By Amy Zimmer
DNAinfo News Editor
MANHATTAN — After opening its first shop on the East Village 160 years ago, the skin and hair care company Kiehl's is moving to the Upper East Side in mid-July — where it's opening its first ever full-service spa.
The first floor of the shop on Lexington Avenue and East 64th Street will sell Kiehl's products. The second floor — which will have a private entrance with a concierge — will feature Spa 1851 and offer skin, body and grooming services for men and women.
Treatment rooms will be decked out with such art as a rainforest photo mural by celebrity photographer David LaChapelle.
Kiehl's, which began as an apothecary on East 13th Street and Third Avenue and is now owned by L'Oreal, has only one other free-standing shop in the city — on the Upper West Side. Its products are sold at such shops at Bloomingdale's, Bergdorf Goodman and Saks Fifth Avenue.
"Our customers have asked us about opening a spa for years, and in this monumental year, as we celebrate 160 years, it's fitting that we’re finally able to offer New Yorkers unique skin and body treatments using their favorite Kiehl's ingredients," Chris Salgardo, President, Kiehl's USA, said in a statement. "Actually being able to use our formulas in a full spa environment is the ultimate way to experience Kiehl's."
The company's move to 841 Lexington Ave. in a historic district, however, was not without controversy.
Although the Landmarks Preservation Commission approved Kiehl's plans that included repairing damaged limestone and replacing doors and windows, local preservation group, Friends of the Upper East Side Historic District, reportedly criticized the plans and wanted the entire building to get a facelift.
