E.l.f. Cosmetics Opens Doors of First Flagship
Last week, E.l.f. Cosmetics quietly opened the doors of its first retail flagship in New York’s Greenwich Village. The store occupies a 1,200 square foot space with plans to open two more locations this year. The store sports gleaming white fixtures allowing the merchandise to pop off the shelf. There are testers for all products, which are cleaned frequently and changed out to keep them fresh.
Ten large television screens reinforce E.l.f.’s online messages with makeup artist how-tos and editorial coverage. Free makeup lessons by professional makeup artists as well as complimentary makeovers are offered in the store. “We are getting great response and many people are booking appointments,” said Marianne Moreno, corporate retail liaison at the store.
Shoppers can sign up for appointments online and place orders for in-store pickup as well. Currently, the store is open 10:30 a.m. to 8:30 p.m. Monday through Saturday and 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. on Sunday. E.l.f. hopes to continue its strategy of trading consumers up to its Studio collection, priced between $3 to $6, which accounts for most of the merchandise in the store. E.l.f.’s portfolio also includes Essentials, the entry line at $1 to $2, and Minerals, priced from $3 to $8. The flagship offers about 550 units out of E.l.f.’s total lineup of 1,000 items.
Azature Pogosian Releases ‘Black Diamond’ Collection
Remember when Kelly Osbourne showed up to the 2012 Emmy Awards sporting a $250,000 black diamond manicure? Well, while Kelly was defending herself, the LA based jewelry designer behind the expensive tips got an idea to release a more affordable collection with formulas infused with glitter and a small pavé black diamond, dropped by hand into each bottle. His vision is to have the talons of the masses dripping in diamonds. The initial $25 Azature Black Diamond Collection includes colors inspired by different types of diamonds, including black, red, pink, champagne, blue, green and canary. The latest color collection is set to launch in the next several weeks, and includes an assortment of softer, pastel shades including white, lilac and gray, among others. Pogosian emphasized the colors are not seasonal, but intended to flesh out the permanent collection. The polishes are currently sold at Selfridges, Harvey Nichols Saudi Arabia, Ron Robinson, Ron Herman Japan and Kitson. The one lone bottle of the $250,000 nail lacquer — which contains 267 carats of full-cut and faceted black diamonds — is on view at Selfridges and has not sold yet.
Alber Elbaz and Lancome Give Eyes A Sparkle
Lancôme has teamed with the fashion designer to conceive the limited-edition collection, called Hypnôse Show, which includes mascaras, eye palettes and false eyelashes. It is due to hit counters worldwide on June 15. Elbaz said the idea was to rework “in a different way, with a different perspective” Lancôme’s best-selling mascaras. So the designer began by conceiving the approximately 90-second video advertising campaign featuring his hand-drawn characters, which goes online June 3.
Elbaz said its story line was meant to feel like a fairy tale — “to go back to a fantasy, to go back to a dream, to a happy ending. I think we always remember stories more than objects.
The collection will be sold through Lancôme’s traditional distribution channels. In the U.S., the makeup is to be available at the brand’s counters and through lancome.com, while the false lashes will be exclusive to Nordstrom.
Also in the U.S., the limited-edition Hypnôse mascaras — including Doll, Drama, Définicils and Star — are to be priced at $29. Each of the four corresponding eye palettes will be $51, and the false lashes, $35.
– Selicia A. Walker
Source: WWD
