Beauty store to open at Columbia Center mall

There's no shortage of stores offering bath and beauty products at Columbia Center mall in Kennewick.

The Body Shop, the newest, opens Friday and brings the total to four. And that doesn't count stores like Victoria's Secret and Macy's, which carry similar products.

Ulta Beauty, a beauty and hair salon just south of the mall next to Old Country Buffet, opened last Friday. The other two are inside the mall -- Bath & Body Works and Sephora.

The Body Shop opening has Patricia Bardin, director of marketing and business development for the mall, walking around with a big grin.

"It's great we're opening two high-quality beauty-focused stores in the mall in one month," she said. "The Body Shop is a great addition to our mall and enhances the quality of our stores."

The closest The Body Shop stores are in Seattle, Portland and Spokane.

The Columbia Center store's grand opening is Friday through Sunday.

Spend at least $30 during the grand opening weekend and you will receive a free gift, but there are a limited number available.

Also, during the first two weeks after opening, customers can enroll in the company's "Love Your Body" program for free. Procrastinate and you'll need to spend $10 to receive the program's perks: 10 percent discounts on purchases, the ability to accrue points toward additional discounts and sneak previews of new products.

The Body Shop uses products not tested on animals, supports fair trade and prefers to offer natural, eco-friendly products, according to its website.

"Bath & Body Works has natural product lines but The Body Shop carries all natural, ethically produced body care products," Bardin said.

The store and display cases also are built with natural and renewable materials.

The press release announcing the grand opening describes the new store as a boutique which is a new store concept for The Body Shop.

"This is one of only 13 set up like this to be a more interactive store. Customers and the clerks will be more engaged and they'll offer makeovers," said Bardin.

One innovation is the pledge wall for customer comments.

"It's a big chalkboard/white board, I'm not sure which, for customers to actually write their comments right there. You don't have to rely just on the employees. You can read what actual customers have to say about The Body Shop's products," she said.

The Body Shop is across from the food court, next to Vans and Just Sports.

Hours are from 10 a.m. to 9 p.m. Monday through Saturday, and from 11 a.m. to 7 p.m. Sundays.

-- Loretto J. Hulse: 582-1513; lhulse@tricityherald.com

This story was originally published April 11, 2012 at 12:00 AM with the headline "Beauty store to open at Columbia Center mall."