The Makeup Shop: More Than Just a Beauty Salon
By Kiera Chambers and Sara Kahn
JACKSON HEIGHTS — On a recent hot summer day, the snipping of scissors and the humming of hair dryers could be heard inside The Makeup Shop at 79th Street and 37th Avenue in this diverse Queens neighborhood. Spanish chatter filled the room as everyone smiled and spoke with one another.
The Makeup Shop serves both men and women, offering haircuts, color, and nail services. A sign posted in the window visible from the street advertises for “permanent French” accompanied by a picture of French manicured nails.
But The Makeup Shop is more than just a business; it’s a community. The receptionist, Lucia Restrepo, 52, has found a family-like connection within her co-workers. Having moved on her own from Cali, Colombia at the age of 22, Ms. Restrepo came to New York, where her cousin also lives, chasing job opportunity and a better life. Ms. Restrepo has found a home in Jackson Heights. “I love it,” she says fondly of the neighborhood.
Inside the salon, the walls are white and bare, with five black chairs lining the perimeter on the left side and one chair and one black leather couch sit on the right side. The black leather seats each face mirrors opposite them and up against the wall. In the back of the salon is an elevated black leather couch with small tubs below it, used for pedicures. To its left are two chairs, also black leather, where clients get their hair washed. In the leftmost portion of the room is a small manicure table with chairs on either side and a shelf on the wall behind holding a large selection of nail polish.
Approximately 15 percent of the Jackson Heights population is Colombian. The U.S. headquarters for the Colombian news station, RCN TV, are located in Jackson Heights, demonstrating exactly how much of the area is influenced by Colombian culture. “Little Colombia” is an area in Jackson Heights which runs from 80th to 84th street, where most Colombian restaurants and businesses of the area reside. Lying on the edge of the official “Little Colombia,” The Makeup Shop is prime spot for members of the Colombian community to get their hair and nails done while also speaking their native tongue in a comfortable environment.
Six of the eight employees of The Makeup Shop are also Colombian, which contributes to the atmosphere of the store. Not only are the employees a tight knit group, they include their customers in this relationship. As Ms. Restrepo puts it, “When the people come in, it’s not like customers, it’s like family.” Ms. Restrepo hugs customers she knows as they depart with fresh haircuts and manicured nails.
Ms. Restrepo is among the many in the community who attend church regularly on Sundays, and the salon itself is not open for business on that day. Although, she notes, that not all the employees are Catholic, she herself is, and works six days a week. Friday and Saturday are unsurprisingly the most busy and tightly packed days at The Makeup Shop, with customers trying to fit their appointments in before it is closed on Sundays.
Margareth Arboleda, 57, gets her hair and nails done at The Makeup Shop every month. She keeps coming back because, “I like the way they work,” she says, while a hairdresser blow-dries her freshly dyed hair. Though Ms. Arboleda has been to other salons, she says that she prefers The Makeup Shop. Ms. Arboleda could be seen laughing and talking in Spanish with her hairdresser, gesturing as she told stories.
Ms. Restrepo herself moved to the neighborhood from Astoria, Queens, 16 years ago, when her brother bought The Makeup Shop. Although he sold it six years ago to Marta Ramirez, Ms. Restrepo says life at the salon remains about the same.
Ms. Restrepo raised her daughter in Jackson Heights and now has a granddaughter and grandson living in Houston, Texas. Ms. Restrepo’s mother moved to Jackson Heights around the same as she did, 16 years ago, and enjoys life in the neighborhood.
The Makeup Shop is not the only beauty salon on the block; Ms. Restrepo notes that competition from Solarte does have an affect on business. The Makeup Shop does well, nonetheless, partly because it caters to the Latina community there. Since the Makeup Shop is a Spanish-speaking business, customers may feel more comfortable interacting with employees who share their native language.
As we begin to exit the glass doors of the air conditioned salon, we catch a glimpse of Ms. Restrepo and a customer, whom she hugs after he pays for his appointment. The smiles and smell of hair dye stay with you as you leave The Makeup Shop and enter the commercial and bustling neighborhood life once again.
