Credo Beauty — Local services in New York

DEFINITELY check out Credo on Prince St for all of your beauty products/needs, and if you happen to be there during one of Astoria’s shifts, ALL THE BETTER!

I had a lot of anxiety leading up to entering Credo for the first time. As an environmentally conscious person, I wanted to find better options than the $5 drug store makeup I purchased in high school, but as a 26 y/o manual laborer- I didn’t know how to even ask for the help I wanted.

Walking into Credo was the best thing I have ever done- for my beauty products and for my self confidence. As soon as I entered, Astoria greeted me and asked if I needed any help.

I explained that I didn’t know what I was doing as far as makeup was concerned, but wanted to apply a even natural look that helped reduce the sheen of my oily skin. Astoria immediately put me in a chair and began grabbing some of favorite products off the shelf to show me. With each one, she explained why she chose it, how it compares to its “competitors” (referencing personal experience), and gave me an in-depth tutorial on how to use it. She created the perfect natural look that brought out my eyes- using products in my price range. Throughout the demonstration, she addressed my concerns, and offered additional products as needed without ever making me feel like she was selling me something. The entire 45minutes were as natural as a chat between two good friends.

I left with the skills and tools to create both a natural look and a more bold date-night look. But, more importantly, I left feeling more beautiful than ever before- and empowered to meet every future formal occasion with an appropriate makeup look. I will never purchase make up without Astoria’s top-notch guidance ever again!

I was nervous that the organic nature of the store lineup would create a hyper-judgemental and intimidating environment, but I found the opposite to be true! Astoria and the rest of the staff were nothing but welcoming, happy to share their experiences and offer advice to anyone who asked- from the totally overwhelmed novices (like me) to the advanced user.

I look forward to returning in a few months with more questions! Thanks to Astoria and all of the Prince Street staff for turning a potentially stressful day into a very...

Zero stars. The selection of products is fine: not the most amazing, nothing you can't find online (at the Detox Market or Aurora Beauty) or down the street at Follain or at CAP Beauty. But it's the service that's hilarious. Mediocore in store--at best--but the brow service is a bit of a joke.

I had my brows done there one (it was a hassle booking and forget about calling a day or so out to get an appointment). She spent a very long time over-plucking/thinning my brows rather than cleaning up the natural shape (which I asked). It was a 40 minute ordeal and while I appreciate attention to detail, I've had far better brow shapings/waxings in half the time.

Despite this, when my other green beauty place isn't convenient to get to, I was willing to use this as a backup. Before a family wedding, I booked a brow/upper lip appointment; was confirmed both my email and 2 texts from Credo--and the MORNING OF MY APPOINTMENT I got a call cancelling. Alie simply couldn't come in.

Ha! Maybe she got a dinner invitation she couldn't turn down but it was the most unprofessional thing and despite trying I couldn't get an appointment elsewhere and I left the next morning for the wedding.

Alie tried to reschedule me non-chalantly--but guess what? The world doesn't revolve around your schedule and there's a reason why New Yorkers plan far out to maximize their time. I get that emergencies come up and maybe she wasn't comfortable or articulate enough to convey that--but the way it came off--no attempt to fit me in, no explanation (after being confirmed by them 3 times) was incredibly juvenile for a so-called established business.

Alie sent me a brief email a few minutes later offering me a special deal on my next appointment. I emailed back--and no reply. Clearly they were trying to save face without actually following through with any semblance of customer service.

The gals at Follain are lovely on...

My daughter and I were racially profiled in this Soho store. It was painful and caught us off guard because we have been shopping at this specific Credo location for over 5 years. We have spent thousands of dollars on products there, and we have the receipts to prove it.

One day, a WF employee, who we were not interacting with, kept staring at our every move while we conversed with a BF employee/advisor who was introducing us to some new products. We were sampling and questioning and having a pleasant experience as we've grown accustomed to while shopping there.

While this was going on, in my peripheral, I could see this WF employee trailing us and was visibly disturbed that we were there. I didn't even realize that my daughter felt the same until we left the store.

Nevertheless, in the middle of our speaking with the BF employee/advisor, the WF interrupted us with urgency, and without saying excuse me. She told the BF employee that she needed her to go do something frivolous, she pulled her to the side and whispered something to her as if to alert her to watch out for us as though we were scammers. The change in the BF's demeanor was palpable when she returned to us, and all the while the WF continued gazing and monitoring even as we paid for our products. Shame on us, we should have obtained her name and left the store. But we really needed the products as we were traveling out of the country the next morning

Again, I did not realize my daughter noticed all of this as well until we left the store and she began questioning me about why the white female employee did what she did. How do you explain to a child that a store we've supported for years now sees us as a threat??? I hope the corporate office will see this post and address it...