Fewer Dollars for Mother’s Day Scents
I would wager a guess that when it comes to Mother’s Day gifts, perfume heads the list. Before you head to the cosmetics counters of the department stores to make that purchase, consider some of the perfume discounters.
Many San Fernando Valley residents were saddened when Perfumeland in Van Nuys vanished several months ago. But relax, folks, it’s back!
Harvey Berlin has opened a new shop in the Valley, and the inventory is top-drawer. All the big names in fragrances are there, and the discounts run from 10% to 60% off retail. Berlin has an edge over some of the other discounters by carrying the latest scents. Some examples: Guerlain’s luscious Samsara is $40 (retail $45) for the eau de parfum one-ounce spray. Red, Giorgio’s hot fragrance, is $37 (retail $44) for a two-ounce eau de toilette spray. Lancome’s new entry, Tresor, is on the shelves at $25 (retail $32.50) for the one-ounce eau de parfum spray. Safari by Ralph Lauren, and Bijan (by Bijan, who else?) are 10% off. Not a big savings, but it’s surprising that they are discounted at all.
Perhaps, however, Mom has an old favorite. The deals on these are better by far. A three-ounce cologne spray of L’Hombre Rose is $39.50 at department store counters; here it’s $26.95. If Sal de Versailles is her favorite, you’re in luck. Instead of $39.50 for a three-ounce spray eau de Cologne, Berlin has tagged it at $19.95.
Often the department stores will drop a fragrance that has been on the market for a long time. If you’re a devotee of one of those fragrances of yesteryear, you have a chance of finding it here. Sinan, by Jean Marc Sinan, for example, retails (when you can find it) at $70 for the 3.3-ounce eau de toilette spray. It’s on the shelves at Perfume City for $39.
The ambience of Perfume City matches the product--small and bewitching.
Perfume City, 12215 Ventura Blvd., Studio City, (818) 763-1875. Hours: 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Monday through Saturday.
Another suggestion for mother is a gift basket from the Greenhouse Body Garden in the Glendale Galleria. All the products here are “as close to nature as possible.” A typical $20 gift basket would contain: a four-ounce bottle of aloe body lotion, custom-scented (about 60 scents are available); a four-ounce bottle of bath and shower gel (also custom-scented), peppermint foot treatment, bath oil beads and a bar of Greenhouse’s vegetable- or glycerin-based soap. Gift-wrapped and ready for Mom. How refreshing!
Greenhouse Body Garden, No. 3219 (next to Nordstrom on the second floor), Glendale Galleria, Central and Broadway, Glendale, (800) 442-4777.
Geri Cook’s Bargains column runs every Thursday in Valley View. Questions about shopping may be sent to her, in care of Valley View, Los Angeles Times, 20000 Prairie St., Chatsworth, CA 91311. Letters will not be answered individually, but topics of general interest will be discussed in future columns.
