• Chicago Tribune, Friday, June 12, 2009 10:48 AM

Dovetailing nicely with P&G's new emphasis, CVS and Walgreens, the nation's largest drugstore chains, are redesigning their beauty departments in an effort to convince consumers that they can pamper themselves and spend far less than they would at a department store cosmetics counter.

CVS Caremark is open modern, spa-like beauty boutiques that are attached to its drugstores by a breezeway, Sandra M. Jones reports, while Walgreen is redesigning beauty departments in some locations such as its new Times Square store in New York.

CVS opened its first 3,000-square-foot Beauty 360 boutique in Washington, D.C., in November, and has launched stores in Mission Viejo, Calif., and Ridgefield, Conn., since then. They carry prestige brands and offer spa services such as facials, nail touch-ups and hand massages. Walgreens is saying little about its in-store beauty makeover, except that it is testing the concept at 35 stores.

Cosmetics were one of the first places women began to cut back when money started getting tight last year, according to WSL Strategic Retail. They are using what they already have, relying on fewer products, or trading down to less-expensive brands, the firm says.

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