Cos Bar

Beauty addicts, rejoice! Cos Bar (3905 W. 50th St., Edina, 952-303-6249) is the latest addition to the 50th & France shopping district—a prestigious beauty store that is elegantly filled to the brim with hard-to-find or exclusive cosmetics lines. But if you’re a beauty newcomer, have no fear. The professional makeup artists and skin-care specialists on staff are knowledgeable, experienced, and very approachable. Plus, they’re employed by Cos Bar, not the brands it carries, so they are sure to recommend the best products from each brand to suit each client’s needs.

The store puts a strong emphasis on skin care, from lines such as famed La Mer, La Prairie, and Clé de Peau, as well as Japanese technological skin-care wizards Kanebo, Sisley, and Orlane (the aristocratic family who actually established the first incarnation of Lancôme). They also feature great skin-care lines at lower prices, including Clinique. Then there are the makeup greats: Kevyn Aucoin, Bobbi Brown (Cos Bar carried the line before department stores did), mineral innovator La Bella Donna, and many more.

The store acknowledges men too. Skin-care and grooming products abound here with lines by MenScience, The Art of Shaving, John Allan, and more. Expect top-of-the-line scrubs, moisturizers, shaving creams, sunscreens, and shampoos.

The delicious fragrance section boasts names such as Viktor & Rolf, Judith Lieber, Creed, Bond No. 9, Clive Christian, Acqua de Parma, and Molton Brown. Candles from DayNa Decker and Alora Ambiance home fragrances round out home fragrances.

Cos Bar is a chain, but has just nine stores located in such tony locations as Wailea, Aspen, and Scottsdale. The owner, Lily Garfield, chose 50th & France as a location for its mix of independent and national boutiques. She still tests and selects the brands carried in each store. The result: established, tried-and-true brands that successfully walk the line between being consistent and trendsetting. The result is a small, but well-edited store that feels like an independent boutique. 

What’s to Love: * Samples that customers can take home and try for a few days before they purchase. *Friendly staff and selective style. *Kevyn Aucoin cosmetics. *A beefy men’s section—and the store is elegant, but not too girly for men.