The founder of one of the biggest names in luxury makeup is opening a SoHo store that’s about a lot more than makeup. Tucked inside the new space are a café, a fragrance gallery that changes color as you walk through it, and a garden you’d never guess was there from the sidewalk.
Outside In and Nature of Things, two brands led by Hourglass Cosmetics founder Carisa Janes, are opening at 31 Crosby Street on Saturday, September 12. Each gets its own dedicated flagship, and the two are joined by a fragrance gallery, the Outside In Café and what the company is calling a Hidden Garden, all inside one building designed around light and natural materials.
Janes says the idea grew out of her interest in artists who treat light as a material, citing Douglas Wheeler’s installations and James Turrell’s Skyspaces as the experiences that changed how she thinks about space. “There’s a sense of calm, presence and wonder that stays with you,” she says. Her take on why this matters for a store: people are returning to physical retail because “they’re looking for experiences they simply can’t have anywhere else.”
The building was designed with Shanghai-based F.O.G. Architecture, and it’s the firm’s first project in the United States. “Each space is designed to unfold gradually, encouraging movement and engagement,” says Leilei Wu, the partner in charge.
The Outside In flagship, which covers makeup and skincare, sits under a coved ceiling with a circular oculus, and the storefront glass can switch between clear and frosted at the touch of a button. Curved vanities with calibrated vertical lighting are set up for shade matching and makeup consultations. The light theme carries into the products: brushes with limestone composite handles, packaging made from rice-husk resin, and fragrances housed in translucent crystal orbs.
Next door, the Nature of Things flagship focuses on plant-based bath, body, hair and hand care. Its walls are wrapped in curved panels of individually hand-installed loofah, and a monolithic stone basin near the entrance is set up for trying products.
The Fragrance Gallery, at the center of the flagship, uses synchronized wall and ceiling lighting that shifts in color and intensity, along with a custom scent wall, so the collection is meant to be experienced as much as smelled. The café serves pastries, coffee and specialty drinks in custom-designed ceramics, and it opens onto the Hidden Garden, a small retreat in the middle of SoHo.
The company says the space will host a rotating lineup of programming, including exclusive launches and in-store drops, artists in residence, private appointments and cultural events, along with complimentary gift wrapping.
More at Outside In and Nature of Things.
