NOLITA — The popular Australian skin care company Aesop highlights certain products in its carefully-composed stores based on an assessment of the needs of locals.
In Taipei City, Aesop's emphasis is on products for a humid climate, a store representative said. In the company's first U.S. store, which opened in NoLIta on Sunday, the focus is on products that seek to soothe Manhattanites' pollution-troubled skin.
"For urban dwellers, it's essential to protect the skin from pollution and free radicals," spokesman Kelly Jasper said in a walk-through of the 232 Elizabeth St. store on Wednesday.
Products with parsley seed, "a potent antioxidant" that helps purify the skin, Jasper said, are prominently displayed in the store and are the focus of its "New York" gift kit.
A 6.8 ounce parsley seed gel cleanser runs $55, and a 3.6 ounce bottle of parsley seed serum costs $63.
But Aesop's unisex cosmetics, packaged in amber glass apothecary bottles, aren't just for humans. The beloved Melbourne-based company also sells a "mild body and fur wash" for pets, called Animal.
"[Pets] often have more sensitive skin than humans," Jasper said. "I think this will do well in New York City, where people love, love, love their pets."
A 17-ounce bottle of Animal, which contains lemon rind and tea tree and spearmint leaf oils, costs $35.
The design of the 300-square-foot store is also tailored to New Yorkers, Jasper said. Bound pages cut from 2,800 copies of the New York Times, created by architect Jeremy Barbour of the Brooklyn-based firm Tacklebox, line the store's walls.
"This is the type of consideration that goes into each and every store," Jasper said.
The company opened a kiosk in Grand Central Terminal in July that also incorporated bound newspaper pages into its design.
Aesop will open additional locations on University Place in Greenwich Village at the end of September and on Bleecker Street in the West Village near the end of the year, Jasper said.
