Aurbeautica

Profile

In a bright 1,400-square-foot loft arrayed with gilt-framed mirrors and an eighteenth-century wardrobe, clients at this signage-free, by-appointment-only salon bypass copies of Allure or Glamour for hefty tomes on Michelangelo or the French revolution. The Broadway circus nine floors down is all but forgotten as owner Jessica Nash, a freckled, yoga-skinny mom, wields scissors with care and encourages her four fellow beauticians and their clients — who range from marketing execs to academics — to chat as old friends might. Offering antioxidant-rich kombucha tea, a staffer in camo-printed shorts may urge you to “let the gray grow” (it reduces ruddiness) or try a shorter, face-framing bob. On occasion, after the sun sinks, Nash throws electro-clash cocktail fêtes to encourage regulars to frolic with newbies — who are usually friends of friends anyway. Prettily packaged hair products from Italian line Davines are available for purchase. — Rose Reis