The second location of newly renamed Majesty’s Pleasure (they’ve dropped the “Her”) is now open in Yorkville. We spoke with Jeff Armstrong and Sara Kardan, the duo behind the upscale beauty bar, to learn about the new spot.

You’ve dropped the “Her” from the name. Can you tell us a little bit about that decision?

It’s been seven years since the concept was born, and it’s been five years since we’ve been in the market.  As a team we asked ourselves, “Are there things that need to grow up a little bit?” The thing we just kept coming back to was inclusivity. We just want anyone to feel comfortable coming to Majesty’s Pleasure. I think by detaching ourselves from the “Her”, we’ve opened up the doors [to everyone].

What’s the inspiration behind the new location?

Our travels have always created a mark in our memory about the importance of atmosphere. [The hospitality scene in London and NYC] was so significant in terms of having an impact with us from a design standpoint, and we just said, “Wow. Why can’t we bring this to the beauty industry?”

How does the design differ from the original location?

The design is 100 percent different. King Street is a very different neighbourhood than Yorkville. We want to make sure that the design fits the neighbourhood. The King Street location is a glass box where everybody can see you. At Yorkville, we took a different approach. There’s a sense of surprise. It’s upstairs, it’s hidden – no one’s really watching you. There’s a 900 square foot private terrace that overlooks Yorkville – it kind of feels like you’re at someone’s penthouse for the day.

What are some new additions to this location? 

We’re doing hair around a dining room table, which is really different. Rather than sitting in a row and kind of talking to your friends three chairs over and getting a stiff back, you can actually sit in front of your friends across the table. 

We love the convenience of being able to have multiple services done. While you’re getting your hair colour (a new addition to the hair menu) you can sit in our pedicure lounge, and we can do manicures and pedicures at the same time. In the hair lounge you can get your hair done, your lashes done, your waxing, you can get an express facial, all in the same chair. We’re just really trying to drive efficiency for women who don’t have a lot of time. 

What’s new in the retail space?

At King Street we don’t have any fashion, [at the Yorkville] we’ve added a few fashion items. We’ve brought in a local designer MARY YOUNG (intimates) as well as Girlfriend Collective (activewear) and Cuchara, a local female-designed jewelry brand. We do love making sure the local designers get attention, so we love to work with local designers as well as beauty brands (Grown Alchemist and KNC are new additions to the lineup).

Why did you choose to expand now? 

Both of us left careers that were very promising to produce something that we believed would and could be very big. The intention was to never have one location. I think we had a phrase “20 by 2020” when we first started – we reached for the moon. It’s taken a lot of time to take the next step, but I would tell people to watch for more.

All photography by Elaine Fancy