From the coffee bars dominating the trade show sector to the offbeat raves taking place at local cafés, coffee culture has been permeating programming across the event industry for some time. Now, a new twist on coffee shop experiences is brewing: the beauty-themed café. Stylish, shareable, sample-heavy and brimming with latte art, these pop-ups are serving up engagement and inspiration with a side of caffeine.
MOBILE CAFÉS
Earlier this month, Fenty Beauty fired up a mobile coffee shop for its Complexion Café World Tour, which is making its way to five UK cities in September to promote the brand’s new Grip Trip primer. Consumers who attend tour stops are invited to “sip, swatch and glow” as they enjoy a free iced matcha or coffee beverage of their choice, find their shade match, learn from professional makeup artists and walk away with a free primer sample. (Bonus: The brand also just hosted a Fenty Beauty Coffee Party in Brazil.)
During New York Fashion Week, Redken took a cue from Sabrina Carpenter’s mega-hit, “Espresso,” and launched the 24/7 A.B.C. Café, a nod to its Acidic Bonding Concentrate 24/7 Night & Day Serum, in partnership with the singer. The small, sophisticated mobile café was parked at strategic locations in SoHo and the Flatiron District, where consumers could grab coffee beverages with branded foam art and learn about the serum as a screen within the vehicle played ads featuring Carpenter promoting the product.
GLOBAL POP-UPS
Charlotte Tilbury is “serving flawless” at its Café Airbrush pop-up in the UK, which debuted in London and will also hit Cheadle and Nottingham this month. To celebrate the launch of the Airbrush Flawless Foundation and Airbrush Flawless Matte Setting Spray, the brand is likening foundation shade-matching to how one takes their coffee.
Consumers who visit can score complimentary Light-as-Air Lattes, and participate in games and activities to collect Airbrush Flawless stamps. Those who collect them all walk away with a Tilbury Bag Charm featuring a mini Airbrush Flawless Setting Spray. There’s also a photo moment with the brand’s “Flawless Wings” and the chance to learn pro tips from the brand’s “Airbrush Angels” at a dedicated beauty station.
Carolina Herrera may have opened a Good Girl Coffee Shop in Paris, but the brand took its design cues from classic New York-style cafés to promote the launch of its newest fragrance. Over 10 days, the red-drenched Good Girl Coffee Shop lured in consumers with a striking experience design motif, notes of the new fragrance wafting through the space and a series of events, from a latte art workshop with a pro barista to daytime raves featuring live dj sets.
LOCAL POP-UPS
On the flip side, Sephora popped up a coffee shop in Los Angeles that took its cues from Parisian cafés. The Café Sephora experience included branded baguettes and cotton candy, coffee beverages, a “fragrance menu” that mimicked coffee orders, elegant pastries on display and plenty of beauty products to test out.
Beauty, architecture and art converged at the Eye Stylus Studio + Café from Ilia Beauty and design studio Gustaf Westman during Frieze Los Angeles, as the duo took over Café Telgrama to launch Ilia’s Eye Stylus eye shadow sticks. The space featured one-of-a-kind Gustaf Westman art and furniture pieces inspired by the beauty brand, including a tiny pink table specifically designed to hold one of the studio’s coffee mugs. To boot, the first 50 people in line scored a free Eye Stylus, and, naturally, attendees were treated to coffee and matcha beverages with branded foam art on their way out.
Featured photo credit: iStock/Tempura
