Grand Opening of Bed Bath & Beyond in Brooklyn, Sunset Park

On Wednesday, January 11th, I attended the grand opening of the new Bed Bath & Beyond at Liberty View Industrial Plaza in Sunset Park, Brooklyn. This 120,000 square foot space also houses a Cost Plus World Market, Face Values and Buy Buy Baby. This layout gives new meaning to one stop shopping. You will easily want to set aside a few hours of your time to go shopping and explore.

During the media preview, I sampled wines, salads, and tasty burgers and sandwiches from The Bay Market Kitchen, which also includes locally brewed craft beer. You'll also find Market Coffee, which serves Williamsburg-based Toby's Estate Coffee, including espresso and latte drinks, drip and pour-over coffee, along with breakfast sandwiches and on-the-go snacks. Market Food carries baked treats from Butter & Scotch, including The Birthday Cake, Hotline Bling Cake, and S'mores Pie - which all taste amazing. I would go back just for their desserts!

Bed Bath & Beyond has Brooklyn made products, including S.W. Basics, American Heirloom, Good Thing, and Izola. The curated and locally made products really make this store unique, with that Brooklyn feel you won't find at any of the other Bed Bath & Beyond stores. I'm so in love with this new space, because it's so spacious, with plenty of room between the aisles for you and your cart. The products stand out, and are easy to locate. This is definitely a more pleasant shopping experience. I hope the format of this store becomes the norm for all Bed Bath & Beyond stores! Until then, this will be the one I want to shop in! 

Face Values has a ton of beauty brands I love, including NYX Cosmetics, Maybelline and L'Oreal, and included both a brush bar and nail bar. You''ll also find must-have products, like the Dyson Supersonic hair dryer! There is also a Blow In Blow Out Blow Dry Bar with signature hair looks to choose from, and treatment options with a blowout, including a haircut, scalp massage, oil treatment and deep conditioner. 

I've only been to Cost Plus World Market stores around the San Francisco area, so I was really excited to explore this one, which has locally made products, home accents and gourmet snacks. I also remember the previous stores just having furniture lumped together, but this location actually styles their furniture into trendy vignettes. 

- Kim Weling

NYX Cosmetics Store Opening at Westfield Garden State Plaza

On Friday, September 23rd, I got a sneak preview of the new NYX Professional Makeup store at Westfield Garden State Plaza in Paramus, NJ, located on level two, right across from Forever 21 in the AMC wing. For the grand opening weekend, the first 250 customers in line on 9/23 and 9/24 received a free, limited edition NYX makeup bag, with a chance to win a $100 shopping spree, and a free NYX mini train case with the purchase of $75 or more. The first 200 in line on Saturday enjoyed a free meet & greet with top beauty YouTube and Instagram star Jordan Hanz. 

The store is equipped with an interactive beauty bar, including beauty vlogger how-to videos. The beauty bar highlights trends and topics that are updated every month. This month the focus is on The Perfect Brow, Teal & Violet Art Liner, Highlight & Contour, Color Correcting, Baking Method, and Instant Glow. At the store, there's also a digital screen that allows you to scan any product and view an image carousel of people who have tagged #nyxcosmetics wearing their NYX product, so you can see what the product/shade looks like on. There's also a NYX Professional Makeup Geofilter on Snapchat. The What's New, Fan Faves and Grab & Go areas make it easy to shop.

This store launch makes it the sixth NYX store on the East Coast and the 17th NYX store in the US. Be on the lookout for more NYX store openings and check out their upcoming events.

- Kim Weling