Beauty retail increasingly asks stores to do more than simply display products. At a new SoHo concept from Outside In and Nature of Things, shopping is only one part of the program: Makeup and skincare share an address with fragrance, coffee, and a hidden garden, all connected by an architecture designed around light and sensory experience.
Photography by Outside In and Nature of Things
Opening at 31 Crosby Street, the project brings together dedicated flagships for the two brands, along with a fragrance gallery and an Outside In Café. The concept comes from Carisa Janes, founder of Hourglass Cosmetics and Outside In and owner and brand architect of Nature of Things. For the interiors, Janes collaborated with Shanghai-based F.O.G. Architecture on the studio’s first project in the United States.
“This was a rare opportunity to design beyond the visual, to think about how a space can engage people on multiple levels at once,” says Leilei Wu, Partner in Charge at F.O.G. Architecture. “Each space is designed to unfold gradually, encouraging movement and engagement.”
Photography by Outside In and Nature of Things
That approach is perhaps most literal inside the Nature of Things flagship. The plant-based bath, body, hair, and hand-care brand is surrounded by organic materials and tactile surfaces, including curved walls made from individually installed pieces of loofah. At the entrance, a monolithic stone basin turns product discovery into a physical interaction.
Photography by Outside In and Nature of Things
Light becomes the primary material next door at Outside In. A sweeping coved ceiling culminates in a circular oculus overhead, while frosted glass and stone diffuse illumination throughout the space. Curved custom vanities integrate their own lighting for makeup consultations and shade matching, and dimmable exterior glass can provide additional privacy when needed. Synchronized wall and ceiling lighting in the fragrance gallery shifts in color and intensity, transforming the atmosphere around a custom scent wall.
Photography by Outside In and Nature of Things
The project also pushes beyond conventional beauty retail altogether. The Outside In Café serves pastries, coffee, and specialty drinks using custom-designed ceramics; the small eatery opens onto a hidden garden tucked within the Soho site. Together, the cafe and garden give visitors a reason to linger without requiring a beauty purchase—a notable shift from the transactional logic of retail.
Photography by Outside In and Nature of Things
That combination of shopping, hospitality, and gathering is intended to continue through programming as well. Artist residencies, product launches, private appointments, gatherings, and cultural events are planned for the space. In a neighborhood already crowded with retail flagships, Outside In and Nature of Things make their case not by displaying more product, but by expanding what can happen around it.
Editorial Transparency: This article was developed with the assistance of AI tools, which may have been used for research, outlining, editing, or copy refinement. Reporting, fact-checking, and editorial decisions were made by the Design Milk editorial team.
