When sisters Gertie Wilson and Ginger Averitt opened Elevé Cosmetics in South Austin, they did not want to be “just another makeup store.”
“South Austin is the perfect fit to do something so different—a makeup store with a champagne bar,” said Wilson, who founded Elevé Cosmetics after a decade of working as a makeup artist.
Creating an innovative space fits the ethos Wilson said she wanted to establish when she launched Elevé online four years ago after noticing a lack of adequate clean cosmetics options. She began developing a line of vegan, organic and green products and named the brand after a ballet term referring to lifting to the balls of one’s feet. A former dancer inspired by stage makeup, she said she wanted women to “rise up.”
“I just saw a need for products that actually worked—worked with every skin tone, every skin type, every sensitivity and every lifestyle choice,” Wilson said.
It was Averitt’s idea to integrate champagne when the sisters opened the flagship store in 2018. Now, customers visit to purchase the brand’s lip treatments and mascara but also go to enjoy the in-store champagne bar, called Lola’s.
“I think multiuse spaces are really the wave of the future, because why not get more bang for your buck?” Averitt said.
The sisters use the space to host events, such as parties and book clubs, offering combinations of makeup applications and glasses of bubbly. Event-goers can also use an in-store app to virtually try on makeup.
“It’s so woman-centric,” Averitt said. “We have so many groups of women come and have parties and be comfortable here, because it’s not a bar scene. It’s a place where they can hang out and just have a party with the girls.”
As the brand grows and launches new products, Wilson and Averitt stay in communication with the lab that develops their formulas. Products are developed in small batches with strict standards for tracking ingredients.
“[Our products are] unlike anything that people have access to without having to go downtown,” Wilson said. “We’ve had wonderful feedback and amazing community support.”
