Rock the Cos Bar
Beautiful, smart and courageous, Lily Garfield knows a thing or two about starting a business. She also knows how to deliver the right products to her customers.
Lily Garfield grew up in New York. After graduating from college, she left home for Aspen, CO to become a ski bum. While there, she worked for Lancome and fell in love with cosmetics. It was at that moment that she realized she was destined for something more. With 200 square feet and less than $5000 to her name, Lily turned her love of cosmetics into a reality and opened her own cosmetics boutique, Cos Bar in 1976. She says
It was out of passion, and not about the money. It was a welcome controversy at that point in time that took on a life of its own.
Lancome was the first to climb aboard, joined by Borghese shortly thereafter. And while vacationing in Aspen in 1977, the Lauder family stumbled upon Cos Bar and wanted Clinique to be a part of it. A year later, Chanel and La Prairie joined. It wasn’t long before Cos Bar had a cult following. And with that, all the elite lines wanted to be a part of it.
In 1986, Lily opened a second location in Vail, CO. She remembers getting a call from Leonard Lauder convincing her to open in Sante Fe, New Mexico. Cos Bar was in demand, and Lily was more than happy to oblige. Ten stores and seven states later, Cos Bar is rock solid in the industry and continually growing with its biggest competitor being Neiman Marcus.
Lily is, and has always been, forward thinking. She carries items which complement cosmetics such as fragrance and home accessories. Cos Bar is known for precisely matching the needs of the customer to products, mixing and matching along the way to allow for flexibility in your routine. And Lily chooses products based on their results - like one of her favorite moisturizers, Creme d’Olives, who’s key ingredient, olive leaf extract, makes it a powerful antioxidant, not to mention a phenomenal moisturizer (for which both Lily and I can attest to).
Having been diagnosed with lymphoma and undergoing chemotherapy, Lily speaks of the importance of protecting your skin by using sunscreen - especially for lips and eyes.
Lipglosses can cause skin cancer in your lips if you aren’t careful by applying a sunscreen underneath.
She also speaks of the importance of Vitamin D - achieving this through 15 minutes a day of natural sunlight.
Cos Bar certainly attracts celebrities, and as such, Lily’s most memorable moments have been when Madeline Albright and Martina Navratilova visited her boutique. Carrying lines such as Armani, Bobbi Brown, Cartier, Chantecaille, Cle de Peau, Darphin, Kevyn Aucoin, La Prairie, Lip Fusion, Marc Jacobs, Natura Bisse, Roberto Cavalli, Shu Uemura, Sisley, Tom Ford, Vera Wang, Yves Saint Laurent, and many more, you are bound to leave with your perfect match!
