Inside Nordstrom’s New York City Beauty Makeover

Beauty is taking center stage at Nordstrom’s New York City flagship on 57th Street and Broadway.

The Seattle-based retailer has taken what was a spread-out presence for beauty, with some categories housed on the 57th Street side of the building and others accessible through the Broadway entrance, and created a cohesive, power-packed beauty department that is the first thing customers will see as they enter the store’s main doors on 57th Street.

There will be four primary zones: the makeup hall, the luxury and designer space, fragrances and a space called Beauty Ritual, which will have core and emerging skin care brands, as well as categories like hair care, bath and body and wellness.

To make way for the changes, Nordstrom has moved the jewelry and handbag departments so that each, too, will be merchandised together as full groups. Jewelry is now located on the ground floor just inside of the Broadway entrance between 57th and 58th streets, while handbags have been moved to the second floor in an enlarged department.

“Our New York flagship is a global platform for the world to see Nordstrom beauty,” said Debbi Hartley-Triesch, executive vice president and general merchandise manager of beauty, accessories and home at Nordstrom. “We believe beauty is a trip-driver to Nordstrom and we know we can engage and bring in more new customers than other categories.

“Keeping beauty on the main floor and bringing that energy to life creates an overall shopping experience for the entire building, just by having that heartbeat as soon as you walk in,” she continued. “It’s the welcome to Nordstrom where you instantly know you’re going to have a great day.”

The new Makeup Hall is located immediately inside of the front entrance, where a lit-up rose gold Charlotte Tilbury counter — complete with a blinged-out palm tree — greets customers. “We wanted to bring energy to our most trafficked door,” said Hartley-Treisch. “Its entertainment and animation as soon as you enter.”

Other key brands include MAC, Bobbi Brown, Hourglass, Westman Atelier, Pat McGrath Labs and Victoria Beckham Beauty, which occupies a sleek black marble fixture. Bespoke counters throughout offer both self-shoppable stock, as well as space for an in-depth consultation.

The Beauty Bar lives within the makeup hall. Anchored by a column covered in a digital screen that will stream a wide array of content, it has two half-circle-shaped marble tables, each equipped with a lighted makeup mirror and tools. Nordstrom will host events in the space, which seats six, like group makeup lessons or hands-on master classes, and customers can also use it as a ‘play station,’ where they bring products from various counters to test and try.

“It’s a place to explore, experiment and discover, bringing connection and community together,” said Hartley-Triesch.

The retailer has also designed a new fixture to showcase  emerging makeup brands like Neem, created by Stila founder Jeanine Lobell; the organic brand Ogee, and the viral sensation Wonderskin, as well as Grande, Kaja and Sweed. “We wanted a place where customers can discover new brands, and it also enables us to see who the next up-and-coming brands are,” Hartley-Triesch said. “We want to make sure that throughout the floor, we’re pulsing what’s emerging, what’s next.”

The makeup hall flows directly into the luxury and designer space, where brands include Sisley, La Mer and La Prairie, as well as Dior, Christian Louboutin Beauty, Valentino, Prada, Carolina Herrera and Burberry, which is exclusive to Nordstrom in North America. Here, too, the counters have self-shoppable stock as well as service and consultation tables to “enable customers to shop on their own terms,” said Hartley-Triesch. Each has been custom-designed to reflect the ethos of the brand. Prada Beauty, for example, is mint green, down to the facial scanning machine for skin care recommendations, while Louboutin is a riot of red and gold.

The luxury and designer space also houses a wall of collection fragrances that has been expanded to include Penhaligon’s, Kilian Paris, Parfums de Marly, Dries van Noten and Maison Francis Kurkdjian, plus Nordstrom’s core assortment of Byredo, Diptyque, Le Labo and Jo Malone London.

Next to that is the multibranded fragrance area, which features a floor-to-ceiling flower installation created by floral designer East Olivia. Nordstrom has doubled the selling space for fragrance, creating an assortment that ranges from opening price points to high-end luxury. Hot formats like body mists and travel sizes are also on offer; new brands include Memo Paris and Perfumehead.

Nordstrom has partnered with Puig to launch a technology called AirParfum exclusively in North America, a computer that diffuses 60 scents. “You can see the notes and then push a button and a waft of fragrance comes over you,” said Hartley-Triesch, noting it will have more than Puig fragrances. “But it’s not overwhelming to the senses, so you can find the direction of where you want to go olfactively.”

Finally, there is the Beauty Rituals space, a more open-sell format for skin care, hair care, bath and body and wellness. Tools will also be located here, including Dyson and Omnilux LED light therapy devices, which are exclusive to the retailer.

Heritage brands like Estée Lauder, Shiseido and Lancôme are here, as well as skin care from the likes of Tatcha, Dr. Diamond’s Metacine, 111Skin and Allies of Skin. Beauty Rituals includes an expanded body space with brands like Paume, Kate McLeod and Grown Alchemist. Consultation tables will enable shoppers to self-discover or engage a sales associate, and events will also be held here.

“When I think of how the beauty consumer is evolving, it comes down to letting them shop on their own terms,” said Hartley-Triesch. “One day they might come in and know exactly what they want and run into the store and grab it. On the flip side, she might come in another day seeking expert advice.”

Facilitating the customer journey will be a staff of about 100 sales associates, some dedicated to a single brand, but also Nordstrom beauty stylists and makeup artists trained across all brands.

The renovation comes on the heels of the January opening of the SkinSpirit medi-spa in Nordstrom’s Beauty Haven area, which also offers brow services from Anastasia Beverly Hills, blowouts by Drybar, facial massage from FaceGym and nail services from Londontown. In all, Nordstrom offers 250 services, some paid and others complementary. 

“This really speaks to our ability to offer our customers service on their terms — whether they have three minutes or three hours to spend with us,” said Hartley-Treisch.

The new footprint increases the size of the core beauty department from 7,800 feet to about 11,000 square feet; with Beauty Haven, the total is 18,000. To help consumers navigate the space, there will be a full-time beauty concierge team.

As well, there will be an allocated space for programmable activities, launches and pop-ups called Beauty Center Stage. For fall, the lineup includes exclusives with Jo Malone London, Tom Ford and Troye Sivan. In November, it will be transformed into a holiday gifting destination.

Hartley-Triesch declined to quantify the impact in sales that the redesign will have for Nordstrom, which went private last May. The official unveiling will happen on Sept. 13, which will also serve as the kickoff for Nordstrom’s fall beauty event season.

Beauty Community will launch, a concept that speaks to three key stakeholders — creators/influencers, Nordy Club loyalty customers and in-store experts — which will feature in-store appearances with talent and expanded content on social. From mid-September on, a cascade of events like Beauty Trend week, Scent Event Week and Holiday Glam Up Days are planned through the end of the year.

“We have a supersized event calendar for fall,” said Hartley-Triesch. “We want to create compelling events and experiences for customers to come in and discover all that we have on offer.”