Store Review: Blue Mercury

I took a stroll through a Blue Mercury today and fell in love. I was really disappointed with their Philadelphia location and held it against them for the longest time, so when I saw the store in Marlton (as I came out of Pottery Barn in an outdoor shopping plaza here in NJ), I decided to give them a second chance. Afterall, you can get all of their brands in other major department stores, as well as mall stores like Bath & Body Works these days, so what purpose do they really serve? For those of you not familiar with the Washington, D.C.-based luxury apothecary, the store has a lovely assortment of skincare, makeup, candles and perfumes, one not typically found in department stores. The collection features everything from Diptyque, Molton Brown, Nars, Laura Mercier, Kiehl's and Remede to skinceuticals, fresh, Creed, Frederic Fekkai, Philip B. and L'artisan Parfumeur. A treasure trove of all my favorites with, at least in the Marlton location, happy-to-be-working-here staffers. I felt that each of the women working there was knowledgeable, friendly, articulate and service-oriented, which ultimately contributes to the overall experience. They each told me about the private shopping party they are having for their customers on Tuesday (champagne, national makeup artists, 15% off all purchases totalling over $100, etc.) but didn't beat me over the head with the event details, nor did they push any one product or brand on me. When I described the type of eye cream I was looking for, they found a product that word-for-word claimed to cure what ails me. (No worries -- more on this item in a future feature after I've road tested it for you!)

The store was super spacious and organized, as well as easy to navigate. The products were displayed nicely, the makeup stations were neat and clean (I'm a freak about those nasty looking testers so these were not intimidating to use in my opinion). Yes, it was a pleasure to walk around in and enough nooks and crannies to keep my husband and daughter busy while waiting for me to finish up.

I signed up for the mailing list and promised to try one of their facials (they have a spa with a menu of skincare and bodycare treatments that sound amazing) the next time I needed one (which is coming up soon!). To top if off, I scored a generous sample selection including Mario Badescu lotion and an array of Bumble + Bumble hair treats with my purchase. Nicely done!

If you don't have the good fortune to live near a store (D.C., PA, NJ, IL) then check out the Blue Mercury web site. My guess is you'll go out of your way to shop with them if your experience was as nice as mine was today.