they carry more brands now and more shoes! they now carry jimmy choos!
its pricey but nice to look around
some articles on the new store
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Holt's main floor a thing of beauty
Vancouver is a cosmetics-crazy town, and yesterday's re-opening of Holt Renfrew fed that appetite with even more of what we love.
On the main floor of the three- storey building, which has taken over the north wing of Pacific Centre mall, a glittering new 16,000-sq.-ft. beauty floor features 45 new lines in addition to the 23 previously at Holt's. It is, in effect, a cosmetic utopia.
The makeup floor includes a holtscolour bar (cosmetics), holtscent (fragrances) and holtsceuticals, an innovative lounge-like area in the centre of it all dedicated to wellness. Among the brands in the latter are an organic skin care line from Stella McCartney and Oxia personal oxygen dispensers.
Bet Gibson, a makeup instructor at Blanche Macdonald Centre, is always on the lookout for what's new and hot.
"The floor is really exciting," says Gibson. "I'm looking forward to holtsceuticals and the colour studio -- both sound user-friendly and unintimidating."
Gibson says she's most curious about "Stella McCartney's line and Jemma Kidd's Make Up School."
Her pick for perfect product is from Shu Uemura, available in Vancouver for the first time. "Everyone should have Shu Uemura's famous eyelash curler," she says. "I bought mine in the States and think it's perfect for anyone in need of a great lash curl."
Following are a few other newcomers:
Skyn Iceland
Skyn offers luxurious creams and lotions for the skin that promise to counter the effects of pollution and recycled air in buildings.
With a base of glacier water from Iceland, Skyn adds botanicals and leaves out fillers and irritants. Skyn's goal is to deliver relief, protection and healing. For urban men and women. From $33 to $110.
Besame
This cosmetic line -- the name means "kiss" in Spanish -- reflects the classic look of '40s and '50s makeup. Elegant gold and dark red etched pots, pencils and cases are intended for dressing tables and the hands of sophisticated women.
Preservatives are minimal and ingredients are high quality. An airy foundation and a rose moisture lotion complete the line, $18 to $70.
Diana B
This luxury line of bath and body products is the baby of actor Diana Barton, who played Mari Jo on TV's The Young and the Restless for several years.
The oil-free products are made with natural ingredients and exotic fragrances, including mysterious black fig and dreamy peach frangipani. Candles complete the 12-product line ($30 to $50). Coming soon: a 60-second in-shower self-tanner.
Balmshell
This line of lip glosses has been in Oscar and Grammy gift bags. Launched last fall from its Toronto home, Balmshell lip gloss is produced by imaginative twin sisters. So hip are these two that the 30 gloss shades are almost secondary to the packaging, where a "floating" image is wedded to witty graphics and a story. That and cute colours would be enough, but they go one further: the floating image detaches from the gloss to go on a key chain ($25 each).
Pink Beauty
As a makeup artist, Canadian April Jacobs wanted error-proof products with the widest application. Last year, Jacobs introduced her own easy-wear line of lip, eyes and cheek colour "that can be worn on every skin." The pink packaging has a special "soft touch" texture so that if you're rummaging in your bag, you'll always find it (40 products, $21 to $27).
Edward Bess
Bess is a 21-year-old New Yorker with a self-named line of 10 lipsticks and five glosses, ranging from barely nudes to dramatic reds. Bess's aim is to create a lip that is "kissable" -- soft and neither matte nor sticky. All 15 products are available as a collection dubbed the "Lip Wardrobe" ($425). Individual colours will be available in the fall.
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Into the Renfrew
Four touch-screen directories. Three informational plasma TVs. Two full-service concierge desks. Yup, it's pretty hard to get lost in the new Holt Renfrew (737 Dunsmuir St.), which officially opened its impressive glass doors for business yesterday. More than twice the size of the former location (633 Granville St.), the West Coast flagship store is fully equipped to help you navigate your way around nearly 300 of the finest clothing and cosmetic lines.
On the sun-roofed second floor, we have with the usual suspects: Armani, Prada and Dolce & Gabbana. As well, the shoe selection is substantially bigger - Jimmy Choo is now in da house. They've also more than doubled their personal shoppers section for those select few who prefer to shop in the privacy of their own lavishly designed suites (four rooms for girls and one for boys). Also new to the B.C. chapter is the "World Design Lab," What's in tarnation is that you ask?
"It's an incubator for emerging design talent and for designers who might want to test their wares, or designers whose wares we want to test in the store. It's a new concept for Vancouver," says Carla Stef, HR's senior manager of marketing and communications. "There's only been one in Toronto."
On the main floor, where all the accessories, jewels, perfumes and cosmetics are housed, there are few unexpected touches. One in particular is the patented Frederic Malle scent booths. At first glance these peculiar vessels look like time machines. But don't climb in. They're actually built so that you can spray perfume testers inside, shut the door and then wait 10 seconds before taking a whiff. The object is to get an idea of what kind of scented trail you'll leave behind when you walk away from someone - assuming you didn't just let one rip that is.
As for men, their goods can be found in the basement - but the selection is just as remarkable. For example, if you splurge on a head-to-toe Modern Amusement wardrobe, you can accessorize it with a custom painted Triumph motorcycle - for a mere $38,000 that is. But perhaps what stands out the most about the new store (aside from the much-welcome natural light) is the tunes are a whole hell of a lot better. When I entered, they were blasting Bowie's "Modern Love" and as I left Mazzy Star's "Fade Into You" was seducing the shoppers. Overall, the new Holt Renfrew is worth checking out - even for those of us who make less in a year than what some of these regulars spend in a day.
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06-03-2007, 03:33 PM
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