MAC DADDY

With two floors of counters, consultation chairs, a lash bar, a classroom, and even private VIP areas all housed within a birdcage-like space, MAC’s new Paris flagship is indeed a temple to beauty.

“We wanted it to be so dramatic that even if you don’t know anything about MAC, you’ll still want to walk in to check out what’s going on,” says senior vice president James Gager of the new space that opens on March 5th. “After all, the theatrical element is one of the keys of our DNA. And if you’re going to open on the Champs-Élysées it’s got to be mind blowing.”

The store’s interior dome is made of reflective black glass and causes light to bounce around further enhancing the vibrancy of the space. Interactive panels allow customer to explore products; and a multi-lingual staff of makeup artists will also be on hand. Indeed, according to Gager, MAC targeted the Champs-Élysées with its high concentration of global consumers. “We’ve had our eye on Paris for a while, but we waited so we had the right space to work with where [our] customer shops.” London will probably be next, or perhaps a city in Asia such as Tokyo.

Gager is not only thinking globally. French women, he concedes, are a particular audience. “I do believe French women have a distinctive point of view about makeup,” he says. “They’re not really aggressive in their choice of color and they’re not afraid of the aging process. Women in general in Europe are not afraid to age.”