Visiting the redesigned Emmett Cooper Haircare retail Web site, emmettcooperhaircare.com, is like paying a visit to a colonial drugstore filled with a unique selection of obscure, charming and antique-inspired beauty finds, as well as salon owner and celebrity stylist Emmett Cooper's own haircare line. Mirroring his Indianapolis-based salon—formerly a 1920s pharmacy—Cooper's site has a classically stark motif.
 The emmettcooperhaircare.com home page |
Finding the cure for a bad hair day is a snap because of the site's simple design. "What's nice about it is that it's easy to navigate and read," Cooper says. "People are so overwhelmed by Flash animation and an endless barrage of photos on some Web sites. We can all pick up a magazine to find avant-garde hairstyles, but when people sit down at their computers to buy products, they want to get in, get out and be done."
Cooper made sure that all of the text on the site is direct and to the point, and that all of the product information and ingredients are clearly listed, just like they are on the actual packaging. "My products say what they're going to do," Cooper says. His line includes his popular Wash shampoos, Detangler Tonic, Hydration Rinse and Repair Masque, as well as a range of styling products, such as sprays, glosses, waxes, pastes and creams, which all contain natural emollients and vitamins to keep hair healthy.
 The celebrity page has pictures of Cooper and his A-list clients. |
To further encourage product discovery, the home page has a box displaying a featured product that visitors can click on. After clicking, they are sent to the apothecary page, where they can find descriptions for that product and others, a business-savvy design element that increases Web traffic. Scrolling the apothecary page—the name stays within the old-school pharmacy theme—is comparable to having Cooper as a trusted beauty pharmacist, one who scavenges the globe to find the best beauty booty. "You may have read about them but don't know where to find them," Cooper says of the products he selects. Highlights include Elgydium, a French whitening toothpaste, and Shine lip gloss by Poppy King, which was featured in the May '08 issue of Vogue.
The site also has a fun celebrity page, which names the famous clients for whom Cooper has worked. It reads like the guest list for the Academy Awards, with a sprinkling of rock stars and socialites like Blondie, Janet Jackson and Paris Hilton added to the glamorous mix. It may seem unbelievable that Cooper has tamed the tresses of more than 50 of Hollywood's brightest stars, as the site says, but there are pictures of him posted posing arm-in-arm with his well-coiffed celeb clientele to back this impressive claim.
The Web site doesn't carry "supertrendy" items, Cooper notes. Instead, he opts for products that he believes are classics, the staples of a beauty regimen. So for those seeking relief from a bout of fad-itis and looking for products that stand the test of time, Cooper's site is just what the doctor ordered. —A.P.