Packaging; brunch; nail polish; sweet meat; hard-to-place perfume; plywood; upscale perfume; knish; charcoal; garbage; suburban shampoo; calamari; ceviche; beeswax; falafel.
— The smells of the Bowery, from Scents and the City at the New York Times. (found via note de tête at twitter)
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…
From the invitation:
L’Artisan Parfumeur cordially invites you to our Perfume Gallery for the opening of our exhibit featuring artwork by New York artist Jaime Lischke inspired by our new organic fragrance line, Cote d’Amour.
Please join us on the second level of Henri Bendel for champagne service and sampling between 6-8pm Friday August 14, 2009…
Enfleurage is the kind of shop that seems somewhat endangered on the streets of Manhattan’s West Village these days: intimate, independently owned, and quirkily specialized in its merchandise. If you’re walking past its open door, you might be lured in by the colorful focal point of brightly tinted and patterned soaps arranged on a central table. Once you’re inside, you’ll realize why this business is particularly well known for its selection of essential oils, which the owner of Enfleurage has gathered from locations around the world.
Enfleurage’s catalogue of essential oils includes everything from the familiar (various types of lavender, tea tree, and geranium oils) to the rare (white rose otto, Corsican pine, spikenard). The shop’s staff members are available to offer aromatherapy advice, if you’re seeking an oil to aid you with a particular emotional or physical issue. They can also assist you in differentiating between several varieties of jasmine, for example, and they can tell you the background and origins of any particular essence…
Mandy Aftel of Aftelier will be appearing at the New York Botanical Garden as part of their Edible Evenings: A Celebration of Wine, Beer, and Food series:
Mandy will be presenting an evening on perfumed tea in a few weeks at the New York Botanical Garden as part of their series, The Edible Garden. Mandy will be talking about using essential oils to flavor tea…