SWAMPSCOTT - When Amy DePerrior got ready for a trip to the Dominican Republic, she packed so much makeup and other cosmetic supplies her suitcase broke apart. So she borrowed a replacement - at 1 a.m. - and prepped two dozen New England Patriots cheerleaders for their calendar shoot.
DePerrior, 36, hopes that sort of dedication and experience will benefit the clients of LuxeBeautiQue, which is bringing more than 20 product lines and other services to a downtown storefront.
"I knew this area, and I knew these clients were shopping at Barneys and Saks," she said. "I wanted to bring it to them."
The store at 222 Humphrey St. opened June 30 but has been adding massages and other services to its product lines, which now include Bare Escentuals and Becca.
"I stayed up many nights, 'til 3:30 or 4 in the morning, only getting two hours' sleep, to pick what you see in here," DePerrior said, indicating makeup, body scrubs and skin-care products.
On a central island in the store, dozens of cosmetics brushes stick into the air. The handles are marked with "Ame," showing them as a creation of the AME Style Studios that DePerrior used to run from her car.
"I basically pitched 30-something brushes so I could have whatever I need," she said.
With LuxeBeautiQue, DePerrior is a long way from her car. The business now offers the Malie Kauai line of Hawaiian massage and skin-care products that can be used in a massage room. DePerrior said her salon is the only one in the state offering the products, which include creams such as sugar-cane ginger and macadamia coffee.
While cosmetics are typically associated with women, DePerrior said she's glad to offer male-oriented items like the Billy Jealousy products, which win awards and reviews in the magazine FHM.
"We want to be open and inviting for young and old, men and women," she said. "I want men and women to come in here and not feel like it's some foo-foo place."
DePerrior had been searching for the right storefront for two years and just noticed it on the night of Easter Sunday when she was driving to Marblehead. The Lynn native performed a quick U-turn.
"Perfect," she said. "I just knew it was perfect."
