Illamasqua Bringing Theater to Bloomingdale’s Cosmetics Counter

Illamasqua, an exclusive cosmetics brand from the U.K., and Bloomingdale’s have combined on a new theatrical counter concept in the retailer’s New York flagship and five other locations. The retailer has said it expects $5 million in sales for the brand in its first year in six Bloomingdale’s locations.

As reported in Women’s Wear Daily, the 323-square-foot counter space features mannequin body parts, dressing table-inspired makeup stations, shattered mirrors and snails on some of the fragrances. Illamasqua beauty advisors wear aprons and caps designed by A Child of the Jago, the British menswear designer. 

“Great branding divides an audience,” brand founder Julian Kynaston told WWD. “We have the mirror test. If you don’t like it smashed, you probably have to go to Bobbi Brown. We have the snail test on the perfume. If you think the snail is weird you probably need to go elsewhere.”

Kynaston said, “the premise of this brand is theater,” crediting Alex Box, Illamasqua’s creative director, for the products campaigns.

“American people get us, but the challenge is we’ve had this environment where we are a tiny brand amongst Leviathans and we need people connecting with our brand,” Illamasqua ceo Nick Brown told WWD. “When you have a gondola and its unmanned, you can’t talk to people about your products. What we’ve ended up doing is trading very well with products that are pretty colors, but we’ve never really grown our gondola base because it’s been difficult.”

Illamasqua has stores in the U.K., Dubai, Bangkok and soon Singapore, and Brown said there are plans to roll them out to the U.S., and looking for more doors in the U.S. and Canada. He said it’s looking at Russia, India and Brazil in 2015.