New beauty haven to look at

Who wants free coffee? 

Enter and at the center you see a coffee shop where you can brew your own beverage in an espresso machine, then sit down and enjoy the ambience — all free of charge and with no purchase required. Time seems to tick slowly in this quaint café, but it isn’t in a park — it is what’s inside Look At Me, the luxury beauty retailer’s first Quezon City store in The Block, SM North Edsa.

More than just a wonderland of beauty must-haves from around 160 local and international brands, the shop is revolutionary in modern retail for its spacious floor area; well-lit walls and ceilings that put the spotlight on the products without feeling invasive or hard-sell; and well-organized categories such as the Fragrance Wall that clearly directs customers to their favorite brands — without getting lost in a sea of alleys and scents.

“The concept behind this (Fragrance Wall) is a library. So we first deployed this in SM Mall of Asia. Like in a library where you see the different books and titles, in here, you see the different notes and for our customers to see the wide range of fragrances that we have,” Watsons Philippines managing director Danilo Chiong told DAILY TRIBUNE in an exclusive interview.

The SM North Edsa branch, the third Look At Me store following the first ones in SM Aura and SM Mall of Asia at the south of the metro, is poised to become a go-to for premium and primary luxury beauty as it is arguably the first beauty hub at the north of Metro Manila that curates all these finds in one space, Chiong said.

According to him, the SM North Edsa store is the first Look At Me with self-checkout counters — providing a seamless experience for those in a rush and already know what they want.

“We have a cup of coffee here, so customers can get a cup of coffee while they’re shopping,” he noted.

Also setting the store apart from the first two stores are new brands such as Armani, NARS and the first physical store of TikTok-famous Indonesian beauty brand Time Phoria.

For those who want to be left alone while they shop, there are baskets they can get to cue shopping attendants to not disturb. 

“We also have a whole roster of our Gen Look, our Generation Look At Me team, a team of specialized beauty experts, so they can actually provide services to the clients. They can function as a personal shopper, as makeup artists,” Chiong enthused.

While the Gen Look team gives honest product recommendations, reviews and demos, the store has more testers now than its previous branches to help consumers with their choices. The store also gives free gift wrapping services, especially during special occasions like the upcoming Valentine’s.

Beyond its modern look, the shop was described by Chiong as “experiential” – with a mission to give customers the best shopping experience – and not just a place where they just come in to buy.