Space NK Men - Soho

The only Space NK exclusively for men. It's in Soho, of course

10 Broadwick Street
Soho, London, W1F 8HW
020 7734 3734

Heals - Tottenham Court Road

I have been coveting a silver pouffe at Heals for a while now, so as soon as I got my first full month's paycheck I ran to the Tottenham Court store. It was still there, under a pile of sheepskin rugs and assorted pillows and bean bag chairs. No price. I wandered around looking for a sales clerk to help me, but they were all otherwise occupied with yuppie & middle-class looking couples buying sets of furniture or expensive textiles. Finally, I managed to flag someone down. She begrudgingly looked the price up - £120. I had the cash, so I plonked down my debit card. She picked it up, and said. "We don't take electron," then turned her back on me. That was it. She didn't ask for another card, of which I have too many. She didn't ask for cash, nothing. I though "electron" was another name for debit cards. Now I know better. When I left, I couldn't help but notice the irony of the sign wishing me goodbye.


Perhaps it's not ironic, just honest.

The Heal's Building
196 Tottenham Court Road
London W1T 7LQ

020 7636 1666

Smelling like Paris at Macy's - Union Square

I've been to Paris in the summer, and all I can say is that I would not want to smell like that. The same goes for Paris Hilton. Does anyone really want to smell like her? What about Britney Spears? If all those photos of her going commando in various miniskirts are to be believed, she's a worse hoochie than Paris. Yet, they both have their names on perfumes. Why would Macy's waste valuable Christmas window real estate featuring photos of celebrities who endorse perfumes? Will the marketing spin ever end? Are we, as consumers, so stupid that we think the people on our lists will like this kind of swill?

It may seem like I'm picking on Macy's, lately. I actually love the flagship stores, San Francisco and New York. The Manhattan flagship is an institution equaled by no other, and, since the renovation a couple of years ago, the San Francisco store is even better. Unfortunately, Macy's doesn't successfully carry the brand throughout their stores. The Santa Rosa Macy's, is just not equal to the San Francisco Macy's, neither is the store in Corte Madera, Westminster, Long Island..... you get the point. This is why a pedestrian store, such as Nordstrom has just a high reputation among those who say they are "born to shop." The Nordstrom in San Francisco is pretty much the same as the one in Walnut Creek. The Scottsdale Nortstrom is similar to the one in Roosevelt Field. Macy's' flagships far surpass the others, but out in the suburbs, shoppers are subjected to rows and rows of, Inc, Charter Club and all those other house brands Macy's has manufactured in China. Eventually, it will be like Marks and Spencers, selling only house labels. I'm not sure why Macy's does this, but it seems to me that they underrate their customers. Are we really going to think we're in Manhattan where we're shopping at a low-end Macy's in Colma? I think not.

170 O'Farrell Street
San Francisco, CA 94102
415.397.3333

Lush – Union Square & The Marina,

It was a happy day when Lush’s first shop in the US opened in San Francisco. Every time I walk by the Powell street shop, and smell the particular aroma of Lush unguents wafting out onto the street and mixing with gasoline fumes and damp air, I think, “Aaah, that’s the smell of London.”

Inside the shop, the lovely, natural products smell good enough to eat. My favorite is the Butterball, a fizzing bath bomb of shea butter. The soaps are nice too, great for sensitive skin. They’re cut off big blocks and wrapped like cheese. My personal favorites are Honey I Washed the Kids, made of honey; the orange juice and cinnamon soap, Red Rooster, which is, by the way, a great hangover remedy; Rockstar, I don’t know what’s in it but it smells like Barbie; and Banana Soap with fresh bananas and yoghurt.

I love Lush but there are a few weird products that I don’t quite know what to do with. For example, their bath jellies look like big slabs of gelatin. Are you supposed to rub it all over your body? The shop girl suggested freezing a piece, then taking it into the shower on a hot day. That may be good in Georgia, but how many hot days do we get in San Francisco? Then there are the shampoo bars. They’re bit too earthy for me. It feels like you’re washing your hair with a bar of soap, and I don’t like a wet blob melting away in my shower.

Lush has finally started selling shampoo in a bottle, though. Big shampoo is fantastic, as is American Cream double conditioner. It’s great for those of us who have an over processed tangled haystack on our heads. not to mention the nice vanilla smell – yummy!

A few imposters have opened with the same concept as Lush but nothing I’ve tried so far comes close to the smell of the real ingredients and the nice way Lush feels on your skin. I’m beginning to sound like an advert for Lush, so I’ll just stop now.

240 Powell St, San Francisco, 94102 - 415.693.9633
2116 Union St, San Francisco, 94123 - 415.921.5874