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And there are tons of products.
“The inventory is mind-boggling. This is like a hardware store for hair,” said Colannino, 48.
“We have 35,000 SKUs (stock-keeping units) if you include different colors of nail polish and hair color.”
First, he makes sure each product contains quality – non-damaging – ingredients.
Colannino keeps a no-no list.
No product he carries contains sodium chloride, for instance. Essentially, it’s table salt, he said. It dries out hair and strips off color.
No sodium lauryl sulfate, either.
“It’s cancer provoking,” said Colannino.
And no parabens. The inexpensive preservatives also have been linked to health worries.
So there are only paraben-free lotions, lipsticks, shampoos, scrubs, and more at Glamour, Too.
The Colannino family has been in the beauty product business for four decades.
In 1977, Colannino’s parents opened Cedar Beauty Supplies in Teaneck, which had a run of 20 years.
In 1992, his sister, Paula Karach, opened Glamour Beauty, in Ridgewood, which also had a run of 20 years.
In 2003, Colannino opened Glamour, Too at 29 East Prospect St. in Waldwick, next door to Dunkin' Donuts. Both his mother, Mary Colannino, and his sister are on staff.
“The business sure has changed since my parents opened their place,” he said. “Back then it seemed like there were four lines. Today there are 4,000.”
That’s a lot of product for a consumer to evaluate.
Finding a good beauty product can be as difficult as discerning a good bottle of wine.
“There’s a difference between a cheap bottle of wine and an inexpensive one,” Colannino said. “You can have a good wine that doesn’t cost much and you can have a bad wine that doesn’t cost much.”
He loves being a filter for the public when it comes to both quality and price.
Nothing bothers Colannino more than when a consumer is fooled. So his customers get an education before they buy anything.
Glamour, Too also sells a variety of gluten-free personal products and features a small hair salon in the back of the store.
All that happens at Glamour, Too is enveloped in an aura of community. That’s no accident.
Colannino, who holds a graduate degree in European Affairs, used to work for the European Commission.
Consequently, he spent time in Europe and enjoyed seeking out shops in small towns – places where everybody knows and trusts each other.
“The romanticism in me won’t let that die,” he said. “I wanted to bring that European feel to the suburbs.”
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