Selfridges Beauty Hall

Client: Selfridges

Nulty’s outwardly minimalist lighting scheme for Selfridges Beauty Hall is a scientifically advanced design response that delivers both elegance and technical precision. Across the floor, light was fully integrated with the Grade II* listed architecture to elevate the customer experience by delivering high-quality lighting for skincare consultations and makeup application. Central to this is Nulty’s pioneering LED Beauty Module, a tailored lighting source that renders product shades and skin tones with a high degree of accuracy to produce a naturally flattering quality of light.

As the hall has been reimagined to create a holistic sense of sophistication, restraint was one of the guiding principles of the project. The team developed an all-white ring pendant to complement the symmetry and proportions of the traditional coffered ceiling, while preserving the sight lines across the floor. These customised fixtures emit light upwards to subtly illuminate the ceiling, ensuring the effect of light is felt rather than seen. Every detail of the design was refined to maintain a clean visual aesthetic, with the diameter of each ring matched to the varying dimensions of the coffered ceiling, and power supplies completely concealed within the suspension cables. The datum line of pendants was also carefully aligned with the ceiling from every vantage point to maintain a pure and precise visual language.

To accent the merchandising displays, adjustable spotlights featuring Nulty’s LED Beauty Module are positioned at key points around the hall. Developed in collaboration with Xicato and University College London, the strategy uses a 2:1 lighting ratio that balances two extra high CRI LED sources with a softer beauty LED engine. This controlled contrast produces white light with a subtle ‘rosy tinge’ – a more honest quality of light where skin tones appear naturally richer. The harmonics of the configuration are engineered to optimise spectral deployment, preventing the flat, washed-out effect commonly associated with beauty lighting. It also maintains superior colour matching, giving customers greater confidence when testing products as shades appear true to life.

Set apart from the ornate architectural language of the main space, the floor also comprises a dedicated brow and nail bar area where a series of suspended track systems featuring diffuse spotlights create a soft, comfortable ambience for treatments. This section of the hall also incorporates a mix of new and existing luminaires to support the project’s sustainability goals. Downlights were repurposed from the previous scheme and reinstated around the perimeter and along the circulation routes. Where possible, Nulty endeavours to push boundaries to ensure sustainability and aesthetic aims are not mutually exclusive but instead work in harmony to deliver an outcome greater than the sum of their parts.