This Week’s Top Story
Lush (lushusa.com) may be best known for its colorful bath bombs. But, the popular beauty brand also has house perfumes scented with essential oils—and it’s showing them off at an interactive pop-up shop open at 900 South Wabash Avenue through Sunday.
Dubbed Gorilla Galley IV, the pop-up perfume gallery has distinct settings meant to tell the story behind some of the brand’s Gorilla perfumes. A build-out devoted to the Amelia Mae fragrance, which was inspired by the creator’s daughter, has a table with a scented coloring book and a dollhouse. (And, yes, guests are encouraged to color and sniff.) Other installations include an indoor garden with real grass, a “Self-Esteem Machine,” a lush Bedouin-style tent serving cardamom-laced coffee, and a retro room with scratch-and-sniff wallpaper.
The front of the space has a shop filled with fragrances that are already in stores, soon to hit shelves, or available exclusively at the pop-up shop. Take note of this for any Lush collectors on your holiday-gift list.
The event is free and open to the public.
Top Sales This Week
At Kate Spade (900 N. Michigan Ave., katespade.com), sale items include a hummingbird scarf (reduced from $98 to $69), a floral cold-shoulder top (reduced from $278 to $222), and a cropped PJ set decked with pink birds (reduced from $98 to $74).
At Rag & Bone (25 E. Delaware Pl., rag-bone.com) sale items have been discounted by up to 50 percent. Find deals on Italian leather booties (reduced from $495 to $250), a laser-cut dress (reduced from $495 to $250), and the brand’s beloved jeans.
Eloquii (eloquii.com) at the Shops at North Bridge (520 N. Michigan Ave.) is hosting a weekly Happy Hour Flash Sale on Wednesdays. Running from 5 to 7 p.m. each week, the sale offers deals that change up weekly and are announced in-store; there are also refreshments and sweets on hand.
Opening
Francesca’s (francescas.com) opens a new boutique at 654 West Diversey on Saturday. The new outpost of the Houston-based chain will stock women’s clothing, jewelry, shoes, and accessories; it also carries home items and festive gifts including sugar skull mugs and light-up pumpkin necklaces.
Pop-Ups
Monica + Andy (monicaandandy.com) will open its Pop-Up Guideshop at the Shops at North Bridge (520 N. Michigan Ave.) on Saturday. On the first floor of the shopping center, the pop-up will showcase organic clothing for babies and kids; it also stocks blankets and products for newborns. For expectant parents, staffers will schedule one-on-one layette appointments.
SoulCycle Loop (111 W. Wacker Dr., soul-cycle.com) will host a charity ride benefitting disaster-relief organization Love for Love City on October 15 at 12:15 p.m. After the class, an onsite pop-up shop will offer jewelry from local line Grace + Hudson, along with hairstyling by Goldplaited, makeup touchups, and healthy snacks. The pop-up shop will remain open till 2 p.m.—but arrive early if you want to have the sleekest hairstyle in cycling class. The braid bar will begin doling out hairstyles around noon. Purchase tickets for the class here.
Health & Beauty
Drybar (thedrybar.com) will open a Naperville location at 144 West Jefferson Avenue on Friday. The popular chain offers $40 blowouts, and has a menu of cocktail-inspired styles including the Old Hollywood–inspired Old Fashioned and the sleek and smooth Manhattan.
The Waldorf Astoria Chicago Spa (11 E. Walton St., waldorfastoria3.hilton.com) is offering a Dermalinfusion facial that has a satisfying—if somewhat stomach-churning—payoff. Developed by Envy Medical (envymedical.com), the treatment uses a diamond-tipped device to exfoliate the skin; it also extracts debris, dirt, and bacteria while infusing the skin with customized serums. The extractions are taken using “closed-loop” vacuum pressure, and everything that’s sucked out from under the skin lands in a jar that spa-goers can investigate after the service. (Look out for floating flecks of dry skin or teeny yellow blobs of oil!) The service aims to reduce congestion, brighten skin, and give it an overall boost of hydration. Try a 30-minute treatment for $180, or opt for 60 minutes at $280 or 90 minutes at $350.
Need an item for your holiday wish list? Luxury beauty line La Prairie (laprairie.com) has launched a $590 face cream that’s being hailed as a filler in a jar. Skin Caviar Absolute Filler absorbs into skin to give it a plumped, youthful appearance. The cream is available locally at Saks Fifth Avenue (700 N. Michigan Ave.) and Neiman Marcus (737 N. Michigan Ave.).
Retail News of the Week
- DSW might offer shoe rentals. Read more.
- This Adidas fitting room is meant to look like an L station. Read more.
- Vogue profiles Dearborn Denim, which has a store in Hyde Park. Read more.