COVERGIRL’s Times Square Flagship Store Focuses on Immersive Guest Experiences

On one of the busiest street corners in New York’s Times Square sits a new beauty playroom: COVERGIRL’s 10,000-square-foot retail space. It offers an immersive experience where customers are encouraged to digitally experiment with the latest makeup products.

The two-story flagship store is the brand’s first permanent retail destination–and it’s ushering in a new era of beauty retail.

The Times Square location is an innovative beauty destination that was designed and envisioned with FRCH NELSON, in partnership with Shawmut Design and Construction. The team installed high-end augmented reality glam stations and mirrors that allow shoppers to virtually try on makeup.

A digital greeter, customization stations and photo studio also enhance the dynamic store layout and turn it into a cosmetic hub where customers get a shared beauty experience.

“Stepping into the world of COVERGIRL, product trial is front and center at every touchpoint of the experience, digital activations elevate customization opportunities, while Instagram-able moments capture the social connectivity at the heart of the brand,” says Robyn Novak, vice president and creative managing director at FRCH NELSON.

All design aspects of the COVERGIRL flagship were selected to further enhance the brand’s “I Am What I Make Up” philosophy, allowing guests the ability to showcase their personal beauty expression. Novak says that technology played a key role in making the overall experience truly immersive for guests.

“From start to finish, the guest was greeted with high-tech, high-touch engagement. The Magic Mirrors, interactive video booths, and custom curated and printed make-up kits allowed for the guest to craft their own experience, truly celebrating the brand’s mantra ‘I Am What I Make Up,’” she says. “The advantage to the various tech-related features is they provide alternate opportunities to experience the brand, whether it be trial, customization or to connect with the brand socially via pure play fun.”

The Times Square flagship is the first brick-and-mortar environment were fans of COVERGIRL can test, customize and share the brand’s products. In addition to the experiential sales area, the space features two 25-foot wide signs, custom illuminated signage and lightboxes, and two large TV screens.

Eye-catching highlights include a shimmer wall made of spinning light discs and colored LED wall washers.

“Looking to pay homage to the past while celebrating the future, the design team wanted to modernize key legacy elements of the brand,” Novak says. “From a new take on the iconic vanity lights, to utilizing ring lights as décor, the goal was to create a playful space that was more relevant for today’s younger consumer.”

The fast-moving project opened in time for Black Friday to kick off the 2018 holiday shopping season.

“The draw of the Times Square location is undeniable,” notes Novak. “It was important that the location allowed as many lifelong fans as possible an opportunity to engage and interact with the product, immersing themselves in the three-dimensional expression of the iconic brand–and what better location than the heart of the Big Apple?”