Vancouver: Beauty pit stops

The Benefit Brow Bar in Toronto. Look for it in Vancouver this fall.
The Benefit Brow Bar in Toronto. Look for it in Vancouver this fall.

As Vancouver continues to transform itself into a highly cosmopolitan city, people are finding themselves increasingly caught on the go. Shops are responding with drop-in beauty services that allow for some impromptu primping. Here are three of our favourites:

Holt Renfrew has recently announced that they will soon be welcoming a Brow Bar to their Benefit Cosmetics kiosk at the Vancouver store (Pacific Centre, 737 Dunsmuir St., 604-681-3121). The new location, which will likely arrive this fall, comes after much popularity and success at the Toronto Brow Bar, which opened late last year. [Read more about Brow Bar here.] These counters allow women (and men) to stop in unannounced for the perfect arch ($23). They offer lip and chin waxing too.

Once your brows are groomed and gorgeous, you can head across the street to the new Sephora store (779-331-3942) at Pacific Centre, and take a seat at any Beauty Express Service counter for a complimentary make-up application and tutorial. The options include a smoky eye, pouty lips or some high-definition skin primer and powder.

From Pacific Centre a quick jaunt to Yaletown will bring you to one of nine Pure Nail Bar (purenailbar.com) locations. This Vancouver institution has spots in just about every corner of the city, from Denman to Kits–even as far as Port Moody—so you’re never far from a fix. Manicures start at $25–again, no appointment necessary (though we hear weekends can be quite busy).

EARLIER: Just browsing

More Beauty & Grooming