Profile

Operated independently since 1960, this Chelsea fixture has withstood the neighborhood’s chain-store barrage to become widely known for its attentive service and eclectic, well-edited selection. Abby Fazio, a co-owner with her husband John, has culled more than 100 brands from a dozen countries by quizzing locals in Italy about their fragrance picks (the hand-labeled Palazzo Vecchio line), and friends in her native Greece about their skincare secrets (Apivita’s honey-enhanced Propoline collection). The Fazios, who worked together here for eighteen years before marrying, overhauled the store in 2003 using Germany’s tidy, service-heavy pharmacies as a model. Fazio relishes organic and natural products and tests every item; fewer than ten percent make the cut. She eschewed parabens in formulating the store’s own orange-scented soaps, which are triple-milled twice in France. The golden blonde can usually be spotted on the lustrous wood sales floor explaining detoxifying tinctures (available at the nutrition boutique in back) to blemish-ridden teens, or directing Fashion Week stylists to the coveted Batiste dry shampoo. Tropics-bound models go gaga for Oenobiol pre-tanning supplements, and discerning gentlemen pluck Vichy Homme creations from a well-stocked men’s aisle. And there’s always room for the neighborhood’s fleet of well-groomed pooches, who pop in for free organic biscuits. — Rose Reis

Senior citizens, makeup artists, and hair stylists receive a ten percent discount.

Related Stories

Featured In

• Gift List 2005: Dad (11/28/05)
• Taming Frizzy Summer Hair (7/25/05)
• Wick Appeal (6/6/05)
• Dirty Blonde (or Brunette…) (1/19/05)