Girls just want to have fun — and the perfect brows. No one knows this better than Benefit Cosmetics, the San Francisco-based brand created by twin sisters Jean and Jane Ford in the 1970s that’s known for its quirky packaging, cult products (a bottle of their hugely popular Benetint is literally sold every minute) and killer brow services.
Now, Benefit is helping NYC ladies achieve the perfect arches with the recent opening of their New York flagship store in SoHo. Inside the two-story, 2,000-square-foot West Broadway girly emporium, floral wallpaper, glam chandeliers and pink vanities lend the space a Barbie’s boudoir feel. Perky aestheticians are ready to play dress up with you — don’t worry about making an appointment, walk-ins are welcome — and offer services ranging from brow-shaping and lash-tinting to waxing and airbrush tanning.
Since Jean and Jane are based on the West Coast, Jean’s daughter Maggie Ford Danielson, now the brand’s Global Beauty ambassador, gave us the tour.
“Here it’s all about being in touch with your feminine side, but also being modern and saying, ‘I’m not just a frilly girly girl — I can be edgy and fun,’” she says.
Made you blush
Benetint, Jean and Jane Ford’s secret weapon, is the No. 1 best-selling lip and cheek stain in the world. The ladies originally developed the product in 1977 for an exotic dancer who wanted something she could put on her nipples to make them rosy. Now until the end of February, the original bottle of Benetint is on display at the NYC boutique.
Mama said
Maggie Ford Danielson shares the beauty advice her mom gave her.
1. “Always take your makeup off. She said, ‘You can sleep in your jeans, just don’t sleep in your makeup.’”
2. “Drink tons of water. I’m notoriously bad.”
3. “One of the funniest things my mom said is: ‘A lady should be able to put on lipstick without looking in the mirror.’ I can’t do it! But there’s a really feminine, fun aspect about that.”
