Beauty Brands I Discovered On My Travels (And Still Stick To). Part I
Hotel soaps. The greatest moral grey. Some call it stealing. I call it: included in the rate.
Disclaimer: The point of this article is to stay eager for details, keep your eyes open to aesthetic objects, and please your senses. NOT to force you to purchase anything.
Maison Louis Marie
Discovered in: Tbilisi, Georgia - via Le Chic Radical
Origin: France
Personal thoughts & story:
On a hot July day (I believe it was my first day in Tbilisi), I ran into Le Chic Radical, a small concept store on Vashlovani Street – just a few metres from No More Mondays (turned out to be my favourite coffee place in TBS). I went there on purpose: to buy a specific hand-crafted silver necklace with a heart pendant, but... My eyes fell on a selection of perfume bottles with a minimalistic design I had never seen before! Naturally, as a huge perfume lover, I was curious. Turned out, they were Maison Louis Marie, French niche oil perfumes – so I was even more excited to try them. After looong long minutes, I picked No.11 – La Thémis, which immediately became the scent of my Tbilisian (and later Istanbul) adventure!!
Btw, I still have some drops in my 3 ml mini bottle. And I still use it now and then (actually, I like an oil formula a lot), and as soon as I smell the mint, green leaves, and eucalyptus, I am hot girl summer Sakartvelo again...
The Naxos Apothecary
Discovered in: Athens, Greece
Origin: Greece
Personal thoughts & story:
Early March morning, the day before Greek Independence Day, I was heading to Naxos Apothecary. It’s just a few streets away from the Ergon Bakehouse where I was staying during my Athens trip. Despite the massive windows in the street, I still did not expect it would be so huge inside. Naxos’ flagship is not only a store, but a real laboratory with all the scarce materials to build a solid beauty/wellness product. I was welcomed with a cup of hot herbal tea and some local Greek halva sweets. I never drink tea, I never eat halva - still, I enjoyed it. Ended up buying nothing, I came for… BUT I am passing on the Greek wisdom I learned here: If you’re not hydrated, even the most expensive perfume won't last long on your skin. Amen and stay hydrated.
P.S.: Also, I really liked the selection of men's perfumes and that herbal tea.
111 Ellies
Discovered in: Athens, Greece, via Ace Hotel & Swim Club
Origin: Greece
Personal thoughts & story:
First thing I wanted to do after I unlocked my Room No. 303 (after a loooong ride from Athens Center to Glyfada) was… to clean my hands. Then, to jump on my king-size bed. And here I found this cute, beautifully designed mini box with the creamiest hand soap by 111 Elies - a family-run brand as old as I am!! I noted down (or better said, took a photo) the brand as usual and was happy to keep an eye on it as a possible gift for my close people. Check them out, pls.
And that's it for Part One. See you very soon!
Hope you’ll bump into something BEAUTIFUL this week.
Yours,
Liv