I heard about Winky Lux, a cute new indie makeup brand, last year before attending Ipsy's GenBeauty convention at the Javits center last fall. I saw it on the gram as they were promoting their cute pill capsule lipsticks. I'm a pharmacist if you're new here, and a very nerdy one at that so anything medically related and cute combined with beauty will draw me in. And the fact that their sticker price was only $16 was pretty convincing. However, at the time, they were only online and I'm not a crazy big fan of online purchases for beauty. I like being able to see the product in person, swatch, examine the packaging and quality before making that final add to cart decision.
My sister invited me to GenBeauty last minute last fall and since I had nothing going on that day, I spontaneously attended. Winky Lux had their own booth there that day so I finally got to see their products firsthand and nab those super cute lipsticks. I love their packaging and how it's pill shaped, similar to Sugarpill's pink and white capsule lipsticks. And the fact that these pills were so tiny were adorable. Although truth be told, I bought the set more for eye candy than actual use since I rarely use actual stick lipsticks anymore. I prefer liquid lipsticks myself.
Anyways, flash forward to this summer. My friend said there was a Winky Lux store somewhere near Chinatown but for some reason during all my gram tours this summer, I never got a chance to make it down there. And then just recently, I discovered from another Instagrammer, they had closed down that location and were in the process of opening up a new store in a new location in the form of a pop-up shopping experience. The sticker price is only $10 compared to every other pop-up I've attended so I scooped that up right away the first week they opened. You can buy tickets here. The store is located in the Soho area (address: 430 W Broadway, New York, NY 10012)
I went a few weeks ago and it was a lot of fun! There are 7 rooms total, with each room dedicated to a certain product in their line. And the $10 ticket fee is actually not just a ticket fee, but ends up being a $10 credit towards any purchase in the store afterwards so not bad, right? You're basically attending the pop-up for free if the $10 is going towards your purchase that you were going to make anyway. And there's a lot of different goodies to choose from in the shop afterwards, not just makeup. The shop itself is free for others to browse if you choose not to partake in the Winky Lux experience, but if you're going to buy something, why not? It's really cute with fun and cute photo ops. And if you don't want to pay to go through the pop-up rooms, there's a cute bench with a flower wall in the storefront you can sit in to take photos, as well as the giant lemon juicer mini ballpit. The whole store is really cute, nicely displayed and very bright and beautiful. It represents a new way of shopping, of 'experiencing' the products with rooms dedicated to what they represent. This was similar to the Pint Shop in their immersive grocery store experience and how photogenic it was. It makes shopping a fun experience since it encourages shoppers to snap away and post to help advertise the brand.
I do enjoy these type of new stores a lot since it feeds into my camera happy self. If you're in the area, stop by! You've got nothing to lose. You can swatch and test a lot of products before purchasing. And I found in my experience, they have great customer service. I purchased their Double Matte Whip liquid lipstick in Maraschino with my $10 voucher - since I'm in love with all things cherry - and unfortunately for me, I found this lipstick really drying regardless of my lip routine with scrubs and applying balm beforehand. I wasn't able to exchange in store due to the terms of the $10 voucher but I emailed the company and they took care of me right away! It's little things like this that make me love indie companies over big brands. They take care of you! It's stuff like this that drives customer loyalty as well as faith in the products and brand name when brands stand by their products and care about you being happy with their goods. I'm excited to try their Watermelon Jelly Balm next and visit their booth later this fall at my second GenBeauty experience.
And speaking of other great indie brands with amazing customer service, I'm also excited to see the Elektra Cosmetics booth at DragCon and snag some more Bolt Balm! If you're following me on Instagram and my stories, you know I LOVE their glitters. I wear it religiously on my days off. Even if I'm not going anywhere 'special.' Because why not make glitter a casual everyday thing? Their company is so amazing. I met them last year at DragCon and everyone was so nice and their products are bomb. They're so great at interacting with their customer base on social media and helping you with basically anything you need. Last year they started out with just 3 bolt balms and this year, they have so much more! Currently I own 6 jars and let's be honest, I don't need any of this but I certainly want to own the whole collection so watch me get everything at DragCon, hahaha! You get a decent amount in the jar and it lasts you a while too unless you're like me and almost done with your Opal Unicorn because you bleed all things iridescent. They also apply easily and stay on all day, even through hot summer days. They're part of my makeup staples and definitely a holy grail in my regular makeup bag when I travel. If you love glitter as much as I do, you won't regret trying these beautiful babies out. It was the one gem I stumbled upon at DragCon last year that changed my life!
