Vivrant Beauty + The New York Times

Huge congrats to our girl, Desiree Verdejo, for this week’s feature in The New York Times! The story, penned by Crystal Martin, talks about the “Harlem Beauty Boom” and profiles several new and longstanding beauty retailers Uptown, many of which are Black-owned! Following is a quick snippet of the piece:

Options for the Harlem beauty shopper have historically been limited: either navigate cluttered beauty-supply-store aisles or hit the local drugstore. Desiree Verdejo, a former lawyer, has made a difference. “Uptown deserved a better shopping experience,” she said.

Ms. Verdejo’s minimalist space manages to feel spalike without being sterile. But the real magic is in her editing. The eclectic mix of luxury and accessible brands makes shopping at Vivrant feel like discovery. “When I’m picking brands, if something is already too available in the neighborhood, then it doesn’t make sense here,” she said.

The Italian hair-care line Davines shares space with Soultanicals, a natural-hair-care line out of Brooklyn. The presence of premium skin-care lines like Ren, Ahava and Indie Lee may be Vivrant’s biggest coup. The entire category had been noticeably absent from the neighborhood.

Ms. Verdejo also stocks products from local artisans. “There are so many amazing black-owned lines that should be on the shelves of major retailers but aren’t,” she said. “I now have an opportunity to give exposure to them.”

To read the entire story click here. To learn more about Vivrant Beauty in my 2015 In Her Shoes Holiday Shopping Guide click here.