Beauty: retail favourites from around the world

Spring, the beauty trail becomes an exploration

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It's impossible to return from New York without praising what undoubtedly marks the entry of department stores into a new era. In March, the French institution inaugurated its first American address, dedicating several hundred square meters to the beauty offer. And what catches the eye from the very first seconds is the rewriting of retail archetypes. Here, backwalls become circular niches, straight aisles are transformed into winding corridors, and consultation stations are brought closer to the floor, abandoning high stools in favor of bits of sofa. A completely different relationship with oneself and one's well-being is proposed here. You'd almost forget you were in a department store!

Skims, a highly effective approach to body and looks

Two years ago, who would have thought that Kim Kardashian, after having imposed a new feminine silhouette on the world, would offer an equally divisive vision of retail? On 5th Avenue, the star of social networks offers us a flagship in her image: frank and unambiguous. A colossal Greek statue takes charge of the welcome, introducing itself to visitors in complete privacy. Customers are then guided in their discovery of the products by a staging of bodies and skin tones in all their diversity. These coloramas and highly effective navigation systems bring the powder-white world of the architecture to life. You'll be out of the store relatively quickly, not because you don't feel good, but because everything has been designed to make the customer journey as smooth as possible.

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Hourglass, the product is the star, no room for marketing

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Once again, an American brand (Californian, to be precise) made the news in March with the opening of its first boutique. Hourglass, known for its slick product design, took over the Soho district for an experience that focuses on the essentials. Here, there are no campaign visuals, messages or even brand codes. The only things visitors can see are the products, which are prominently displayed on the central counters. An asceticism that raises questions, given how crucial it is today to connect emotionally with visitors.

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Amouage, Shanghai: perfumery becomes an immersive legend

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Thousands of miles from New York, it's in the historic Zhang Yuan district that Oman-based Amouage takes us on an entirely different tale. In homage to the brand's Middle Eastern roots, the boutique offers a veritable sensory voyage inspired by the adventures of Sindbad the Sailor. Under a suspended dhow hull, amid fossilized travertine, monumental coral and aquatic lights, customers become explorers. More than a sales space, The Sillage affirms a strong conviction: to make retail a theater of emotions, where the scenography, textures and mechanics inspired by the sea make perfume a pretext for wonder.

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Charlotte Tilbury, London: from product to community

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The British brand reshuffles the deck with a London flagship that puts the emphasis on experience, in the literal sense of the word. Here, product gives way to service. An entire floor is dedicated to the Skin Spa, the Scent School, the Beauty Boudoirs and the Pillow Talk Lounge - all places designed for learning, pampering or simply sharing a moment with friends. In this rose-gold setting, retail becomes media. It's a space for engagement, where masterclasses, personalized diagnoses and lifestyle moments come together. It's no longer the brand that imposes itself on the customer: it's the customer who appropriates the brand, projecting his or her own rituals onto it.

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The Ordinary, London: proof, transparency and autonomy

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At The Ordinary, the experience begins with a simple promise: facts first. In its London boutique, the brand makes its commitments - environmental, social, scientific - visible at every step of the way. Interactive QR codes, explanatory screens, detailed product sheets: everything is designed for independent, educational discovery. This approach echoes the expectations of new generations, 75% of whom want clear, science-based information*. Here, transparency becomes a massive loyalty-building weapon (*VICE, Guide to Culture, 2022).

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Chanel Maison de Beauté, Paris: technology at the service of bonding

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Direction Paris, where Maison Chanel continues its quest for excellence with a brand-new venue. Over three floors, the brand offers a holistic reading of beauty, true to Gabrielle Chanel's adage: "Beauty care must beginwith the heart and soul." What's striking here is the intelligence of the layout: on the first floor, a make-up and skincare trail; upstairs, a perfumery experience augmented by an AI that simulates the olfactory perception of others on oneself. And above all, consultants who perfectly embody the storytelling and vision of the Maison. The experience is intimate, fluid and augmented. An elegant way to reconcile technology and humanity.

Carolina Herrera, Paris: ultra-virality as a community lever

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At a time when brands are looking to expand their communities, Carolina Herrera's ephemeral Good Girl Coffee Shop ticks all the boxes for a masterclass in cultural virality. Glam Bot, DJ sets, running clubs, signature coffees... every activation becomes potential content. More than a pop-up, it's a manifesto for shareable, Instagrammable, assertive retail. Coffee becomes a photo studio, perfume becomes media. And every visitor becomes a natural ambassador, without prompting. Proof that retail is no longer just in-store, but on-feed.

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From Shanghai to Paris, by way of London and New York, these addresses remind us that the beauty experience is no longer thought of solely in terms of square meters or market share. It is now conceived as a space for personal transformation, an emotional medium, a place of culture, community and exploration.

To remain desirable, relevant and forward-looking, beauty retail needs to make several shifts:

• Moving from transaction to transformation, by designing stores as stages for personal development.
• Shift the focus from products to people, emphasizing rituals, well-being and human ties rather than simple conversion.
• Move from static to social-by-design, thinking of every touchpoint as ready to live online, shareable and interactive.
• Move from inspiration to activation, transforming points of sale into platforms for creativity, education and personalization in real time - thanks to both technology and human mediation.

Far from a single model, it's the diversity of approaches - immersive, ascetic, community-based, educational or experiential - that shows the vitality of beauty retail.

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"Tomorrow, we won't go into a store to buy a product, but to experience a story."

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Article available in print version of June 2025 issue Cosmétiquemag