Toronto, Canada - Page 2

Heya Ekove,

I was at Yorkdale yesterday. I agree with you on the salespeople in Holt's...well at least in the niche fragrance sections. The lady was so unpleasant. I tried to chit chat with her about Hermès and Kilian and she made me feel like an insect. I didn`t leave though. I took my time anyway.

Yorkdale does now carry Creed at Holt Renfrew - I know they didn`t in the past.

I know the perfume shoppe in Vancouver is a great place. They are super friendly and have an online shop as mentioned above.

They have a sampling club and the lady I contacted was incredibly sweet. I don`t remember off hand if they carry all the lines you are looking for but if you talk to Paula, she may order some if she knows it will sell or that people are interested.

She was extremely busy when I contacted her about a month ago and was still very pleasant - she is going to be offering perfume classes in her shop this coming year. I wish we had such a place around here. I still haven`t really made my rounds in Yorkville yet.

Alrightie, so I went shopping in Yorkville today and Yorkdale yesterday and he's my experience to share:

Holt Renfrew
The Yorkdale branch is more limited and less busy, but considering more "average" people come in the store the SA's seem much nicer. One of them infact was quite knowledgeable surprisingly. The Yorkville branch is still the same, they're not mean per se, but not that interested, though my girlfriend claimed a lady who works there dressed up in a flight attendants uniform was following us(?), made no sense to me, but when she pointed it out and I made eye contact with the lady she stopped where she was and smiled, and started greeting people. I have no idea what to read into that experience, note we were dressed up semi-casual; not dressed up for a job interview nor dressed up to go to mcdonlands at 2am. if someone can help me with what that meant or if my girlfriend is imagining stuff please let me know. We also go there quite often, and we usually buy things, though yet to buy a perfume from there. Too expensive and doubt I'll get free samples.

They carry Bond no9, Kilian, Tom Ford, Creed, Acqua di Parma, some designer brands private collections, not so bad, but the prices are a little too high, especially since none of these niche brands are hard to find.

The Bay/Sears

The SA's are ok, nearly absolutely have no knowledge in what they're selling. No Niche brands (except for a single serge lutens) and only new/top sellers from designer brands. Though there are good deals or limited editions every now and then at better prices than Holt Renfrew

Sephora

Nicer SA's, usually get samples and such, but again nothing interested, everything there you could smell at a hundred other place or find at ebay for half the price.

Pir Cosmetics

This was a pain to find, and what a horrible find. The store looked as if nobody had stepped in it in weeks, and the moment we entered the, ummm, SA who's dressed in, well, hard to describe but a little gay (though he wasn't as nice as most gay people I know) gave us a look from head to toe. And with very little interest came to assist us a 2 minutes later. I usually help myself if SA's don't bother, but he had his perfumes stacked on a little table and didn't look so nice. They have many Niche brands (L'Artisan, MPG, Frapin, Parfum d'Empire, among many others I didn't know) but very few bottles from each brands.

I was specifically looking for Ambre Precieux and Santal Noble, but no, he even didn't spray any of the MPGs when I asked them if I could smell the rest, but instead made me smell the cap. And of course he'd correct my incorrect french pronunciation in a somewhat insulting tone, I'm very aware I can't speak French, can you speak Arabic? thank you.

I quickly lost interest in the limited collection they carried, and was sick of his seemingly bad manners, but my girlfriend said don't worry it's how the French(or affected by the french culture) usually treat people. Surprisingly when I wanted to leave, he got a lot nicer and start spraying fragrances I'm not even interested in on paper, what? why? is it because I wanted to leave or because I showed knowledge in perfumes? or is he just a person I'm not supposed to understand?

Horrible guy works there, limited line, and their prices from what I've seen online are much more expensive than other places. Don't recommend at all.

Noor Boutique

My favorite place so far, the lady and gentleman who work there are very nice and knowledgeable. The lady even almost told me not to buy a perfume before I take a sample and go try it at home, but I knew I wanted it. My 3rd visit was just as good as the first, the only store which seems to offer free samples without you buying anything as long as you show interest and knowledge.

Andrews

Biggest surprise of the day. After the experience at Holt Renfrew and PIR cosmetics, my shy girlfriends didn't want to enter another high end brand if we're not going to buy anything. But realizing it's not really a high end store, at least they sell brands at discounted prices it seems, we went in. And I was greeted by AMOUAGE!, they also carried Serge Lutens, bond no9 and few other niche brands and designer brands. Very few things, and most of the Serge Lutens were sold out. The lovely lady working there was very very nice, sadly not knowledgeable but to her defense she worked in the Chanel section, not the Niche section. But regardless, I ended up grabbing two serge lutens bottles (everything seems to be sold out but they have a few for $110 which is a great price). Introduced my girlfriend to Amouage, but they run for $370/100ml there, so I'm not going to purchase them from there. And as I said, the lady was lovely and gave me many serge lutens samples without me even asking, though that's probably because I made a purchase. Great place, sadly Amouage is too expensive there, Serge Lutens is limited and not getting restocked any time soon according to her. Seems to be another dying perfume store here.



Overall

Thanks for reading if you bothered to, and sorry for typos, I couldn't wait to write this. Honestly Toronto seems to be one of the least interesting cities when it comes to perfumes. The small stores seem to be dying, the major ones are cutting on all the Niche brands and sticking to best sellers. The only two places with any life are Noor's Boutique and Holt Renfrew when it comes to perfumes. This makes me really sad since I either have to dish out a lot of money to get samples online or wait every summer to go to the middle east

Oh, and is Mirella Parfums & Cosmetics closed? this seems like an interesting place that could give me some hope in the city, but I couldn't find it in Manulife.

Hi Ekove!

Thanks so much for such an in-depth review. As I said, I haven't ventured out to the Yorkville area to shop for perfume as of yet so my experiences have been limited to Holt Renfrew and online. Wow, it seemed like quite the adventure!

Your experience at Pir seemed as though you entered a perfume twilight zone?! I am sorry to hear that - it certainly won't be the first on my list after what you described. I honestly don't think it's the 'French' per se that are rude. I think he was just rude and maybe (by what you described), business isn't doing too well. A lot of niche 'perfumisters' and boutique stores seem to be very jugdmental of their clientele. He could have helped your French pronunciation in a much more casual, light hearted way without making you feel badly.The French don't have bad manners like that - it was just him! My guess is that he judged you as you entered and as he learned you knew quite a bit about these fragrances and houses, he then felt badly. He too was stubborn and then it was too late! His loss.

Thanks again for the informative review! It is much appreciated I look forward to venturing out and visiting a lot of shops in Toronto and in Ontario!

Did you happen to go to Anthropologie? In the US, they carry quite a few exclusive lines including Susanne Lang, Oiseau, Royal Apothic, Moulinette Soeurs, Lollia, Histoire de Parfums, TokyoMilk, D.S. & Durga and the 'A Rather Novel Collection' which are 6 tea based perfumes boxed in book-like packaging and made by 5 of Givaudan's in house perfumers.

MissM

Excellent update! Thanks.

Some comments...

Yorkdale Holt's - be aware there are really two fragrance sections. Most of the "men's" is by a different entrance. They have armani privee tucked away at the back, and there's a set of shelves in one corner near the Sisley frags with some goodies (including the same Armani's)

Pir - well I'm glad you found it, I must have walked past it a million times and didn't even know it was there. I find the Noor folk much more chatty, knowledgeable, and patient (plus generous!). I believe the SA you mean is Frunchie (spelled phonetically). if it's who I'm thinking of, he seems nice enough, not overly chatty or pushy though. I think they have both a strange assortment of brands, selected bottles within those brands, and an even worse layout of the bottles. I believe they're dropping a few lines so they may just have a hodge podge of what's left for sale...

Noor - well what can I say, I really do like everything about the store (although more brands would be nice, and it's tough to find if you didn't know to look there). Fred and Nahla are just great and I'll leave it at that. They've hosted our local gathering twice, so that counts for something in my books.

Holt's Bloor - The SA's are a mixed bag. The department head (?) Natalie, I believe, a rather voluptuous and friendly Trinidad women (again, if I recall correctly) is really friendly. I do think that dressing a little nicer and acting like you're someone who expects to be respected helps with the interactions a little... The creed section is hard to find, sort of under the escalator. The Chanel section is great, not the SA's, but at least the selection. See if you can sniff some of the pure essential oil's behind the desk there... Also note there's a mens section downstairs with a few other interesting ones, plus shaving gear.

Andrew's - yes, surprisingly for a clothing store they have some interesting frags, including amouage. Their Serge's are limited and you can find a bunch more for the same $110 at Sephora in the Eaton's center... just FYI.

The Bay - the head store at Queen street does have some goodies, you just have to hunt around. They have Annick Goutal, a decent Guerlain counter, I believe there are some Serge there too, etc. There's a great french lady at the Dior counter too.

Just some of my impressions.

Of course if you were just in Yorkville, there's a whole line of stores you may have missed along Bloor from Avenue Eastward including the Guerlain boutique, Hermes, and Chanel (though you can probably skip it and go to the one at Holt's). Harry Rosen's also has some frags to try including the Tom Ford exlusives (anyone else load up on those 4ml samples?). The TF flacons are on the second floor... just pretend you were planning on buying a suit when the frags caught your attention ;-)

miss-little-miss

Ah, I forgot to include Anthropologie, my girlfriends favorite store ever. I used to browse the candles there all the time, however on my last visit, as with most stores in Toronto, fragrance sections seem to be getting smaller and smaller. They still carry some Tokyo milk, Susaene Lang, The novel collection and a few other not very recognizable smaller brands. I believe they used to have more (Voluspa sprays, Toroco, to name a few). It's still one of the nicer stores out there, the SA's are very friendly there as well but to think about it, I doubt they have samples

Pir cosmetics might not be as bad as I described. Maybe I over-reacted and judged the guy too quickly, he might not be that mean, but definitely not nice, still not going there again unless they miraculously start selling the Amouage line for half the price or something.

Thanks for passing by!

Master Classter

Oh I must have missed the men's section, I always forget that Holt Renfrew has two perfume sections. Though I've been to the mens section in Yorkville, they have a few Niche brands but I doubt their prices are right. As for the Chanel perfumes, I doubt it will be a pleasant experience especially considering I'm not very familiar with Chanels. "Hey, can I try the most expensive Chanels you have, no I don't know which one, just let me try them!" nah doubt it will work. Maybe once I do my research.

As for the Serge Lutens line, nothing at Sephora, which is a store I go to regularly in Eaton Centre, occasionally on bloor. They really seem to offer nothing interesting anymore, the one in Kuwait carries so many niche brands. The bay, all locations, carry a single serge lutnes (Feminitè du Bois I think).

As for Geurlain, Hermes and Chanels boutiques, I might visit them some day. Not a big fan of any, except maybe Guerlain even though most of their perfumes have this "old" vibe to them, or so I feel.

I really hope Noor will increase the number of brands they carry as well. Unless I magically get rich and open my own Niche store and get all the fancy middle eastern niche brands in here for you guys, ah one can only hope.

Thanks for stopping by as well.

-Ekove

...yeah, it won't be suspicious at all when I am in Harry Rosen 'shopping for a new suit', lol!

Me to my utter and complete surprise : "Oh....I was wondering where the womens clothes were located?...Oh you carry fragrance?! How lovely!"

Yeah, I remember when I was dating a few years back, my BF loved this dark blue Versace velvet suit coat - I can't remember how much it was? $2500? Anyhow, I always found the sales people really nice there!

Ekove
Anthropologie is so awesome! I love that store to death Thanks for letting me know about the frags there. As for Chanel, well, you will learn. You have to know about it! They sell 'Le Monstre' of all perfumes...Chanel no5 cannot be beat. It is the best selling fragrance of all time!

Yes, there is a need for some innovations to bring more variety within the Niche sector available without the hefty price tag. It will come...

Oh I forgot to ask, how are fragrance prices at Harry Rosen? same as holt renfrew? I've been there once and bought a tie and a shirt or something, yeah they're also nice. I want a bottle of Tom Fords Amber Absolute, goes for about $120 online, $210 in Holt Renfrew. I hope Harry Rosen has it somewhere in the middle, I'll go there sometime soon and report

As for Chanel, of course I tried Chanel no 5, Chanel coco, Egoiste, Plantium Egoiste, the Allure line. But nothing really captured me to dig deeper in the house.

I didn't know about Anthropologie, I'll have to check that out sometime.

As for the Chanel's at Holt's, well they carry the exclusif's. As with all frags, why not just go in blind and start sniffing and see what gets your attention. I usually ask open questions like "what can you tell me about these?" or, "oh these look interesting, do you have any favorites?". Unless I'm already walking in with a few in mind to try, sometimes there are surprises...

Sephora - last I checked (a few months ago) they had a few Serges. They're tucked away on the women's side on the bottom shelf near the door right at the end/beginning. They also have some Guerlain Aqua Allegoria's, 75ml for $56 which is pretty reasonably I think.


RE: Harry's - Little-Miss, just tell the SA you're looking for something classy for your BF and wanted some nice manly scents, or better yet just walk in, go upstairs and start smelling. (that's what I do). There's a nice SA on teh main floor, a tall good looking guy, I think his name is Mark, maybe Adam. Ekove - their prices are about the same as Holt's. there are a few ebay options for the private collection, I regularly see hte 50ml's for about $110-125, which IMO is very good bang for buck.

MasterD: Should I ask for Mark Adam? lol! Also, I am 'sans' BF atm and I hate lying. I think I'll just go straight to the frag section unless I can 'borrow' a BF for a day...Something like a real-pretend BF ---> now there's an oxymoron or perhaps just a moronic idea?

I am sure I will manage with or without the 'BF'. I think I like the idea of not saying anything at all and just smile and let them think what they will!

Can we just all plan a field trip for the GTA crowd? I think it would be really fun

Oh don't be shy, just tell them you're interested in checking the Tom Ford fragrance line, almost all of Tom Ford's fragrances are unisex. A field trip would be nice, personally I'm a little shy (ironic isn't it?), but if we get a few people sure that would be cool. We need a leader familiar with the city though

Hello, I would just like to add Holt Renfrew bloor street started carrying Frederic Malle perfumes. Sadly I was disappointed with them, they're not that unique or of that high quality for the price (Nearly as expensive as Amouage, nowhere near the quality) still a few impressive juices. The prices are also quite reasonable according to the lady, $260 for the 100ml. They might not be worth the price in my opinion, but I'm surprised Holt Renfrew is selling something for it's average retail price. Heh at least I'm happy a new niche brand has made it to Toronto.

Just a small update...

- +1 confirmation about Holt's carrying Malle.
- The Bay on Queen street only has on Serge (hidden behind the counter at the Sheseido counter).
- Murale - how hasn't this one been mentioned yet? At the newish Don Mills center, they used to carry ELDO frags but not anymore. Still, some of the usual stuff is there and nicely laid out.
- Sephora used to carry some Serge, but no more :-(

miss-little-miss - the next meetup will be happening sometime in the next 3-4 weeks. I'll keep you guys posted and PM you with details.

Toronto now has the Le Labo line here.

Thats great, as they seem to have an online shop. Hopefully, there will be more niche available ( I know thats kind of strange to say) in Canada.

Thanks for the info, N.

I believe that one can find CB I Hate Perfume at

EWANIKA
1083 Bathurst Street
Toronto, ON
M5R 3G8
(416) 927-9699

Who is going to be offering perfume classes? That part seems vague to me for some reason. Please do tell! Deets please !

And I second Ekove on the Pir experience. I have been there a few times and the guy is never nice. There used to be a nicer girl there but she was replaced by him.

I don't think anyone's mentioned this yet, but I've recently gone through the "Aroma" Natural Perfume line found at The Big Carrot, and find it to be rather good. I tried to find a website but the brand name is either too generic or too niche to turn up any useful results.

I am wearing the sandalwood aftershave that just came in and it's potently woody resinous(for something I am guessing EDC strength), invites layering and definitely more enjoyable than most of the recent commercial fragrances.

The compositions tend to be on the simple side and not all that long lasting, but are definitely put together with quality materials. I would suggest anyone passing the Chester/Danforth area stop by and try some on. I found the pricing fairly reasonable.

There's a store called Ace Gifts that sells perfume for ridiculously low prices. I got a bottle of Burberry London for men for 55 bucks (100ml)

It's on Spadina, south of college I believe

There are actually a lot of perfume stores right on Yonge street south of Bloor, closer to College that sell commercial fragrances for ridiculously low prices, some over 80% off! I usually just take a stroll down Yonge street and pop in each store. Now, if someone can share a steal for niche brands that would be something. Wishful thinking lol!

Interesting....
Now I feel lik I got ripped off! lol
I agree... I wish I could find some pure havane or pure malt at one of these stores
I did find some Tokyo Milk Dark which I'm pretty happy about though

Whaaaaat? Where did you find Tokyo Milk Dark?!

Will expose my findings after I buy a bottle in the next few days.

I went to Yorkdale's Sephora yesterday and found no niche stuff. Just designers.

Holt has much better offerings but the SA was not very nice and quite clueless (I asked if they carry any Serge Lutens and they never heard of it). Tom Ford's stuff are amazing though, just pricey.

i'm eager to try tokyo milk line as well. please do tell us!

Hey guys/gals,

Is there any store any TO that carries the whole (or most) of the Serge Lutens offerings? The reviews are awesome but I'd rather not buy blind since their general signature is the sweetness, which I am not much of a fan. Thanks all.

^^^ Yes, go to Andrews in Hazelton Lanes (Bloor just north on Avenue).

Sephora at Eatons USED to carry a couple of them but they're gone now, and the Bay's Sheisido counter also used to have one or two but also, gone.



Tokyo Milk... I know Teatro Verde on Yorkville street carries some sort of line, I think it might have been that one... (I know they have Fresh too though)

Thanks for the quick reply Master-Classter, I'll definitely check out Andrews. Just to bother you further, is Andy Tauer available in TO? Thanks much.

As for Tokyo Milk, Anthropologie does carry them but sold out as I visited last week. SA says they will restock soon so check in often guys/gals.

No Tauer in Toronto.

TM is available here - http://www.loveofmineboutique.com/

That's a shame, no Tauer.

Thanks for the TM tip, Dane.

Where does Torontonians get niche stuff? (The ones not available here of course) Luckyscent? The store has great selection and reputation that the shipping and brokerage puts me off.

Noor - located in the bottle of the Four Seasons in Yorkville. They carry L'Artisan, Diptyque, CDG, Penhaligon's, SMN, Delrae, Eau d'Italie, Carthusia etc. The owners are incredibly friendly (and happen to be friends of mine now) and generous with samples.

Otherwise - as mentioned above, Andrews carries Lutens, Bond, and Amouage. Holt's carried By Kilian, Creed, Malle, Acqua di Parma, Tom Ford, etc.

There are also retailers for CB I Hate Perfume, Le Labo, Six Scents and more throughout the city if you Google.

Thanks.

Can't wait til exams are over so I can go sniff everything.

PS: Your blog is awesome Dane. I spent the last few hours reading rather than reviewing my notes. ><

There's a shop called Ewanika (owner is Trish Ewanika) and she carries a lot from the CB line.

other stores - while vising Noor, there's a hard to find one called Pir which has some random MPG, Etro's, Parfum D'Empire, etc.

the there's 6 by Gee beauty for some Le Labo's.

Re: TM - ah, Anthropogie! I was thinking Teatra Verde, oops.

Re: Tauer. there IS an option... outside of GTA though, there's a shop called Saltridges and the owner (whom we met at the last meetup) carries his line I believe.

The Bay at Yorkdale started carrying an extensive collection of Bond no 9.

Found almost everything I wanted to try except for Silver Factory. Not very impressed with this house.

I have 2 bottles of Pure Havane for sale in Toronto if anyone's interested

I sold one and decided to keep the other Sorry man

I have a few backups of PH I may be able to let go. I know I have a few friends interested. If they pass on it, I could pm you.

Oupavoc, any chance you got Pure Malt lying around with no love? Wishful thinking I guess.

Funny you ask I do, but idk if I'll get rid of the backup yet. The only reason is that, about PH is because I have 3 bottles, mine and 2 backups. I only need one backup tbh. As for PM and PC I have mine and 1 backup. So idk if I'll get rid of them yet. Will see maybe later on. As I don't reach for them as much as the original tbh.

Lol, the pilot just hijacked his own plane


PS - Holt's now has the BYREDO line. And yes, full disclosure, I'm the SA. Stop by sometime for a chat.

cool, I have a friend that works at a holts...employee discount

PS - the next meetup has been announced here:

http://www.basenotes.net/threads/296...-Noor-Be-There!

If you decide to let a couple of em go, let me know

Next time in in Toronto, I'll def stop by

Can somone do a full out detailed review of the different fragrant stores in Toronto, kinda needs to be updated

Thanks! just wanted to know for next time I'm in Toronto where to go instead of just browsing around lol

Awesome thanks, will be in TO sometime is June/July will check a few posts, which ones best other then Holt Renfrew?

Duplicate...

Ok thanks, would be nice to meet up with a few from town, that know their way around tbh.

Thank you so much David for your wonderful list. Here is what I found from a visit in April 2012 (number in parenthesis is for the number of scents available) :

Holt Renfrew on Bloor : first stop. Byredo, Malle, Tom Ford, and many more.

Noor : Noor boutique is closed. I called April 7th, and they said they will reopen, hopefully in 3 months. New location is not known yet. I left my email so they let me know.

PIR : also carries L.T. Piver (3), Biehl (12), Mark Buxton (4-5)

Hermès boutique at 130 Bloor st West carries the Hermessence line.

Guerlain boutique at 110 Bloor st West carries Arsene Lupin, Bois d’Arménie, …

Anthropologie (mostly ladies scents) : Rather Novel (6), Ineke (5 - only the floral collection), By the Creators of Le Labo (5), Royal Apothics, Tocca (5), D.S. & Durga (3), Grove (1), Barr-Co (1), Oiseau, Lollia, Outremer (3 - formerly L’Aromarine).

Teatro Verde: Fresh.

TNT, in Hazelton Lanes mall : Comme des Garçons (20).

Andrews, in Hazelton Lanes mall : Amouage, Serge Lutens, Bond No 9.

Love of Mine: Tokyo Milk. Mostly sweet feminine scents, although No 45 from the Dark series caught my attention.

Jonathan & Olivia: Comme des Garçons (only 1 edt), Six Scents (1 from the Series 2), Malin & Goetz (3 – Lime tester was empty…). Candles.

"6 By Gee" : Le Labo. Not the limited editions.

"Putti", 1104 Yonge St. : I was surprised to see so many niche lines under one roof. Here is a list of what I saw, followed by the numbers of testers displayed :
Lorenzo Villoresi (8), Penhaligons (4, including Santorial), Dr. Vranjes (2), Santa Maria Novella (7), Speziali Fiorentini, Dr Harris (Arlington, Marlbourough, Pink A/S), Lothantique, Acca Kappa (3), Miller & Bertaux (3, including Green), l'Artisan (11), Susanne Lang (4), Profumo di Pantelleria (5: Profumo, Nica, Aire, Jaila, Maestrale), Piazzetta di Portofino (2), Violetta di Parma, Rancé (le Vainqueur), Jacques Zolty (3), I am (9), Ventilo (3), Lady Primrose, Crabtree & Evelyn.
And room scents from Antica Farmacista (4), Sedafrance, Agraria, Hervé Gambs (4), LV candles, ... I suggest you call before going because I feel they might not have everything in stock.
2 addresses : 1104 Yonge st, 416-972-7652, www.putti.ca
1765 Avenue Rd., which they say has less perfumes (I didn't go).

Delineation, 1110 Yonge: Antonia's Flower (2 scents).

Lisa warehouse sale happens twice a year, in May and in November.

And if someone is looking for Vetiver de Carven, there still were 2 bottles at Kingsway Drugs Pharmacy (114 Cumberland) in November 2011, for a very decent price.

Ewanika : never could make it, they are closed on Sunday.

Hope this helps.
Martin

Thanks for the update, I'm quite surprised that Putti carried any smellies.
It looked like every other antique/furniture shop along that stretch of Yonge.

is there any place in toronto that carries MDCI?
wanting to try invasion barbare