Now Smell This

a blog about perfume

Menu ▼
Browsing by tag: brick n mortar store

Red Flower ~ shopping for perfume in New York City

Posted by on — 0 Comments — Comments are closed

Red Flower store exterior, New York City

Red Flower recently entered the field of perfumery with natural fragrances called Champa, Ambrette, and Guaiac, three certified organic blends of oils distilled and extracted from natural ingredients. This small Manhattan-based company was originally best known for its lushly scented candles, which were created to evoke specific flowers, fruits, and trees in their natural settings (no vanilla-sugar desserts or Christmas potpourri here!) and are uncannily true to their models. The candles are now accompanied by shower gels, lotions, haircare, and playful ball-shaped soaps in the same scents. Red Flower also offers two lines of therapeutic body treatments inspired by the legendary bath rituals of Turkey and Japan (with a third series to be introduced in 2009)…

Read the rest of this article »

Royal Exchange ~ shopping for perfume in London

Posted by on — 0 Comments — Comments are closed

Exterior, Royal Exchange, LondonShopping in London is all about the West End — Mayfair, Westminster, Knightsbridge and Chelsea. The City of London proper (i.e., the historic core of Greater London) is all about money; it’s a maze of narrow medieval alleys with huge office buildings, endless posh banking headquarters, and men….lots and lots and lots of men, most of them in sharp suits with cell phones pressed to their ears. There’s a plethora of expensive little shops selling shirts, ties, and, of course, those sharp suits.

However, some unexpectedly excellent perfume shopping can be found in the City, and one of the best places is right next to the Bank of England — the Royal Exchange…

Read the rest of this article »

Blue Mercury ~ Shopping for Perfume in New York

Posted by on — 0 Comments — Comments are closed

Blue Mercury in New York

Manhattan’s Upper West Side has never been known for its luxury shopping. It has long been famous for the Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts, for the Museum of Natural History, for its blocks of historic brownstones, and for Zabar’s, that peerless emporium of all things edible; but definitely not for boutiques that sell cosmetics and perfume. There have been some changes over the past year or two, however, and Blue Mercury is the latest beauty-oriented newcomer to the neighborhood.

Blue Mercury is a mini-chain of beauty boutiques with a primary emphasis on skincare; accordingly, you’ll see plenty of luxury skin and hair products stocking the shelves of the Manhattan shop, as well as familiar upscale cosmetics brands such as NARS and T. Leclerc. The sales associates are skincare consultants and makeup artists rather than fragrance experts, but the scent-related merchandise is accessible enough to encourage independent browsing and spritzing…

Read the rest of this article »

Ormonde Jayne ~ shopping for perfume in London

Posted by on — 0 Comments — Comments are closed

Ormonde Jayne shop exteriorOrmonde Jayne, the flagship boutique for the British niche line of the same name, can be found in The Royal Arcade, a lovely Victorian covered passage that links Old Bond Street with Albemarle Street. ‘The Arcade’ was built in 1879, and got the ‘Royal’ added when a shirtmaker at No. 12 was patronised by Queen Victoria. Guess who occupies No. 12 now?

The Ormonde Jayne shop at No.12 is tiny, with a wrought-iron spiral staircase leading to a mysterious upstairs from which an assistant will descend when you enter. It couldn’t be more Dickensian, apart from the smart orange and black décor and the 21st century lighting…

Read the rest of this article »

JAR at Bergdorf Goodman ~ shopping for perfume in New York City

Posted by on — 0 Comments — Comments are closed

JAR

A few years ago the jeweler Joel Arthur Rosenfeld, who creates truly fantastical arrangements of gems, released a line of luxury fragrances bearing his initials. These seven scents, all pure perfumes, can be examined and purchased at JAR’s only boutique outside Paris: an alcove just off the main fragrance area of Bergdorf Goodman’s beauty department.

The JAR boutique’s walls are painted a deep plum shade, with an emblematic bolt of lightning streaking across the ceiling. The space is dimly lit with small, shaded lamps, and once you have entered its sanctuary, you sit facing a specially trained JAR fragrance representative across a table. The shadowy light, the hushed ambiance, and the glimmering objects on the table may make you feel as though you are about to have your fortune told, or to participate in some secret religious ritual…

Read the rest of this article »

Back to Top

Home
Archives
About Now Smell This :: Privacy Policy
Perfume Reviews
New Perfumes
General Perfume Articles
The Monday Mail

Glossary of Perfume Terms
Perfume FAQ
Perfume Books

Noses ~ Perfumers A-E :: F-K :: L-S :: T-Z

Perfume Houses A-B :: C :: D-E :: F-G
H-J :: K-L :: M :: N-O :: P :: Q-R :: S
T :: U-Z