Ready for a Beauty 360?

Move over Sephora and Ulta, the drugstore chain CVS wants you to make room for their new luxury store Beauty 360. It definitely looks like these stores will give Sephora and Ulta a run for their money. They’re differentiating themselves by offering special services like mini-manicures, express facials, and mini-massages. How cool would it be to get a little manicure while shopping for the latest hot colors? They’ll also have “Play Stations,” where you can test products, and experts on hand to tend to your beauty needs.

Swanky Stuff

Don’t look for a tube of Maybelline mascara at Beauty 360. These stores will only feature higher end cosmetics brands like Laura Geller and Paula Dorf, and fragrances from lines like Clarins and Juicy Couture.

How Will They Do?

Should be interesting to see how they do in this stormy economic climate. Umbrella, anyone? Perhaps they’ll do just fine if people treat themselves to little “feel-good” beauty splurges, like lipstick, while they put off buying that new big-screen TV (check out Kezia’s article on “The Lipstick Effect”).

Where and When

The first store opened in Washington, DC, in early November. A second store opens in southern California early next month. CVS plans to open fifty more stores throughout the U.S. next year.

The stores will be located next to CVS drug stores. I’m wondering how that’s going to work. Seems like it would make more sense to have them in malls where people are in the mode of spending more money. I know that for me $20 can seem like a lot for an eye cream just a couple aisles down from the TP at Target. But if I’m at a department store or Sephora, $20 feels like a bargain. It’s all relative.

What Do You Think?

I hope a Beauty 360 opens near me. I can’t wait to see what they do with the place. What do you think? Do you feel like there are already enough beauty stores or would you pop in for a mini-manicure and treat yourself to a hot new lipstick at 360?