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Know any good perfume stores in London?

post #1 of 20
8/6/12 at 11:32am
Thread Starter 
Hi!

I'm hopefully off to London soon and I was wondering if anyone has recommendations for places I should visit.

I plan on sniffing/buying mostly niche fragrances but if anyone knows about places in central London where I may find vintages and other hard-to-get fragrances it too would be hugely appreciated.



Thanks



Geir
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post #2 of 20
8/6/12 at 11:34am
You could try checking the UK sub-forum of the City Shopping Guides.
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post #3 of 20
8/6/12 at 11:41am
Thread Starter 
Thanks! I will take a look..
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post #4 of 20
8/6/12 at 11:46am
Seen this one?

http://persolaise.blogspot.nl/2011/0...ing-guide.html
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post #5 of 20
8/6/12 at 11:48am
Thread Starter 
Yup! That page is already bookmarked..
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post #6 of 20
8/6/12 at 12:05pm
Harrods, Liberty, Selfridges are the main ones.
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post #7 of 20
8/6/12 at 1:08pm
Les Senteurs is great. The one on Seymour Street isn't far from Selfridges, and is a very friendly place.
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post #8 of 20
8/6/12 at 1:19pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by Sol invictus View Post

Harrods, Liberty, Selfridges are the main ones.

+1 Harrods and Selfridges, and Harvey Nichols is worth a visit.
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post #9 of 20
8/6/12 at 1:36pm
Thread Starter 
Great! Thanks for all replies! Making notes like crazy here...
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post #10 of 20
8/6/12 at 1:39pm
Parfums de Nicolai and Santa Maria Novella have shops in South Kensington. Not a far walk from Harrod's, so I'd recommend that. And there's a Chanel boutique in between.

Edited to add: As Persolaise says, Angela Flanders is worth visiting, but is only open on Sundays from 10-3. However, you can also find her perfumes in her daughter's shop, Precious, which is open Mon-Sat, and is right near Liverpool Street station. Worth checking out.
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post #11 of 20
8/6/12 at 2:58pm
Harrod's, Harvey Nichols and Dover Street Market for some Comme des Garçons.
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post #12 of 20
8/6/12 at 3:05pm
Thread Starter 
I now have the following places that needs a visit:


Harvey Nichols
Beauty Base
John Lewis
Debenhams
House Of Fraser\t
Les Senteurs
Liberty
Fortnum & Mason
Harrods
Space NK
Selfridges
Royal Exchange
Dover Street Market
Avery Fine Perfumery
Browns

Am I missing some places that carry brands that the stores mentioned above don't?

PS: Thanks for all the tips guys!
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post #13 of 20
8/6/12 at 10:10pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by The_Drake View Post

I now have the following places that needs a visit:

Harvey Nichols
Beauty Base
John Lewis
Debenhams
House Of Fraser\t
Les Senteurs
Liberty
Fortnum & Mason
Harrods
Space NK
Selfridges
Royal Exchange
Dover Street Market
Avery Fine Perfumery
Browns

Am I missing some places that carry brands that the stores mentioned above don't?

PS: Thanks for all the tips guys!

If you're doing the trip down Oxford Street from Liberty to Selfridges, you may as well also check out Fenwick's, as it's along the way. If you're in any kind of a hurry, then department store-wise, you could probably skip Debenhams, House of Fraser, John Lewis, and Space NK. You won't find anything there that you wouldn't find in Liberty, Selfridges, Harvey Nichols, and Harrods.

I still say you need to go to Nicolai and Santa Maria Novella.
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post #14 of 20
8/6/12 at 11:02pm
http://www.basenotes.net/threads/193940-London

http://www.theage.com.au/travel/acti...0429-amoi.html


Persolaise's guide will be the most current.
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post #15 of 20
8/7/12 at 7:30am
The route I would take from Selfridges would be down South Molton Street, stop off at Browns, left onto Brook Street (Jo Malone and Sonia Rykiel on one side of the street, Penhaligons on the other), right onto New Bond Street (keep going until you get to the crossroads with Conduit Street, the Hermes boutique there has all their fragrances), carry on down to Old Bond Street for a stop off at Ormonde Jayne in the Royal Arcade (opposite MaxMara), then when you get to Piccadilly cross to the other side of the street and turn left for Santa Maria Novella at Piccadilly Arcade and Fortnum & Mason a little further down, exit at the back of F&M, you are on Jermyn Street. Turn left for Czech & Speake and Floris. A bit further on, on Duke of York Street that is off Jermyn Street is Trumpers. Double back, up the alley at the side of the Church and back onto Piccadilly, turn right. At the first pedestrian crossing, cross the road then head up the narrow road between the buildings, under the stone arch and onto Regents Street. Turn left, head up that way, you'll go past yet another Penhaligons (try and blag yet more samples here ) and eventually you will get to Libertys on the other side of the road.
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post #16 of 20
8/7/12 at 9:34am
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There have been plenty of suggestions before me which I agree with but I would also suggest that you check the Now Smell This blog's guide to fragrance shopping in London:

Quote:
http://www.nstperfume.com/perfume-shopping-in-london/

This is a very concise list indeed and well worth bookmarking!
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post #17 of 20
8/7/12 at 11:52am
Thread Starter 
Great guide andym72! Thanks! I will surely take notes and visit the places you mention.
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post #18 of 20
8/7/12 at 2:08pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by The_Drake View Post

Great guide andym72! Thanks! I will surely take notes and visit the places you mention.

No Problem. I see from Persolaise guide that I've been missing out one stop in my "lap" - Avery Fine Perfumery on Avery Row, which connects to Brook Street where Jo Malone and Penhaligons are. I also forgot another - head west from Hermes along Bruton Street and you get to the Miller Harris boutique.

He also says he prefers the Penhaligons in Covent Garden... but like every store in Covent Garden, its overrun with tourists I prefer the much smaller stores at either end of Bond Street (Brook Street or Burlington Arcade), you are usually the only customer in there and the staff in either love having chats with true fragheads (the same day someone posted on here that they had heard about what became Juniper Sling, I got into a long conversation with the staff in the Burlington Arcade and picked up some scoop info).

Being dragged by my wife into the Penhaligons on Brook Street to try Blenheim Bouquet is how all this madness started!
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post #19 of 20
3/16/13 at 10:09am
Liberty, Selfridges, Harrods, Les Senteurs.

- - - Updated - - -

Quote:
Originally Posted by Beftus View Post

Seen this one?

http://persolaise.blogspot.nl/2011/0...ing-guide.html

A great resource!
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post #20 of 20
4/25/13 at 4:14am
Get off the tube at Marble Arch. Go to Les Senteurs in Seymour Place. Walk the back streets to Selfridges, on to South Molton Street, Jo Malone in Brook Street, then finish off in Liberty. If you stay away from Oxford Street, should not be too crowded, either. Leon just outside Liberty is a half-decent place for a healthy cheap-ish meal, and there's Le Pain Quotidien outside Liberty as well if you want a little classy and continental. I think price-wise, Les Senteur is best but have never set out to compare prices directly.
Oh, and Dover Street Market (Green Park Tube) may look slightly pretentious, but they have ALL Comme des Garcons fragrances in one place.
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