On top of her course load as an art major, University junior Shannon Connor has a more intense part-time job than the average student: She is co-owner of Face It!, a cosmetics store at 285 E. Fifth Avenue that opened in December.
“It’s actually working pretty well because my co-owner works full time and I work part-time,” Connor said. Currently, Face It! sells cosmetics by Urban Decay, Paula Dorf, Lola Cosmetics, DuWop and Cargo Cosmetics and skin care items by Decleor of Paris, Kimberley Sawyer of London and Jing Jangaccording to the business’s press release.
“All the products that we carry, you can’t find them anywhere else in Eugene, or even anywhere along the southern Oregon corridor,” Jodi Auxier, Connor’s business partner, said. Auxier has 12 years of experience in retail.
“A lot of them are products I know myself and other students were driving all the way to Portland for,” Connor said.
Connor said she and Auxier knew each
other for some time before they became business partners, and when Auxier came up with the idea to start a new store, Connor was interested in being part of the venture.
“Shannon heard about the idea, and we talked about it, and we thought we were filling a niche,” Auxier said.
Connor, who will be a senior next term, is a business minor and said those classes have helped in understanding the concepts relevant to running a business.
“I’ve always wanted to open some kind of store,” Connor said.
Connor and a fellow University art major did the interior design for the store, remodeling and selecting a color scheme.
Auxier said the store’s natural light and intimate atmosphere is attractive to customers. Next week, the store will open an 800-square-foot area behind the present retail space and expand to offer facials, airbrush tanning and waxing,
she added.
Auxier said Face It!’s location between a clothing store and a shoe store is helpful for business. She said there are statistics to show that cosmetic stores next to shoe stores perform better than those that are not.
Ashley Mathews, co-owner of
adjacent clothing store Lemon Juice, agreed that the area was good
for business.
“This block has grown quite a bit in the past couple years,” she said. “It’s just great to have an area for one-stop shopping.”
Auxier said she spent a year
researching which product lines to
carry and working with companies
to sell their products. She said many companies were reluctant to commit to selling their products in a market as small as Eugene.
“When I said I was interested in carrying their lines, no one said yes to Eugene, Oregon,” Auxier said.
Auxier and Connor both said the store already receives business from students. Auxier said the most
popular lines among students are
Urban Decay and Lola Cosmetics and the product Lip Venom by DuWop, although the store sells cosmetics for all age groups.
“I love that Shannon is still a student, because I feel like that’s another link getting students to come visit us,” Auxier said.
“My partner is a little older than I am and a little more experienced in working, so we even each other out,” Connor said.

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