Sephora 34th Street Reopening as Largest Concept Store

On Thursday, March 30th, guests celebrated the reopening of Sephora 34th Street, now the largest Sephora concept store in North America at 11,300+ square feet. The innovative Beauty TIP (Teach, Inspire, Play) Workshop concept store is the ultimate destination, containing more than 13,300 products and over 26 seats for instore learning at the Beauty Workshop, Beauty Studio and Skincare Studio. Sephora 34th Street offers beauty education and consultation featuring a wide array of services and classes for all skill and interest levels, that makes a visit to this store a one-of-a-kind, individualized experience.

The Sephora 34th Street store is the first Sephora store in North America to carry La Mer and Jo Malone, and has the largest brand offerings next to Sephora.com. Other exclusive brands only found at Sephora include Atelier Cologne, Belif, BITE Beauty, Black Up, Cover FX, Drunk Elephant, IGK, Kat Von D Beauty, Madam C.J. Walker Beauty Culture, Nest, Ouai, The Estée Edit by Estée Lauder, and Too Coll For School and Sephora Collection makeup, skincare, tools and accessories. 

The Beauty Workshop is a central workstation where clients participate in group beauty classes with Sephora's educated facilitators and to leverage tutorials and Sephora Virtual Artist technology on integrated iPad stations, or two gather inspiration from The Beauty Board, Sephora's own shop-able gallery showcasing user-generated content via a large digital screen. Each station is equipped with its own product, iPad, USB port and wifi.

The store also features:

• Beauty Studios (2) - for one-one-one makeovers and Sephora + Pantone Color IQ touchscreens for foundation, lip and concealer matching.
• Fragrance Studio - use InstaScent to explore scent families before trying individual fragrances, sample favorites, have purchases gift wrapped and customize your bottle with complimentary engraving. 
• The Skincare Studio - for mini facial services and instant access to Sephora's exclusive IQ diagnostic for best products based on skin concerns.
• "Tap and Try" - let's you pick up and lip or lash product on the endcap and try it on using Sephora's Virtual Artist's technology combined with RFID scanning.

In addition to this 34th Street store, the 9,000+ square foot Sephora 5th Avenue is now open to the public. The new store design features Sephora's exclusive physical and digital tools, including an Anastasia Brow Studio on the second floor. 

During the opening, I stopped over at The Skincare Studio for a quick mini facial, with products I've never tried before. The first step was using Farmacy Green Clean Makeup Meltaway Cleansing Balm, then using Neogen Dermalogy Bio-Peel Gauze Peeling, followed by Tatcha Gold Camellia Beauty Oil. All three products worked well together and was refreshing and hydrating to my skin.

- Kim Weling

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