ELF Store New York Opening - ELF Flagship Store
In April, ELF Cosmetics opened a standalone flagship store where customers can swatch ELF products, peruse organized displays of makeup, enjoy complimentary make overs from professional makeup artists, and invest in quality makeup without spending one's life savings. The new 50 square foot store is located in Manhattan at 741 Broadway near Astor Place and is easily accessible by subway.
When I came to New York a few weekends ago, my sister and I decided to visit the new ELF Cosmetics store and see if we could find some new must-have products. For only a mere $25 USD we walked away with a lot of makeup for both of us (posts coming up!) - see some store photos below and read our thoughts on ELF's grand opening of a flagship store.
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| ELF Studio Store entrance (for make up lovers, this is like staring at a bakery window display full of treats) |
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| ELF Studio Store set up - organized aisles on either wall side and central island featuring ELF eye shadow palettes |
I have not tried many products from ELF as they are mostly available at Target in store and online at eyeslipsface.com. I am not big on online shopping and Targets are rare in New York, so I was so excited to visit the new flagship store on Broadway and Astor Place in the East Village (which is steps away from my gym, making it so convenient to visit). I finally got the chance to check out some of ELF's most popular items in person (such as blushes, brushes, and baked products) - even though these products are very inexpensive, I still like to know I am investing in quality items and this ELF store made it possible for me to do so. I believe ELF has some wonderful products for their value and some misses - this store will steer you away from those misses.
While ELF had thousands of products listed on their website, the store carries more recent releases so do keep that in mind. Also, they sell out of their best sellers and most popular shades quite fast and take two weeks to restock them (on Thursday, mind you, I asked!) - this can be a bit frustrating if you really are in a time crunch visiting NYC and want to grab your favorite product. I loved some of the things I walked away with, have a new Holy Grail blush (Baked Blush in Peachy Cheeky) and foundation brush (Powder brush), as well as other lovely products for an incredible price. I love the fact that the new ELF store gives the experience of a Sephora - that of swatching, trying on colors, and plain old having fun with make up. While $20 might only get me one small makeup product at Sephora, I can walk out with a brand new make up routine to try and experiment with from the Elf store (that's what's so great about this brand and the new flagship store!). Go check it out, you may just find your favorite new product!
Miranda's Notes:
How many times have you walked into a store, found something you loved, and walked away sadly (a la Arrested Development) because that something was too expensive? Yup, too many times. The new ELF store in Manhattan gives you the chance to discover something you love and actually buy it - prices range from $1 lip glosses to $3 blushes and $5 foundations. With different sections set up on either side of the store, I had the opportunity to swatch various ELF products and did not have to wonder whether the product would work for me. That evening, I bought the new ELF tinted lip balm with SPF, a rose blush, an eyelid primer, and a gel eye shadow - and I look forward to more affordable purchases.
I found the customer service representatives helpful, but I did notice the store was a bit short staffed. Overall, the ELF store was clean and each section had sanitizing and cleansing products. There was a "wall of fame" product display with eye shadow pencils and lip glosses but because of the packaging these could not be swatched (so do your blog research homework if you're interested in any of these).
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| ELF nail polish display and the ELF blushes display |
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| Beautiful light fixtures and colorful check out counter |
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| The customize section allows you to pick and combine your own eye shadow colors (or you could just purchase some big and small ELF palettes) |
