| rev:text
| - I appreciate the fact that French retailers refuse to take part in the North American experience, where anytime a business gets even a whiff of success the next step is to attach themselves to a commercial real estate company and plant their name in every shopping mall possible.
I don't know how successful L'Occitane is in Toronto, but I enjoy being able to go to a boutique in my favourite part of town and purchase skincare products with some sense of dignity. Rather than walking into a glitzed out store at a mall and feel awkward sharing the space browsing for things with other teenage girls. That alone deserves a star!
For a retailer on Bloor Street this place is very small, but not as orange as the entrance suggests. Products are merchandised in an organised fashion where a completely clueless man like me could walk into the store and categorically browse through all the goodies and remember where he saw what when asking for assistance from one of the two or three very busy salesgirls.
I came here to purchase something for my friend who has eczema, and I reiterated to the salesgirl that she had eczema, so I needed something for ultra-sensitive skin. The salesgirl obviously had no clue which one of the products worked with people with this condition, but suggested that I purchase a particular item. I again asked her whether if it could be used on people with eczema, and finally after the ninth time, she relented and said yes. This way the store held liability, not me--in the event that it all goes horribly wrong.
I came here on a Saturday, and the store was buzzing with sandal wearing women. The products were all very pricey, but could be purchased in bundles, or separately. It's about 30% more expensive than Kiehl's, but it looked nicer. Packaging was nicer, although it's either orange or aluminum. It's good, I guess.
When giving the gift to my friend, I saw slight hesitation in her. We were of course thinking of the same thing, but her less than courteous friends blurted out that "She has eczema, she can't useeee thattttt!" It made me feel very uncomfortable.
But it turned out that she could use it, and it worked quite well on her skin.
SO SUCK IT!
|