Solid and fairly large cvs with all the pharmacy necessities and a good bit more than usual in the…read moremakeup and hair care departments. The area is tricky for parking and is more likely to have a homeless person talking to unknown entities outside one of the entrances than other Arlington Cvs locations you might encounter. But I've been numerous times including several in the late night/wee hours in the morning (between 12am and 4am), and I've never had a problem with anyone or felt unsafe there as a result. It can be a bit unsettling initially though, depending on the person or persons and what they're saying and how crazy they sound saying it of course...and all of this may be more concerning for some than others (I've lived in quite a few "colorful" areas of big cities and this scene is more like those than standard suburban Arlington style...it doesn't bother me but it seems worth noting this in a review here).
Anyway, once you find a parking spot and make your way inside (I usually choose whatever entrance is furthest from any ranting homeless person, but not always...depends on my mood), you'll find that the place is unexpectedly nice and well stocked. Makeup options are as good or better than any pharmacy in the area, including full selections of all the main lines (Revlon, Maybelline, Cover Girl, L'Oréal, etc, plus a better selection of Almay, Neutrogena, Physicians Formula, NYX, Milani, and other brands that are sometimes missing entirely or have a much more limited selection than you see here. The NYX and Almay selections are particularly good here and notably better than other pharmacies in the area. Skincare and hair care offerings are also solid and seem as good or better than the competition. Oh! And nail polish and nail care options are awesome! All sorts of fun stuff here. All of these as well as food and beverages and seasonal items are on the first floor.
Interestingly, everything else is upstairs on the second floor. This includes pretty much all the things one might consider as staple items in a traditional pharmacy: medicine, first aid supplies, vitamins, supplements, other health items, and, you know...the actual pharmacy, with a pharmacist who dispenses prescriptions and all that good stuff. They're all there and well stocked. But they're all on the second floor. It's a bit odd. But it's all marked fairly well with signage at entrances and in large print on the walls, and more importantly, it's very easily accessible via escalators and an elevator towards the back of the store.
In addition to the pharmacy, there's a pretty nice sized waiting area, a bathroom (which is nice because many pharmacies here do not have one now for some reason), along with aisles of medicines and all that good stuff. Cleaning supplies, other household items, office supplies, greeting cards and other sorts of things are also upstairs on that level. It's nothing spectacular but as good or better than any other pharmacies in the area. And definitely one of the best places you'll find open if you need something urgent after midnight or you're just a super night owl like me.
It's a bummer that the pharmacy is not open 24 hours like the store itself. Confusing. But it's not. So. If you need a 24 hour pharmacy, this one is not going to help. For that, the Spout Run CVS at 3133 Lee Highway is the closest and best--if not the only--24 hour pharmacy option in Arlington.
That last issue notwithstanding, this is a very good cvs with far more packed into its small footprint. And I've tried a lot of them.
