Marci and Lori Hirshleifer have never known a life without Hirshleifers. The fifth-generation, family-run shop established by Jacob Hirshleifer, Lori’s great-grandfather and Marci’s great-great-grandfather, started off as a Brooklyn furrier in 1910, and has since evolved into what W Magazine declared “the last great department store.” Today, at its current location on Long Island, you’ll probably spot Lori, Hirshleifers’ part-owner and buyer (and blonde), alongside Marci, the store’s global shopping director (she’s the brunette). If you want a daily dose of the two of them from the comfort of your phone, all you have to do is visit their Instagram and TikTok pages, where they keep everyone up-to-date on the store’s latest inventory, their outfits, and their enormous handbag collection. But this is ITG, so naturally, the question on our mind was: What does their Top Shelf look like? Surely it’s as chic as their closets? Below, we stopped by Marci’s house to ask.
Lori Hirshleifer:
I always knew I wanted to work in the family business. I didn’t even want to go to college, but my dad told me to go because it would be the last four years of fun before I had to work for the rest of my life. The store was always so exciting to me. Every night, we’d sit together for dinner as a family, and that's all we talked about.
Marci Penn Hirshleifer:
I knew I’d end up at the store, too, but I wanted to learn from other places first. I worked at Intermix, Searle, and Henri Bendel. Then I tried wholesale, but I quickly learned it wasn’t for me. I like being in the store, face-to-face with the client—not behind the scenes. That’s one thing that sets Hirshleifers apart: we’re there all the time.
LH:
We also are very intentional about what we stock. The first question we ask ourselves when looking at something is, Would we wear this? Because you have to believe in what you’re selling.
MHP:
On the beauty end, we’re lucky to have Violet Grey’s first New York store inside Hirshleifers. This took a long time to come to fruition. We’d been in talks with Cassandra Grey, the founder, since before COVID.
SKINCARE
MHP:
I’m a little acne-prone, so my products can’t be too rich or they’ll break me out. And I’m always on the lookout for anything that can de-puff my undereye bags—that’s my biggest thing. Lori makes fun of me because five out of seven nights I’m wearing patches under my eyes. I like the ones from Augustinus Bader. And I’ve been loving the TheraFace Depuffing Wand. It has both cold and heat treatments. I use it before or after my Sofie Pavitt Clean Clean Cleanser. I really like the consistency, and the olive-y green bottle is so pretty. I follow that with Angela Caglia’s Daily Botanical Oil, Eighth Day’s Intensive Moisturizer, and also their eye cream. I saw on TikTok that it’s good to apply eye cream right before concealer, so I've been doing that lately.
At night, I use Dr. Loretta’s Gentle Hydrating Cleanser—it makes my skin feel so fresh. Then I go in with Dr. Sturm’s Night Serum and Augustinus Bader’s Rich Cream, which I started using not too long ago. It’s thick and feels really good on my face. It also doesn’t hurt that the bottle looks good in my medicine cabinet.
LH:
As I get older, I look for products that really deliver on moisture. Right after I wake up, I put on Dr. Loretta’s Intense Replenishing Serum—it’s a bit heavy, which I like, because it means I don’t need anything else while I feed the dogs and do stuff around the house. Then I shower and get into my morning routine with the Eighth Day Restorative Cleanser—it has a gel-like texture that lathers really nicely, and it smells pleasant, which is important because I’m sensitive to scents. After that I pat on the hyaluronic acid from Dr. Sturm—I’ve tried a lot and I keep coming back to that one because it actually hydrates my skin—and Dr. Loretta’s Tightening Eye Gel, which Marci likes too. It’s not super thick or thin, and you can really feel a slight tightening as it dries. I finish off the morning with my Face Cream Rich from Dr. Sturm—it took time to find a moisturizer that really works for me. I know I should be wearing sunscreen every day, but I don’t always. When I do, I like Eighth Day’s Rejuvenating SPF 30. It looks tinted when you pump it out, but it neutralizes as you blend it on your skin. If I know I’m going to be out in the sun for a while, I switch to Chanel’s UV Essentiel SPF 50 for my face and Lancaster’s Sun Beauty SPF 50 for my body.
At night, I swap my Eighth Day cleanser for the Susanne Kaufmann Purifying Cleansing Gel—great consistency. I love Eighth Day’s Regenerative Serum—it’s more liquid-y than other serums but goes on nicely—and their night cream, which is thick and amazing.
MHP:
That night cream really is incredible. It’s a pretty color, too, a nice pale yellow. We really have to take up Dr. Antony Nakhla, the founder of Eighth Day, on his offer for facials. He doesn’t believe in Botox or filler, which is crazy—both Lori and I get Botox on our forehead and around our eyes.
LH:
Sometimes I get a bit on my neck, too. [Laughs] I didn’t start until my 40s. I know it’s so different now, but I think it’s better to wait until you’re older. You feel like you have to keep getting it if you start too young.
MHP:
Too much maintenance!
MAKEUP
MHP:
Concealing is the name of the game for me now since I’m always concerned about my eye bags. I start with U Beauty’s Super Tinted Hydrator in 3 before going in with the Koh Gen Do Maifanshi concealer in Medium 3. Sometimes I add in a bit of the Koh Gen Do Maifanshi foundation in Warm 113. If I’m making content for Instagram and changing a million times, I try not to put on a lot of makeup because it can come off on the clothes. For example, I love Fara Homidi’s Essential Face Compact in Ochre, but it’s a little thicker—perfect for days I’m not changing a lot. Fara’s Essential Lip Compact is also amazing. I had my makeup done at Violet Grey and they used Nude 1 as blush, so I didn’t even realize that it’s actually a lip product until recently. Victoria Beckham Bitten Lip Tint in Cherie is the go-to for my lips. Oh, and Westman Atelier makes beautiful products, too. I use her mascara and Super Loaded Tinted Highlight in Peau De Pêche.
LH:
I use that mascara too. In general, I’m very minimal with makeup, mostly because I don’t know how to apply it. I also use U Beauty’s Super Tinted Hydrator in shade 3. I had never tried a skin tint before, but I liked it right away. It doesn’t leave any lines, and it’s so light and easy to apply, which is a big deal for me. It’s also why I love Chanel’s Les Beiges bronzing cream in Medium Bronze. Chanel also makes a really great eye makeup remover—I use it every night to take off the last bits of my mascara. Then my lip combo is a swipe of a Victoria Beckham Posh lipstick—I’m loving Pose right now—and a swipe of the Bitten Lip Tint in Cherie, or I’ll use the tint by itself.
HAIR
LH:
We both love Crown Affair.
MHP:
Their products have the best scent.
LH:
And the bottles are great. I wash my hair probably three times a week with their hydrating shampoo and conditioner—and I always add in their leave-in. I save the hair oil for when I blow-dry—maybe twice a week. And of course, I have their brush No. 002. It feels good on your scalp and it doesn’t pull out too much hair. Crown Affair products are good for colored hair, too. I go to Christian Fleres at NuBest every three weeks. Going fully gray is not for me. [Laughs]
MHP:
My husband says that when my hair gets really gray, I should just leave it. But that in-between stage where you’re half brown and half gray is really hard.
LH:
She pulls out her grays.
MHP:
That makes me sound like I have a problem. [Laughs] That said, I haven’t done full color yet—just a couple of glazes at Salon Rock, where I also get my hair cut. I use Crown Affair’s hydrating shampoo, conditioner, and leave-in, too. But I wash my hair every other day. I wish I could go longer, but I always feel like it’s greasy, even if it’s not. My favorite brush is the petite vented one from Yves Durif—it feels like a scalp massage.
LH:
Funny story: Yves actually used to cut my hair and my mom’s. I must’ve been 20 when I met him—he worked at a salon on Madison Avenue.
NAILS + FRAGRANCE
LH:
I get my nails done every 10 days or so at a place near my house on Long Island. I get Chanel polish on my toes—lately I’ve been loving browns, but in the summer I tend to go for lighter neutrals. My fingers are always gel. I know people say gel weakens your nails—and it does—but mine were already brittle so I figured I’d keep going until they fall off. [Laughs]
MHP:
I go to Barberry, a new spot near me. I wasn’t doing gel at first, but once you start, it’s hard to stop. Your nails look better and last longer. Lately I’ve been into clean French manicures, but I love bright cherry red nails, too.
On the fragrance front, I love musk-y scents. I’ve been wearing Le Labo’s Noir 29, but I like Musc 25 a lot, too. I also like how Frederic Malle’s Portrait of a Lady smells. My grandmother wears it and it’s beautiful, but I could never wear it myself—I just love it on others. And I also think the scent of your deodorant is important. Salt and Stone makes great ones. I’ve been using the santal and vetiver one for a long time.
LH:
I love fresh scents. Byredo’s Vetyver hand wash smells amazing. And I burn their Bibliothèque candle all the time—it really does smell like an old library. Diptyque’s Baies is good, too, but my husband doesn’t like florals, so we had to find a middle ground. For perfume, I’ve been loving Perfumehead’s Room No., but I’m still on the hunt to find a dupe of my all-time favorite, No. 09 L’Eau Blanche by IUNX—it was discontinued. I used to buy it in Paris at the store next to Hotel Costes. It was perfect.”
—As told to Daise Bedolla
Photographed by Shana Trajanoska in New York on February 25, 2025