Elevé Cosmetics is finding bubbly and beauty are a good pair.
The three-year-old natural makeup brand has opened a 1,200-square-feet boutique-cum-champagne bar in Austin, Tex., to provide an environment where shoppers can put its high-performance makeup to the test. The boutique is home to more than 50 products ranging from $15 false eyelashes to $105 palettes.
“The idea was to have a space where women can come together and play with non-toxic cosmetics while also having champagne at a place that’s not your typical lounge scene,” says Ginger Averitt, a former chief of staff in the Texas State Senate who runs the store with her sister and Elevé Cosmetics founder Gertie Wilson. “Our space is lined with windows, and it’s bright and comfortable while being beautiful. It’s a fun spot to hang out.”
Averitt and Wilson chose South Austin for the store because it’s where they live, and they sensed that the neighborhood milieu was lacking for destinations that weren’t bars and restaurants. “It’s booming, but there aren’t that many things to do here and places to go, especially for women,” says Averitt. “That’s why we thought it was such a good fit. We have felt really welcome here.”
Elevé Cosmetics’s store is in a new strip shopping center that has a pharmacy, dentist’s office and nail salon. Averitt reports the people stopping by it may buy conventional cosmetics at beauty specialty chains or department stores, but are beginning to seek out natural options. They like to support local brands, too.
“We get ladies from their mid-twenties on up that really care about what they’re putting on their skin,” says Averitt. “We’re coming to a point where people are starting to realize it’s not just the food you eat that matters. What you put on your skin matters.”
Wilson and Averitt worked with interior designer Alyssa Rome of Studio Krewe Design to hone the contemporary look of Elevé Cosmetics’s store. There’s ample seating, including at four padded champagne bar stools and two royal blue velvet sofas that abut a coffee table. For experimentation and application, there’s a six-feet by four-feet island containing testers and mirrors that features an iPad with the app YouCam for virtual makeup try-ons and a makeup station with a large mirror. A neon sign reading “Pop Kiss Wink” brings levity to the boutique.
The champagne bar element has been particularly popular at Elevé Cosmetics. The brand offers various champagne bar packages in the store. For free, shoppers can sip champagne and designate 15% of their purchases to their favorite charities. For $47 per person, they receive makeup instruction, touch-ups, 20% off products and 30% off champagne bottles.
One of the most popular Elevé Cosmetics’s products is Flashdance Rose Gold Liquid Highlighter, which is currently out of stock online. Averitt reveals the product has amassed a waiting list. “It provides a subtle sheen that’s so on trend right now,” she says. She details other in-demand products are the lip gloss Lip Pop, liquid matte lipstick Lip Liq and Elevé Essential Five-In-One Age-Defying Cream.
Wilson, a makeup artist and one-time ballet dancer, created Elevé Cosmetics to address a gap she detected in the beauty market for stylish, long-lasting natural products. The brand name refers to a dance term for rising high on the balls of the feet. Outside of its boutique and website, Elevé Cosmetics is available at about a dozen locations in and around Austin.
Since its flagship bowed in March, Elevé Cosmetics’s monthly income has soared 766%, demonstrating the power of an online-offline combination. Averitt suggests its early strength is evidence people yearn to shop in person despite the rise of e-commerce and are drawn to compelling brick-and-mortar formats. “From the app to the champagne to the space that works for parties, we are not your typical retail spot,” she says, adding that the store’s concept is replicable. “Gertie and I are extremely determined individuals. Our goal is to have stores all over the place.”
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