Grand Opening Archives - LAFashionsnob.com

LUSH Grand Opening at Memorial City Mall

Aug 30 2015

LUSH Fresh Handmade Cosmetics was founded in 1995 by Mark Constantine, Liz Weir, Mo Constantine, Helen Ambrosen, Rowena Bird and Paul Greaves in Poole, England. The story goes that the group held a contest for naming the company. One customer suggested “lush,” which is defined as being fresh, green, verdant and drunken women. The name stuck and has been the household name for years. The first U.S. store opened in San Francisco in 2003. There are now over 200 stores in the U.S., which are being supplied by two cosmetic kitchens in Canada.

The environmentally green brand recently opened a branch at Memorial City Mall…well…more like re-opened, as they were originally in Macy’s. They opened up a larger space near the ice-skating rink to better serve their ever-growing clientele more efficiently. The Grand Opening event was rather crowded. The space was still small enough to where they could only let a certain amount of people in at a time. The first 100 people in line (and RSVP’d) received a limited edition tote bag. Associates handed out fresh juices from Juicy in the Sky, healthy energy bars and vegan snacks by Good Cravings to the guests anxiously waiting in line. Once in, I browsed the shelves of products in happy and naked packaging. I learned about their fresh face mask bar, which was definitely a new concept since the last time I had been in a LUSH store. The masks are made fresh daily and are preservative free. They also incorporate nutritious fruits, vegetables and the finest essential oils to soothe and rejuvenate the skin. The examples (clay with fruit) that they had for viewing only looked good enough to eat!

While there, I decided to get a skin consultation, where one of the expert associates gives you a one-on-one consultation on your skin and then chooses the best products that she/he thinks would be a great fit. Mary Alice was kind enough to help me and I enjoyed how she explained everything as she demonstrated each product she had chosen for me. The products chosen for my oily and acne-prone skin were: Ocean Salt facial and body cleanser, Coalface facial cleanser, Vanishing Cream moisturizer and Tea Tree Water.

It wasn’t a proper ending to an event without stopping by the shop’s photo booth! Say CHEESEEEEEEE!

Do you guys shop at LUSH? If so, what are your favorite products?

"CHOOSE CHINATOWN" Boutique Grand Opening 2/13/09

Feb 23 2009

Nestled in the heart of Chinatown on Gin Ling Way, amidst the kitschy shops selling Chinatown souvenirs, is a narrow boutique, who’s only advertisement is its name, “Choose Chinatown” stenciled in white lettering on the windows. They were having their Grand Opening on Friday the 13th.After a hearty dinner at Hop Louie, my friend and I arrived at the boutique. Since it was still fairly early, not many people were there, but that meant I was able to connect with the sales people and the owners on a more personal level. There were rows of Tecate set up on the front counter, beckoning for the arriving patrons to grab and quench their thirst. Meanwhile, DJ RoRo was playing the latest hits at his booth set up in the corner.

I met up with the owners of the “Pop-Up” shop, as they referred to it, Raymond Tseng and Jason Gillix. The concept of “Choose Chinatown” began about 3 ½ to 4 years ago, when the slogan was just on t-shirts. A friend of Ray’s designed the logo, while the slogan was based off of “Choose Life” during World AIDS Day. Seeing that the neighborhood kids were sporting them and that they were just selling well in general, they decided to open a boutique. They sell the brands, Cheap Monday and WKND. WKND is only sold in Europe, but they had the line shipped to their store. During these tough economic times, the prices aren’t bad either. Price points range from $20- $250. The best selling item, being the jeans, sell for $70 and the “CHOOSE CHINATOWN” tees sell for $20.

The designers of the installation were also there, Alex Chew and Danielle Wagner of the firm, All that is Solid. They came up with the idea of a playful, kitschy pop-up store that geared towards the target audience of the youth of this generation. I thought the balloons that decorated the ceiling were a fantastic idea. The total layout of the space was very modern and contemporary, with those little kitsch surprises displayed throughout. They told me that from concept to design, it took about a month, with the installation taking about a week. Check out www.allthatisolid.net for further information.

Note: The owners of “Choose Chinatown” also own “Lion’s Den” and “Welcome Hunters”, also in Chinatown. For more info, please visit www.choosechinatown.com. Choose Chinatown is located at 441 Gin Ling Way, Los Angeles, CA 90012.

Special thanks to Jose Garcia for letting me drag him out with me to the opening after work and on Friday the 13^th….

Tag - Grand Opening