New Eco & Editorial Beauty Spaces from L’Occitane & Allure

New and upcoming beauty flagships are set to showcase brands’ eco-ethical credentials and curatorial nous. US beauty magazine Allure demonstrates how an editorial audience can translate to IRL (in real life) footfall in New York, while French brand L’Occitane en Provence targets sustainability in Hong Kong, rewarding shoppers for participating in environmental initiatives.
Allure Editorialises Physical Discovery: The Condé Nast-owned magazine will open a 2,900 sq ft store across two floors in SoHo, NYC in autumn 2021 that will act as a bricks-and-mortar touchpoint for the title.
The space is shaped by Allure’s editorial judgement. Staff will curate a 300-strong, cross-brand selection of products drawn from the publication’s most popular content, including its Best of Beauty awards. Post-pandemic, they will also host make-up tutorials and events.
The space will also feature augmented reality smart mirrors, allowing visitors to trial different make-up looks virtually. While not new (see Blueprints for Winning Beauty Destinations), investment in touch-minimising solutions signifies their continued relevance; consumers are likely to be hygiene-conscious long after lockdowns end. For more, see Creating the Contactless Store.
L’Occitane’s Eco Concept Store: Meanwhile, L’Occitane is targeting eco-conscious consumers (a cohort likely to grow as the climate emergency deepens) with the launch of its #MakeEarthGreenAgain concept store in Pacific Place Mall, Hong Kong.
Shoppers are encouraged to drop off empty beauty bottles (dovetailing with L’Occitane’s ambitions to offer product recycling in all stores and use 100% recycled plastic packaging by 2025) and complete a three-minute personal carbon footprint evaluation to earn free eco-friendly products.
The space features recyclable fittings including a rubber floor made from recycled tiles, and plywood fixtures decorated with water-based paints (read New Sustainable Brand Spaces for further info).
See Mac Cosmetics’ NYC Omni-Flagship Taps Hyper-Local Trends for more on new-gen beauty stores.