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Beauty is perhaps more accessible than ever in 2025, with social media-fueled shopping on the rise and premium products available to be delivered to your door at a moment’s notice. But if ever there was a reason to get out and discover beauty in person, it’s at Printemps New York’s beauty floor.
“When I hear the client on the floor say, ‘I’ve never heard of this before,’ or, ‘I haven’t seen this before,’ that gives me joy and butterflies,” said Ariel Fantasia, head of beauty at Printemps New York.
Though located in the Financial District, a ways away from Manhattan’s main shopping corridors, Printemps New York has become a destination unto itself since it opened its doors in March. Much of that excitement is fueled by its colorful, maximalist interiors; on-site cafe and bar; and, of course, its selection of luxe brands like Phoebe Philo’s namesake clothing line and Létrange’s leather bags. But Fantasia’s domain in the beauty aisle, tucked away on the second floor, offers perhaps the most immersive sensorial escape.
Overseeing the beauty curation, Fantasia, who honed her experience as a buyer for the likes of Saks Fifth Avenue and Henri Bendel, has purposefully kept the options to a digestible selection that looks more like what you may find on a stylish friend’s dresser than a traditional beauty counter.
“While looking at what the customer is responding to, it’s about [offering] that consistency, and it’s about [providing] that ease of, ‘This makes perfect sense. I’m actually going to use this,’” said Fantasia. “It’s not about [driving] vapid consumption — it’s about [facilitating] thoughtful consumption.”
Fantasia has managed to capture the excitement around 2025’s fastest-growing category: fragrance. The sector represents more than 50% of Printemps New York’s beauty sales, with niche brands, in particular, accounting for 80% of those sales. Part of that comes down to Fantasia’s ability to find brands that are new to even the most highly educated niche fraghead. Printemps New York is the exclusive retailer of French perfumers like L.T. Piver and Les Cocottes de Paris, which sit alongside newer brands like the Greece-inspired Hellenist and the recently relaunched New Zealand line Abel.
Making the space feel immersive has made it attractive to brands both new and established that are looking to connect with consumers through events. Printemps New York has hosted masterclasses with the likes of emerging French fragrance brand Chambre 52, founded in 2024. It has also hosted a launch event for the Nuit Rouge scent from French fragrance house Trudon, whose history dates back to 1643.
But Fantasia has plans to make the space even more immersive in the store’s second year of business, which will, hopefully, keep those beauty mavens coming back again and again.
“The next part of what I see is continuing that narrative through the beauty journey and building curations, mini exhibitions,” she said. “My goal is to have people walk away and be like, ‘That was cool. I want to come to this again.’”
