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Browsing by author: Guest Shopper

Le Labo ~ shopping for perfume in Tokyo

Posted by Guest Shopper on 18 October 2009 — 0 Comments — Comments are closed

Le Labo Tokyo store, interiorLe Labo Tokyo store, interior

Tokyo is not a perfume-mad city. You won’t catch whiffs of elusive scents as you go travel the Metro system; in the department stores you’ll struggle to find more than the mainstream Chanels and Guerlains, with a small corner set aside for a selection of other, well-known scents.

Given Tokyo’s lack of enthusiasm for fragrance, Le Labo’s decision to open a boutique seems brave to the point of madness. However, they’re hoping to persuade the Japanese that scent can be fascinating, and the area they’ve chosen for their store — Daikanyama — is one of the most chic and boho areas of the city. It’s a place full of small, uber-trendy shops and restaurants, the kind of place you’d find Sienna Miller shopping for clothes. In the south-western part of the city, it’s the place where many foreign embassies are located…

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The Garden Pharmacy ~ shopping for perfume in London

Posted by Guest Shopper on 6 October 2009 — 0 Comments — Comments are closed

Garden Pharmacy London

In continental Europe, there’s a kind of boutique you find in every town and city. It sells a couple of high-end cosmetic / skincare lines, and an eclectic mixture of perfumes. Every boutique is different. It’s always a bit of an adventure.

In the UK, you rarely find such shops. You get the occasional ambitious chemist (pharmacy), stocking perfumes and blusher along with the bottles of antacid and chilblain plasters. The nearest thing to the continental boutiques is the national chain, Boots, but of course they all stock much the same thing. There’s no adventure.

One place that follows the European model is The Garden Pharmacy, round the corner from Covent Garden. It doesn’t look much from the outside, and it’s not as glossy and elegant as the European boutiques, but it’s an independent store with an entertaining range of cosmetics and especially perfumes…

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Al Qurashi in Knightsbridge ~ perfume shopping in London

Posted by Guest Shopper on 7 September 2009 — 0 Comments — Comments are closed

Al Qurashi, Knightsbridge, store exteriorAl Qurashi, Knightsbridge, window display

Ever since Mohamed Al Fayed became the owner of Harrods in 1985, there’s been a steadily growing Arabic feel to this corner of Knightsbridge. Apart from the shops, this is where you’ll find the highest concentration of mysterious figures in burkhas, and glamorous wives and daughters gliding up the Harrods escalators in head-to-toe black silk, with (real) Chanel handbags. It’s all rather exotic and intriguing.

It’s therefore not surprising that an Arabic perfume shop opened in 2008, directly across from Harrods’ main entrance. Al Qurashi is part of a Middle Eastern chain, and only the second store to be opened outside the United Arab Emirates and Saudi Arabia (the other one is in Paris). The owner, Abdul Samad Al Qurashi, has created custom scents for members of various royal families…

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Miomia ~ shopping for perfume in New York

Posted by Guest Shopper on 15 August 2009 — 0 Comments — Comments are closed

Miomia exterior

The Williamsburg neighborhood of Brooklyn is known as an epicenter of street fashion and new indie music. However, its atmosphere of somewhat judgmental coolness can wear thin after a while. Fortunately, the “unisex apothecary” called Miomia is located a few blocks away from the relentlessly hip fashion parade of the downtown area, on a quieter block with its own charms. Miomia is a sunny storefront with white shelving and blond-wood floors, the kind of shop where you’re greeted by a friendly dog. While you peruse the shelves, you’ll notice a steady stream of neighbors and regular customers stopping by to re-stock their favorite products, purchase a gift, or just say hello.

Most of Miomia’s fragrance offerings are displayed on a wall to the right-hand side of the shop’s interior. If you browse the rest of the space, you’ll also see hard-to-find product lines such as Cutler haircare, McBride Beauty, lipsticks by Julie Hewett, and matte nail polishes from KO Cosmetics. Featured skincare brands include cult classics both old (Mario Badescu) and new (Embryolisse, reportedly a treasured secret of makeup artists). There’s also a well-edited group of grooming products geared towards men…

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Penhaligon’s on Regent Street ~ shopping for perfume in London

Posted by Guest Shopper on 10 August 2009 — 0 Comments — Comments are closed

Penhaligon's on Regent Street, store exteriorPenhaligon's on Regent Street

There are several Penhaligon’s shops in London. The one you’re most likely to encounter as a tourist in central London is the Regent Street branch.

The Penhaligon’s aesthetic is one of Edwardian discretion; a Wodehouse Duchess would be quite at home among the silver accoutrements and vintage bottle designs. Achieving this kind of effect on one of London’s busiest shopping streets is a challenge. Thousands of tourists crowd Regent Street every day, shuffling between the frenetic hubs of Piccadilly Circus and Oxford Circus, and pretty much wrecking any hint of antique elegance.

The Penhaligon’s shop does a pretty good job of persuading you that you’ve stepped back a century or two, with gilded cabinets stacked with apothecary bottles and giant factices, and an artful sense of shadowed corners…

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