This 19th century department store was famously the favourite shopping destination of Princess Diana. You can see why — five floors of fashion include every major designer from Armani to Zac Posen, taking in Jimmy Choo and Christian Louboutin on the way. Luckily for perfume fans, the cosmetics and fragrance department occupies most of the ground floor. Even luckier, Knightsbridge tube station delivers you as close to a spritz of Robert Piguet’s Baghari as it could possibly manage without actually emerging inside the store.
Although Harrods, a little way along Knightsbridge, tends to get the pick of the ‘exclusives’, Harvey Nicks is more compact and feels friendlier (you’re more likely to get hold of a sample here). Even more importantly, there is a niche perfume paradise on the fourth floor, hosting a treasure trove of brands which are hard to find in one place anywhere else in London…
Penhaligon’s is a charming buttonhole of a boutique tucked between the sleek emporia of Madison Avenue, a diminutive shop that transports its visitors back to London in the Edwardian era. Inside, its fragrances for men and women are displayed on dark-wood shelving that sets off their decorative, old-fashioned packaging. The scents themselves range from classic (Bluebell, a favorite of many “English roses”) to sweetly quirky (Artemesia), and they are all highly wearable. Matching perfumed soaps, dusting powders, or candles are also available for many of the fragrances. All of Penhaligon’s merchandise is appropriate for gift-giving, including a carefully edited selection of lacquer trinket boxes, shaving implements for the neo-traditional gentleman, and silver picture frames suitable for any lady’s dressing table…
The New York outpost of this Japan-based retailer specializes in exclusive and imported brands, and its fragrance selection is a feast of hard-to-find scents. The fragrance and beauty departments recently moved from the store’s tranquil, spacious sixth floor down to the main floor; the new location may lack the upper level’s sense of sanctuary, but it offers greater visibility and more efficient browsing. After perusing the shelves of unusual perfumes (and the nearby offerings of cosmetics and skincare, including Shu Uemura, Dr. Ci:Labo, and Kanebo), be sure to visit the bed and bath department on the fifth floor, where even more fragrances are paired with accompanying bath products and home fragrance…