Cos Bar Turns 40

Makeup is all fun and games until the first wrinkle creeps up.

And then, a pop of cherry pink is less appealing than a soothing serum. That’s the age when someone might forsake the party atmosphere of a Sephora for the hushed luxury of the Cos Bar.

Founded in Aspen, CO by Lily Garfield, who was looking for the kinds of products more upscale than the drug store offered and closer-at-hand than the department store, the Cos Bar started out with just four lines.

The original Cos Bar in Aspen, CO

Forty years later, there are 14 stores in 10 states and the store sells at least 30 lines,. For the Charleston store on King Street, that means being the only store in the state to sell whole lines of La Prairie, Sisley, Tom Ford, Cle de Peau, Yves St. Laurent and Chantecaille. You can get some of those products in other stores, but only Cos Bar offers the whole line according to store manager Kori Mahoney.  The store also has exclusives on luxury fragrance houses such as Acqua di Parma, Creed, and Clive Christian.

The store, which opened in Charleston six years ago, is celebrating the company’s 40^th anniversary with a party on September 29 with raffles, silent auction items, food and drink and, of course, makeup artists.

“We know our clients by name, generally,” Mahoney says, “and this party is inviting our clients to come in and meet one another. It’s really just a way to celebrate and have all of our friends in one room.”

And Mahoney says the Cos Bar is always open to new friends.

The party is from 4 pm – 7 pm. on September 29. To attend, RSVP to Charleston@CosBar.com,message the store on Facebook, or call the store.