Skincare brand St. Ives is letting beauty fans slightly tweak their favourite moisturizer or face scrub, by offering them the chance to whip up their own cosmetic confections this summer.

The beauty brand has set up shop in New York with the "St. Ives Mixing Bar," a retail space that allows shoppers to create their own custom face scrubs, moisturizers and body lotions. The bar, which is opening in the city for the second consecutive year, will feature natural ingredients such as rose water, yuzu, kiwi, pink grapefruit that can be mixed and matched into their products, in addition to a new mineral shimmer that will jazz up summer skincare.

St. Ives Mixing Bar - Photo: © St. Ives / PRNewsfoto

The interactive experience will also be available online for fans who can’t get to New York, with St. Ives allowing US shoppers nationwide to order the bespoke products through December 31.

"As a brand, we are always looking for new ways to engage with our consumers," said Suzanne Palentchar, Director of Marketing for St. Ives, in a statement. 

Interactive retail experiences are fast becoming a major element of the beauty landscape. Earlier this month, CoverGirl announced the planned launch of a new flagship store offering an "experiential beauty playroom" and makeup application services, while last December saw L’Occitane en Provence transform its flagship boutique in Canada, installing its first connected shopping model and multi-sensory journey inspired by the French countryside. At luxury brand Tom Ford’s first standalone London beauty store, which opened last November, the space is divided into separate rooms for various beauty experiences, including a dedicated "color room," a "fragrance room" that lets guests digitally explore perfumes, and a dramming bar for customized fragrance services.

The St. Ives Mixing Bar will be open through September 15. For more information, see www.stives.com