Any recommendations in HI?

I haven't shopped in Honolulu for a while, but I don't know of any perfume stores other than the chains like Sephora. And I'm fairly sure that there aren't any on the outer islands.

There are two perfume makers there that might interest you, though. Saffron James makes four very nicely done (and expensive) fragrances based on island flowers. Malie Kaua'i makes exquisite (also expensive) soaps, lotions, and home fragrances. I'm guessing that you will find those in a shop or two on O'ahu and Maui.

We do have a member or two that live in Honolulu. Maybe they will chime in! Have fun, Ecaruthers, and good luck avoiding those tourist traps!

Hi again. I have bought both on the internet, and the Malie on Kaua'i as well, but I assume that they are carried in nice shops on all the islands. I could be wrong You may want to e-mail them? BTW, I love the Malie hand creams and fragrance diffusers. I like all four of the SJ perfumes, but I'm currently most impressed with Le'a (plumeria) and Nani (pikake).

If you like soap, I recommend the North Shore Soap Factory on O'ahu (wonderful bars based on kukui oil and other good things), and Rainbow Ridge Farm on Maui makes great goat milk soaps.

Have a great time, and say hi to my islands for me!

Aloha EC! While on Oahu, you could visit the Ala Moana Shopping Ctr. It's gigantic. As you mentioned, lots of high-end - Chanel boutique, for instance, carries the Les Exclusifs line. There's also a Hermes boutique there, although I've never ventured in there (yet!). Also have not been in the Dior boutique in years, so I can't even tell you what they have fragrance-wise. Ala Moana also has many of the typical mall stores, some better than others - Sephora, L'Occitane, Origins. The "anchor" stores are Macy's, Sears, Nordstrom, and Neiman Marcus.

If you are interested in sniffing the SJ, you should probably visit the Nordstrom in the newest wing of the mall. That's where I sniffed the first 3 of her line (haven't sniffed the new one yet).

The only other place I've seen the SJ is a kiosk at Kahala Mall. Kahala Mall is a little further east, a few miles outside of Waikiki. It's a cute little mall and very family-friendly, but I don't know if that's what you want...

I've heard many nice things about the Malie Kaua'i line but do not remember where I saw them last.

There are new stores opening at Ala Moana all the time. Something tells me that there is a specialty/niche line that just opened in the new wing, but I'm not sure (I was in a hurry when it caught my eye and had no time to investigate). Maybe on my next shopping trip, I could do a little reconnaissance (sp?) for you.

I haven't been to Maui in years and definitely not since starting the perfume hobby in earnest.

Are you looking for lines carried only in Hawaii (or somehow tied to Hawaii) or are you looking for good places for perfume shopping generally?

I'm not sure how long you are staying in Honolulu, but I have a couple more ideas at the moment.

1 - Maybe it would be worth your time to take a trip to Kahala Mall. So there is a little kiosk that carries the SJ, I think. (Not really a big deal, b/c I might just do Nordies where I know that they have the testers set out.) However, the other thing that might make your trip there worthwhile is the new-ish Whole Foods Market. As you may already know, WF is big into supporting local suppliers/farmers/artists. I stopped there for a cup of tea this a.m. and took a quick walk through their personal/body care items and found some things that might interest you:

• The entry to this section of the store is set up with a big table piled high with soaps made locally. I believe one was called something like "hawaiian bath and body" and had scents like plumeria, chocolate, and maybe mango-with-something. The other side of the table had another line (had patchouli and maybe two other types?). Both lines sell their soaps by the ounce. Plenty to choose from and they seemed to move well over the holidays.
• As you enter the department, there's a long shelf on the right with more things. Today, they had set up the end of the shelf with candles made in Hawaii. These soy candles are cast in gourds (at least I think they are gourd or gourd-like) - i.e., the containers are a beautiful dark, polished nut-brown. The candles are scented with tea, florals, etc. They would make great gifts.
• Just around the other side of the aisle I found 2-3 more lines. One is the same "hawaiian bath and body" as the soaps at the front table, but they also have some lotions, etc. There was maybe a skin care line and also a line of products made with honey...which reminds me...

2 - Every Saturday morning, there is a farmers' market at the Kapiolani Community College (KCC). KCC is located on the slope of Diamond Head, and I believe that there are several city buses that stop there. The farmers' market opens at 7 or 730 and closes at 1030 or 11. Besides a nice (and mostly inexpensive) selection of fresh fruit and veggies (perfect if you are staying in a condo??), there are locally made products that I see visitors taking back as gifts, including...honey! I'm trying to remember if I've seen much in the way of soaps or candles, but I think it's a nice little Saturday morning diversion. One of my favorite vendors sells organic produce from Maui - yummy. I've also seen visitors purchasing things that you can only get in Hawaii, like jellies or jams made with lilikoi, poha, etc.

You are right, btw, about avoiding tourist traps & not wasting your money there. There's an inexpensive line or two that are carried in the Longs Drug chain...I took a sniff - it's beyond foul.

OK, I will let you know if/when I make it to the big mall...