This was a huge year for beauty at Saks Fifth Avenue. The specialty retailer finished their Fragrance renovation, enhancing the look of the first floor. They redesigned their interior cosmetic shops, such as Dolce & Gabbana, and they added a new Gucci makeup center. In August, Saks opened The Fragrance Library on the fifth floor, a concept shop featuring a large-scale installation that features 40-plus iconic designer fragrances—think Burberry Brit, Calvin Klein Euphoria, Dior J’Adore, Donna Karan Cashmere Mist, Prada Candy, and Ralph Lauren Romance all in one spot. Additional features include a fragrance librarian, a scent stylist and a mobile gifting station, called the Library Cart. And, last month the store introduced another specialty component on the fifth floor: express luxury services for nails, brows and eyes.

“Beauty on 5 is positioned within our contemporary floor that houses offerings from designers such as Phillip Lim, Rag and Bone, DVF, Theory and Vince,” said Kate Oldham, Senior Vice President Cosmetics, Fragrance, Swim and Lingerie. “This customer is fashion-forward and attuned to design trends. We have selected vendors such as Nails Inc, Blink and Trish McEvoy for our Beauty on 5 space, as they are symbiotic to the fashion on the floor and are leaders within the beauty service world.” She went on to add that these vendors speak strongly to their contemporary customer while offering services targeted to align with the style sense of the customers who shop the floor. “The new space also allows the customer to enjoy a spontaneous, relaxed beauty service such as a manicure, brow enhancement or make-over while never leaving the floor, creating a seamless experience for our Saks customer,” Kate shared. Though no hair care services are expected, customers can still go to Saks’ Salon on the first for cuts, color, blow-outs and more.

The goal of creating originality, improved service and elevated experiences for the Saks customer is nothing new, yet the gradual layering of their beauty offerings store-wide, with strategic skincare, fragrance and cosmetic outposts, is. And their aim, of course, is to drive sales upwards. “We are hoping to more fully meet our customers’ needs and acquire additional customers who may previously only know us through our fashion selection,” Kate added.

Customer outreach and promotions will include 360-degree marketing support, social media, public relations outreach, in-store marketing efforts and associate clienteling. A new campaign, which they are unable to divulge at this time, will also follow.

For now, the express luxury services can only be found at Saks’ Fifth Avenue flagship. But that doesn’t mean more won’t follow. “We often test concepts in New York that have the potential to roll out to other markets,” said Kate. “We rolled out the fragrance library to eight stores in mid November.”