Barneys New York is going back to its roots with the opening of its new flagship on the same Chelsea block in Manhattan as the original shop. But they’re not getting too nostalgic as the interior design seems like a glimpse into the future, one in which everyone is an impossibly beautiful, impeccably dressed clone (more Gattaca, less Her), especially the incredibly ’gram-able gleaming marble spiral staircase. So whether you’re a local or just touristing, it’s worth dropping by to rifle through racks of your favorite designers, like Ovadia & Sons, Barbour, Todd Snyder, and Visvim, some of whom are doing exclusives for the store, and there’s another reason to stay awhile—you an get a shave and a haircut.
The place that puts the bar in barbershop, Blind Barber, has opened its fourth location on the beauty/grooming level of the Barneys downtown flagship. They’re offering the standard shave and a haircut, of course, along with an exclusive Hangover Shave. That intriguing sounding treatment includes the application of a hot towel infused with tea-tree oil to wake you up our of your stupor, a Blind Barber Watermint Gin facial cleanser mask to clean you up, a thin layer of Watermint Gin shaving cream and then a second hot towel is administered to further coax you out of your self-induced malaise, and then finally a shave will commence. Post-shave, a lavender oil saturated cold towel (yup, it’s a towel trifecta!) is draped on your face and finally Watermint Gin Aftershave is massaged into your newly shorn face.
If that’s not enough to get you going, there’s always hair of the dog. Like the East Village, Brooklyn and Los Angeles spots, this Blind Barber will also be serving the gratis booze and beer its customers have come to expect when they surrender their face and follicles to the shop’s master barbers. If you enjoy any of the products used during your time in the chair, you can procure them all on site. Even better, you can stash them in an exclusive limited-edition d’emploi black-waxed cotton dopp kit that features marble print lining made to replicate the marble flooring of the new Barneys.
