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closeMerle Norman awarded ‘Gold Medallion’
Long-standing boutique wants customers to put their best face forward
Susan Schell
of the Gateway
Merle Norman Cosmetics of Gig Harbor recently was awarded the company’s “Gold Medallion” for excellence in customer service.
The honor was recommended by one of the company’s “secret shoppers” who was impressed with the store’s manager, Cathy Williams.
“It was amazing,” store owner Paul Westall said. “This lady said that she (Williams) knew exactly what was best for her and didn’t force anything. She said being with Cathy was like shopping with a friend.”
Williams owned a Merle Norman franchise in Oregon before she moved to Gig Harbor to be close to family.
“I didn’t even know there was a Merle Norman in the harbor,” she said. “It was a perfect fit.”
The store has occupied its location in a renovated historic home on the corner of Peacock Hill and North Harborview Drive for more than 20 years. It shares a space with a hair salon run by Westall’s wife, Sandee, called Healthy Hair Techniques.
“I went looking for a job and married the boss,” Westall joked about his wife.
A former hairdresser himself, Westall met his wife through the business.
Sandee Westall found and purchased a Merle Norman cosmetic studio in Tacoma right out of beauty school. When the couple decided to move to Gig Harbor, they chose to keep the pairing of the cosmetics and beauty salon.
“This is a destination, not just a stop at the mall,” Williams said. “People come here and take pictures of themselves in front of the building.”
Merle Norman cosmetics are backed by a long line of experience. Westall said when the store says it offers free makeovers, it means it.
“We’re really hot on that,” he said. “We’re happy to do it. You can just fit us in and try it out when your current product is dwindling.”
Merle Norman has been around for 80 years and ranks in the top 10 in the world, he added.
“Everything is approved by doctors,” Westall said. “The quality is there with middle-of-the-road prices. You don’t find that anywhere else.”
Williams said many women have drawers full of cosmetic “mistakes,” things they’ve purchased over the counter that they never use.
“Makeup looks different in the bottle than it does on your skin,” she said. “That’s why we let people try the products.
“Why not have just a few things that work for you instead of a bunch of stuff you don’t use? Women that can’t wear makeup can wear our products.”
Williams said the store’s philosophy is to offer skin-care products and build from the inside out. The important thing for women is to find what works for them, she said.
And clothing fashions and hairstyle are secondary if makeup doesn’t look right.
“Your face is what people see,” Williams said. “I don’t want to change the way people look. I want to improve them.”