Cool Spaces: ARC


Luxury local beauty destination ARC has just opened its second official store in the heart of Cape Town at the V&A Waterfront.

The store takes the old-school beauty counter approach and turns it on its head. While you won’t see your typical beauty consultant from the department store era, they are offering exceptional service and expertise from their team of Architects, including makeup artists, skin specialists, and fragrance consultants, who are on hand to help you, if you want, as an added support to their self-service approach. Customers can look forward to dedicated areas within the space for all their self-care needs.

Browse the extensive collection of skincare products in The Sanctuary, which offers a welcoming space for guests to find and develop their unique skincare routine, book a dermalogica face mapping session for an accurate skincare analysis, or enjoy a treatment in the privacy of The Pod. Get creative at The Lab, an interactive space for testing newly launched products, expert-hosted masterclasses or perfecting your new look.

The store is floor to ceiling filled with over 80 global and local brands, including fan favourites CHANEL, La Mer, Dermalogica, Benefit and Guerlain, as well as Skoon, LeLive and Skin Creamery. Most noteworthy is their growing list of exclusive brands, recently launching the most-followed beauty brand in the world; HUDA BEAUTY, Wishful Skincare and Kayali fragrances into the country as the official stockist. Look out for cult-followed favourites like Foreo, Beauty Blender and the collectible Atelier Versace and Van Cleef & Arpels collections.

ARC

At the core of the ARC, the brand is the championing of individuality and self-expression. “As a brand created to democratise beauty, we are thrilled to bring ARC and the world’s best luxury brands to Cape Town. We’re offering our community a truly unique experience and a world of beauty that is demystified, accessible, available, and inclusive. ARC is a first of its kind, and as we continue to expand, we hope that you’ll, immerse yourself in our modern, energy-fuelled and beautifully-designed store and join us for the incredible interactive experiences,“ says Marketing Executive Kelly Fung.

After launching its e-commerce store in April 2021, the brand continues to stay ahead of the curve kickstarting its sustainability mission Doing Beauty Better, to achieve an ambitious goal of net zero. ARC takes a different approach to packaging; rather than requesting customers purchase shopper bags, they’re donating R5 to local environmental organisation Greenpop on the customer’s behalf if you don’t take one of their locally- made 100% recycled and reusable bags.

Looking for more on locally designed spaces? Take a look at We Are EGG.