ARC Sandton: Joburg’s new self-care haven

This week, Johannesburg welcomed a new luxury beauty destination in the form of ARC Sandton.

The store proudly swung open its doors to introduce the public to what is currently the biggest beauty-dedicated store in South Africa.

The Citizen visited the store ahead of its official launch and even when it was semi-complete, the store was an absolute sight to behold.

Face mask and sanitiser in tow, we made our way past the covered windows into a candy store for self-care fanatics.

The fragrance corner in Arc Sandton. Picture: Supplied

The brands

“The store is an impressive 500 square meters and filled to the brim with the best in luxury makeup, skincare and fragrance. Housing the ultimate collection of global and local brands, including Chanel, Dior, La Mer and Guerlain, it’s every beauty lover’s dream,” said ARC Sandton in a statement.

Upon entry, customers are immediately met by a Huda Beauty display, which is a big deal considering that there have not been any legitimate places to directly purchase Huda Beauty in South Africa. At least until now.

In fact, Huda Beauty is one of the brands that ARC will be the exclusive South African stockist of, in addition to brands like Wishful Skincare and Kayali fragrance.

Beauty lovers will be thrilled to find cult-favourites like Beauty Blender and Atelier Versace in-store as well.

From the inventive to the dangerous: The TikTok beauty tricks you really shouldn’t follow

“We are thrilled to be able to bring ARC to life, despite the difficult and unpredictable circumstances of the global pandemic. ARC is truly a first of its kind in South Africa so prepare to immerse yourself in our modern, energy-fuelled and beautifully designed store,” said marketing executive, Kelly Fung, who called the store a “beauty wonderland”.

The experience

On the surface, it’s a beauty department store, but upon closer inspection, it is so much more.

The beauty department store and beauty counter approach of yesteryear was limited to makeup products and fragrances. Society’s newfound appreciation for skincare and grooming has allowed ARC Sandton to do some pretty cool things in terms of giving the customer unique experiences.

“While you won’t see your typical beauty consultant from the department store era [in ARC], the store offers exceptional service and expertise from their team of architects that include makeup artists, skin specialists and fragrance consultants, who are on hand to help you as an added support to their self-service approach.”

ARC Sandton even features a dedicated self-care corner called “The Sanctuary”, which is beautifully decorated to look like a bathroom (where one would typically practise skincare).

Skincare giant Dermalogica even has a consultant on hand to help the store’s guests to find and develop their unique skincare routine through a Dermalogica face mapping session.

The Pod is a private, quiet space within the store where guests can enjoy an on-the-go treatment if they wish.

“At the core of the ARC brand is the championing of individuality and self-expression. Get creative at The Lab, an interactive space for testing newly-launched product, expert-hosted masterclasses or perfecting a new look.”

‘The Lab’ space at ARC Sandton. Picture: Supplied

All about ARC Sandton

Founded in 2020, ARC was originally an e-commerce store born from the belief that the world would be a more beautiful place if we embraced uniqueness and celebrated individuality.

As such, the store’s founders endeavoured to create a one-of-a-kind world of discovery that was more than just a beauty destination.

“It’s ARC’s mission to spark change. We’re modernising things and it starts with you, our customer. We believe that if you feel good, you’ll do good. Along with industry-leading service and innovative thinking, we’re kickstarting a new kind of beauty conversation; one that demands transparency, insists upon inclusivity and confidently throws the rule book out of the window.”

 

View this post on Instagram

 

A post shared by Citi Life (@citi_life__)

One of the ways the brand set out to achieve their goals and win consumers over was by bringing South Africa the most-loved local and most-coveted global, luxury brands and products.

Keeping the global trends of sustainability, eco-friendly and non-animal tested beauty in mind, ARC also launched the “Doing Beauty Better” initiative upon opening their store to achieve an ambitious goal of zero waste.

RELATED: L’Oréal is piloting an innovative cosmetic bottle created through a new recycling process

One of the ways the store is attempting to do this is through their packaging; rather than requesting customers purchase shopper bags, they’re donating R5 to local environmental organisation, Greenpop, on your behalf, if you don’t take one of their locally-made, 100% recycled and reusable bags.

Keeping in mind that the store launched during the time of a pandemic, ARC Sandton has vowed to implement health and safety measures to make sure the store is a trusted place for customers to shop as the world continues to do what it can to overcome Covid-19.

For launch week, customers can look forward to interactive brand activations, a week of surprise mystery prizes and special launch offers.

ARC Sandton can be found on the Diamond Walk floor opposite Brown’s Jewellery store.

READ NEXT: Beauty innovation: The biodegradable, vegan makeup sponge for a greener routine