Wednesday, August 06, 2008

Take That, Slow Economy!

Monday's paper is usually pretty dreary for me.

I mean, after the Sunday Styles and the wedding announcements the day before, there's not a whole lot to look forward to.

Except any ACTUAL news. But let's not get crazy.

But this Monday was different!

The Washington Post Business Section had a big feature on one of my favorite beauty stores, Bluemercury.

The article goes in depth to talk to the store's founder, Marla Malcolm Beck, who is a whipsmart business school grad who opened a website with her favorite products after spending a lot of her time tracking down the beauty products she loved. Unlike many beauty sites which opened and then fizzled when the internet bubble popped, Beck opened up two brick and mortar stores in DC and expanded from there. In the face of a slowing economy, where Starbucks is losing money (which basically means the apocalypse has come), Bluemercury is EXPANDING. AND THRIVING.

When I first arrived in DC for law school, I sought out the Bluemercury on Connecticut Ave. for my beauty fix. I've been a patron ever since.

I love Bluemercury because it combines the best of Sephora (multiple brands hard to find brands and they let you test out stuff without getting in your face) with department stores beauty floors (someone who is actually trained to apply makeup) with a splash of salon services (I've heard Lance at Georgetown is a genius with the brows).

They carry some of my favorite lines: Trish McEvoy, Molton Brown, Kiehls, NARS, Bumble and Bumble, and L'Artisan.

When I heard that one was opening up around the corner from my parents' pad in New York, I dragged my mother but was shocked to see that they carried Bobbi Brown!

Holy Hell!

Why not in DC?

Well, the article answers that question, stating that new stores will be carrying the line, and the construction in Georgetown indicates that it will be better than ever.

Any fond memories of local beauty business that made good?

1 comment:

Anonymous said...

Love your blog! Thanks for the article tip!
Lance did my very first eyebrow wax many, many years ago (I think it was '97). I followed him from Blue Mercury to the Four Seasons (where he was briefly) and then lost track of him when I moved to Chicago for a year. I'm happy to hear he's back at Blue Mercury and (according to something I read recently on Washingtonian.com) doing very well there! I've switched my allegiance to Jennifer at SCLA but anyone looking for a good brow guy will love Lance.