An Essential Pause for the Weary of the Mall
WHEN THAT TRIP TO THE MALL’S CHOLESTEROL COURT JUST WON’T DO: If you’re searching for genuine shopping relief, an oasis where you won’t be tempted by a cheeseburger and fries, sail into the Aveda Esthetique in Beverly Center.
They sell aromatherapy there, and it’s the real stuff. Products, from orange-and-tangerine household cleansers to beeswax candles you can scent yourself, feature genuine “essential oils” distilled from plants and flowers--not the synthetic fragrances found in many of today’s bath-and-body products.
There’s an assortment of pre-blended perfumes created from essential oils and plenty of single-note scents. The latter ($9 to $300 an ounce) can be combined to create your own perfume.
In addition to smelling as appealing as newly mowed grass, the shop looks warm, clean and fresh, with pale, blond cabinets of curly maple housing an extensive array of Aveda products.
There’s a selection of aroma jewelry, ranging from $15 hairpins from India to $2,600 carved amethyst perfume bottles that can be worn medallion-style. And in the back, a mini-salon provides shoppers with facials and scalp/head/neck massages while they listen through headphones to stress-reducing music by artists like Enya.
There’s only one problem. The store, the only Aveda Esthetique west of Minneapolis, is so inviting it tends to be unpleasantly crowded on weekends.
DEAR HOT: My 11-year-old goes to camp in a few weeks and is terrified of being labeled unhip by his bunkmates. What gear might help save him from unfavorable peer pressure?
DEAR HOT SHOPPER: Steve Slavkin, co-author of “Salute Your Shorts: Life at Summer Camp,” suggests you confine your shopping to Army-Navy surplus stores (“ponchos that turn into two-man survival tents are cool”), The Gap, Eddie Bauer shops and sporting goods stores.
“Mesh and neon colors are cool. You want to stay away from nose plugs, orange flotation swim bubbles, T-shirts that say ‘I’m with Stupid’ and things with Alf on them,” says Slavkin, who’s also the creator of “Salute Your Shorts,” the camp comedy for kids on Nickelodeon.
“It’s cool to have your name on the back of your shirt, but if it’s in big fuzzy letters it’s not cool,” he adds. “And any sneakers that have a device you can pump are cool.”
