor space. There’s also a new private studio for in-house beauty guru Jason Ascher who was also at the event and one of the most gracious makeup experts you can ever hope to meet. When asked what defines beauty for him, he said a woman who feels confident enough to walk into a store like Barneys with no makeup dressed like she’s going to the gym — trust that this is someone to which any woman would feel comfortable dishing her skin and makeup woes. There will also be a Valery Joseph-helmed blow dry bar. He, too, was at the event and was one of the most well-mannered, unpretentious beauty pros you can ever imagine. His background is in architecture and he honed his hair-cutting skills while serving in the Israeli army — how’s that for salon conversation?
Barneys is calling the new floor the foundation floor, which is fitting for obvious reasons, but also because it’s located in the basement level, literally making it the foundation of the store. In the coming weeks, expect public appearances by Frédéric Malle, Poppy King of Lipstick Queen, Terry de Gunzburg, Greg Lauren, Olivia Chantecaille, Carisa Janes of Hourglass, and more.
