A Visit to Chanel’s Most Luxurious Open Beauty Secret With Jessie Andrews

Today, we have decided to go to the Chanel Atelier because why not? It’s the pinnacle of luxury, and Andrews is only in New York for a few more days, and, well, neither of us has actually ever been. It’s one of those hidden gem stores in SoHo, located at 120.5 Wooster Street. The thing about the Chanel beauty store is that there are different things everyone can do there: from a Makeup Application ($100) to a Skin Consultation ($35) and a Fragrance Discovery ($95). The space is oddly a democratic utopia of luxury: Anyone can sign up online to book an appointment. 

We both enter the building, which is the epitome of freshness, or rather, walking into the pistil of a flower. Adrielle, our consultant, greets us. She has been working at the Chanel location for four years since it opened. Andrews and I are shown a wall of smooth lockers, each of which is named after something Chanel-y–“Vendome,” “Comete,” “Tweed,” “Beige”—along with an explanation below each. 

Photo: Liana Satenstein

Adrielle leads us to a dimly lit, sensual room that has little slots for over 51 perfumes. She explains to us that we will each try the scents, which are unnamed but numbered, and write down the numbers that appeal to us. This process allows the guest to try these different scents without bias towards a scent they typically wear. Andrews and I go through each of the scents, starting with the citrusy ones. Andrews uses her boyfriend’s men’s Bleu de Chanel scent—oo la la, chic! At the end, Adrielle reveals that between the two of us, Andrews and I have chosen three of Chanel’s Chance collection, which is the most popular of fragrances: Chance Eau Fraiche, Chance Eau Tendre, and then Chance of Vive. Bien sur!  

Our visit comes after fashion month, in which Andrews went to a bevy of shows including Bevza, Dion Lee, and Proenza Schouler. The Florida native tells me that a few years ago, these invites to fashion events may not have happened. After being withdrawn from high school while working a job at American Apparel, she entered the adult film industry for about four years, a world laden with stereotypes and not intertwined in the mainstream media as it is now.