Profile

As a celebrity makeup artist on Canadian movie sets, Franchie Pir was constantly fielding requests to source the hard-to-find products he carried in his kit. He answered the beauty call in 2002, opening his first PIR Cosmetics store in Toronto’s Yorkville neighborhood and stocking a select group of niche, upmarket brands imported from Europe. His first U.S. store—opened in 2004 opposite the ever-popular Café Habana—is a lofted, colorful space complete with raw cement floors, antique-style displays, and funky cowhide rugs. In addition to the featured makeup lines presented up front (trying before buying is encouraged), PIR carries a rotating group of skincare options from the likes of Ole Henriksen, Saturnia, and Sundari. Despite the broad selection, you won’t find much overlap with beauty emporiums like Sephora; PIR’s mantra is as soon as a brand saturates the market, it’s phased off shelves in favor of something newer, fresher, and cultier. Founder and brow-guru Pir (the press has called him “the Picasso of brows”) visits the store two Saturdays per month for complimentary makeup applications and brow touch-ups. — Carolyn Murnick