Benefit Beauty Opens in SoHo NYC (Pictures)

It took a lot of patience and trips to Sephora (on my part) before beauty brand Benefit took the standalone plunge (454 W. Broadway, 212-769-1111) but after a visit to its first New York City storefront yesterday evening, I know it was well worth the wait. Nestled in SoHo, the dripping-in-pink-and-dainty-florals decor is befitting of the even girlier products showcased on vintage-inspired shelves lining the boutique walls. The New York flagship includes brow bar waxing stations on the ground floor as well as complete body waxing options and an airbrush tanning suite upstairs in an area dubbed the "pretty rooms." Like its name, you will feel and look pretty by visit's end.

The boutique is gorgeous, colorful, and inviting — all features that make me think I'm at high risk of becoming a Benefit junkie/regular. So why did it take so long for the brand to hit the Big Apple? Benefit's global beauty authority (and co-founder Jean Ford's daughter) Maggie Ford Danielson answered my burning beauty question last night. "Everything had to be just right for our New York store — the space, the location, the people. We are in a great neighborhood, have amazing makeup stylists on hand, and two floors at our disposal. It was very important to us that everything fell into place for our move to NYC."