The Local Beauty Secret Every L.A. Skincare Junkie Should Know

An immersive new shopping experience by C’s beauty director is the ultimate insider hotspot

Words by ANUSH J. BENLIYAN

Nestled in the hills near Bel Air, the debut concept boutique by C’s very own beauty director, Kelly Atterton, is changing what it means to shop a brand. “We wanted to get away from the traditional beauty store layout,” she explains of her eponymous new store, Atterton. “You will not see shelves packed with endless products. We wanted to dial the experience back and give brands the space they deserve to shine, and customers a curated experience. We have found that people are overwhelmed with choice and appreciate informed guidance.”

“We wanted to give brands the space they deserve to shine, and customers a curated experience,” says founder KELLY ATTERTON of her eponymous new store. Photo by Jess.

Applying the wisdom of her two-plus decades as a beauty editor (before her time at C, she was the West Coast editor of Allure for more than 16 years, and at Vogue prior to that), Atterton stocks the store with a handselected array of skincare lines, including Nue, Monastery, Wildling, Hush & Hush, Reflekt, Heir Atelier and more, and guides every customer through each label’s story.

The second floor of ATTERTON features a treatment room where guest experts offer exclusive services. Photo by Steve Erle.

“These days, people want to align themselves with brands that share their views, whether it’s clean beauty or sustainability, or any other reason,” Atterton says. “I get to share with them interesting details about the products, the founder’s vision and what’s important to the brand in general.” Atterton also carries a few exclusives, among them New York’s farm-to-face brand Cultivate Apothecary, as well as Superflower, the maker of The Everyday Serum, which is crafted with clean CBD, hyaluronic acid and vitamin C.

“We wanted to get away from the traditional beauty store layout, and instead have gone for a more residential feel — like an electric, Parisian flea market apartment,” KELLY ATTERTON says. Photo by Steve Erle.

In the spirit of continued discovery, however, none of the brands will remain in the store long term. This ever-evolving model also gives room for a crop of special in-store events, such as meet-and-greets and master classes, and in-house treatments with industry experts in the parlor upstairs — from lash lifts with Sarah Maxwell to facials with the likes of Angela Caglia, Kat Rudu, Joomee Song and Athena Hewett.

“People tend to stay for quite a while, allowing me to take them through every brand in the space,” Atterton says. “In the end, it’s not really all that different from what I’ve been doing as a beauty editor for over 20 years.”

2936 N. Beverly Glen Circle, L.A.

Feature image: The hand-selected brands at ATTERTON include HEIR ATELIER, a label that specializes in makeup primers. Photo by Steve Erle.

Feb. 24, 2020

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