Inside Sephora's Art-Filled Meatpacking District Showpiece

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• The ceiling art reflects Sephora's "piano key" branding, as well as the flame logo.
• This sculpture, "Flamenco Tornado," is the first thing you see when you walk in.
• Countries represented in the "Global Beauty" section include Japan, Hungary, Greece, and the UK.
• Play with hair tools up close! (Sadly, they're not plugged in.)
• "Hot Now" displays show off new products like this amazing paper lashes.
• The fragrance area, which has a large and delightful selection of rollerballs.
• The chandelier in the fragrance section is supposed to resemble perfume bottles.
• Rollerball art!
• Oh yes, there's a lash bar.
• The lashes sit on removable wands, so shoppers can try them on for size.
• Video art in the Sephora brand section
• These make-up brushes are ergonomic.
• The color section for brands other than Sephora
• Dior's peel-n-go eyeliner stickers (weird lighting courtesy of the LED display above)
• All of the wall art is very glossy and sleek.
• Just because there's no checkout counter doesn't mean there aren't impulse buys.

The new Sephora in the Meatpacking District isn't the brand's flagship or its biggest location. In fact, the footprint is fairly small. But what the space lacks in size, it makes up for in style. Sephora designed the shop—which opens tomorrow—to be a unique, stand-alone representative of the brand, a sort of calling card for the other 15 Manhattan shops.

The store looks like a Sephora, but it doesn't look like any Sephora you've ever seen. It's sleeker, fancier, and crowded with artwork, from the over-the-top "Flamenco Tornado" sculpture that greets customers at the entrance to the rollerball-studded orbs in the perfume section. Between the LED displays, touch-screen computers, and glossy black shelving, every surface seems like it's either moving or reflective. All of this serves to make the space feel much bigger than it is—a trick aided by deep storage spaces that let the company keep more product out front. (The total lack of cash wrap also helps.)
Two gimmicks to watch over opening weekend: The lash bar, where patrons can play Nicki Minaj with enormous false lashes in colors like neon green and electric blue, and the mobile check-out. The store won't have more staffers than your average Sephora, but each one will be able to walk shoppers through the entire buying process, from picking out a color to paying on the spot.
· MePa Sephora Won't Have a Register, Will Have New Vendors [Racked NY]
· Sephora's Meatpacking Launch Is Roughly Two Weeks Away [Racked NY]
· Sephora To Exploit Drunk Shoppers With a New MePa Location [Racked NY]