The Willow Glen Resident

Stylin' store has designs on Lincoln

Beauty supply carts in curling irons, loofahs and 500 colors of nail polish

By Rebecca Wallace

Bergmanns may be long gone, but a business heading for the Avenue this summer aims to bring some of that department-store feeling back--at least for cosmetics shoppers.

"We'll have tester makeup bars where you can touch and feel all the makeup," said Lori Silverstein, president of the Peninsula Beauty Supply chain, whose seventh store is opening at 1140-4 Lincoln Ave. in late June or early July, next to Peet's Coffee.

"You name it, we sell it," she said. "We carry all the major hair care lines... [and] tons of electrical appliances like curling irons, blow-dryers--professional ones, not the ones you find in grocery stores."

"And," she added, a smile in her voice, "we carry over 500 colors of nail polish."

Based in Burlingame, Peninsula Beauty Supply also has stores in Mountain View and Palo Alto. Silverstein said she was attracted to Willow Glen, like so many other businesspeople these days, because of its neighborhood feeling and the rebirth of Lincoln Avenue.

"It's a nice feeling of community. Many of our stores are in downtown areas like that, like downtown Burlingame and San Mateo," she said. "We don't do the big major shopping malls."

Silverstein said she also wanted to open a store on the Avenue because there is no beauty supply there. Her father started the business 38 years ago, and she has been involved with it for more than 20 years, she said.

The store's 1,560-square-foot building will also include a full salon in the loft for hairstyling, manicures and facials. Silverstein is seeking stylists and manicurists who are interested in renting spaces in the loft and working there as independent contractors.

Silverstein said she's already looking forward to Dancin' on the Avenue, which is scheduled for June 20. "We're going to be there, passing out samples and our own bonus-buck money to shop at the store," she said.

Peninsula Beauty Supply also offers hair-coloring products, cosmetic bags, aromatherapy oils, children's bath products, travel containers and shampoos ranging from $4.99 up to the high-end designer lines.

"It's real fun and trendy," Silverstein said of her store.

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