Michigan Avenue - Niche Media - Michigan Avenue magazine is a luxury lifestyle magazine centered around Chicago’s finest people, events, fashion, health & beauty, fine dining & more!
Issue link: http://digital.greengale.com/i/835995
STYLE STUFF OF LIFE Reason to smile: CEO Mary Dillon (pictured here at the company's satellite office in the Loop) has helped grow Ulta Beauty into a multi- billion-dollar business. 88 MICHIGANAVEMAG.COM PHOTOGRAPHY BY DONTE TATUM/DONTE TATUM PHOTOGRAPHY "IT'S ABOUT HELPING OUR GUESTS AND ASSOCIATES FIND THE PLACE THAT MAKES THEM FEEL BEAUTIFUL AND CONFIDENT AND REACH THEIR FULL POTENTIAL." —mary dillon BEAUTY QUEEN AS CHICAGO COSMETICS TITAN ULTA BEAUTY UNVEILS ITS FIRST MICHIGAN AVENUE OUTPOST, STAR CEO MARY DILLON SHARES THE PERSONAL PASSIONS THAT KEEP HER INSPIRED AND ON THE MOVE, IN THE WINDY CITY AND BEYOND. BY J.P. ANDERSON With eight straight quarters of double-digit sales growth, Bolingbrook-based Ulta Beauty has momentum any company would envy. At the helm of the multi-billion-dollar brand is savvy CEO Mary Dillon, whose experience at major players like McDonald's, Quaker Oats, and Starbucks is paying big-time dividends for the cosmetics retailer. As Ulta opens its 999th store—a 10,000-plus-square-foot boutique on the Mag Mile—the 56-year-old local resident gets personal about what inspires her, from beauty essentials and the outdoors to making a difference in women's lives. Definition of beauty: "'You but better' is the best way I can put it; I stole this phrase from one of my daughters: 'Just do you.'" Must-have product: The Dyson Supersonic hair dryer. "When you have the kind of hair I do, it takes a while to dry—and this is a game-changer." The Ulta advantage: "[We give] shoppers the ability to come in and touch, feel, and experience products and services, and come out feeling great and confident and having had some fun." Favorite destination: "Anything that involves being with my family [outdoors in]