Beauty Bar: The Best Of Beauty In A Super-Chic Setting!

By: Anne M. Raso

We were lucky enough to get a sneak peek at the new Beauty Bar in Manhasset a few hours before its big opening night party! Set in the center of the tres chic Americana shopping center at 2034 Northern Boulevard--which is anchored by such legendary stores as Chanel and Tiffany--this upscale beauty store features hundreds of brand names that many other popular beauty stores do not carry (especially smaller luxury brands like Wellbox, Ren and By Terry). Of course, the big luxury cosmetic, skincare and fragrance brands are here and there is a particularly lovely and large display of Bond No. 9. It's easy to spend an hour just trying the numerous Bond No. 9 testers and we fell in love with the Little Italy scent, which interestingly enough, smells like an orange orchard

What also sets the Beauty Bar apart is that it is a bricks and mortar store that was started after beautybar.com became an uber-hit. Usually, things happen the other way around. (By the way, the store actually has Clarins and Dr. Perricone products that you can't get on beautybar.com!) There is a small salon just behind the front desk called nuNest Salon where patrons can run in for a quick blowout, cut or style, and downstairs are several bright and airy treatment rooms where they can get massages and facials for reasonable prices.

The Beauty Bar staff was nice enough to provide car service for New York City-based journos and bloggers to come out and see what all the fuss is about. What made us fall in love with the Beauty Bar besides the great variety of luxury products? It was a few things but mainly we loved the fabulous lighting which included plenty of natural sunlight so that you know how that color of foundation you are trying is REALLY going to look once you get it home. Secondly, the store was neat and well-organized with plenty of disposable applicators for trying all the products....and when we say that EVERY product had a tester, we mean it! All the testers are minty clean and fresh, unlike what you generally find in department stores. We also like the staff with leave you alone if you want....or will answer dozens of question on one product. If it's not in the store for some reason, they will get it from you off the site and New York City customers can get all Beauty Bar products the same day with no delivery charge!

We also love that you can walk in and get a free makeover from one of several makeup artists that are non-pushy and aren't affiliated with any one line of cosmetics or fragrance. When you sit down in one of what we call the "magical makeover chairs" on the main floor, the makeup artists will go all around the store and pull what works best from all the different lines for you. They also customize skincare and will give you samples of several of the fragrances (they seem most generous with the Bond No. 9 vials, however...there is actually a huge jar of them in the back that anyone can help themselves to a handful).

We noticed that even though we visited the store before it had officially opened last Thursday, crowds of people were walking by and putting there noses up to the glass to see the gleaming displays. And a brave dozen or so walked in and asked what all the hubbub was about, and then stayed around for awhile and had a beauty binge! No doubt that Beauty Bar will clean up for the holidays--even more than the type of bar that serves alcohol!