Attention shoppers: Step away from that Bath & Body Works gift basket. Whether you're on the hunt for a gift for your bath-obsessed mom or your brother's girlfriend you've never met, we know that lotions and potions are a perpetual pleaser. If you're looking to pamper a special someone (yourself included) head to these indie boutiques and local outposts of coveted brands.
This Wicker Park bath and body shop combines West Coast-inspired tranquility with Midwestern coziness. A river-stone fireplace and flat-screen TV accent the aqua-and-chocolate-colored store’s lodge-like quality, while hand-cut soaps by California-based Splash and antioxidant-filled creams by Beautea evoke the feeling of a sleek and sophisticated spa. Vegan body butters and bath salts by Bubble Roome and Egyptian cotton pajamas by BedHead pack grown-up appeal, while colorful bath toys keep things kid-friendly. If this sounds like the perfect recipe for some quality R&R, you have owner Tonja Gies to thank—the former insurance broker, who got the idea for her bath boutique while vacationing in California, understands the calming effect a change of scenery can have.
Expansive and bright with seemingly endless cabinets of white marble and blond wood, bluemercury is a virtual mecca for high-end and hard-to-find skin care and cosmetics. Many lines carried here are semi-exclusive, such as Parisian skin-care line Darphin and Creed fragrances, available only here and Barney's New York. Cult favorites include Remede's pore minimizing mask and Sud Pacifique's vacation-inspired frangrances. Other coveted lines include Paula Dorff, Mario Badesco, Laura Mercier and Acqua di Parma, and for guys, skin care by Anthony, Kiehl's and UK line Molton Brown. The store also hosts monthly events with guest representatives from cosmetic and skin care lines.
You'll find the full skin and body care line of cult favorite Kiehl's at the brand's only Chicago store, from hand salves to face masks to shampoo. The helpful staff here knows the products from A to Z and will help dream up a custom gift basket for anyone on your gift list. And if you don't want to brave the Armitage parking scene, call ahead for curb-side service.
Located in Bucktown, Mojo Spa features feminine frills with a bohemian twist. Every beauty product, created by owner Amanda Kezios, is handmade, using the freshest of ingredients. Antique armoires and tables, swathed in pink, display various products packaged in kitschy designs, including chocolate truffle body scrub, bath bombs shaped like cupcakes and candles melted into martini glasses. Winning the prize for cheekiest product names are Bahama Mama bronzing lotion, Midas Touch hand cream and Light My Fire lip balm.
Score the well-loved bath bombs and body scrubs from this London-based purveyor at its Armitage location, which opened in 2004. Since then, mini-shops within Macy's State Street and Watertower Place have also popped up. The entire collection -- fragrances, hair care, lotions, massage bars and solid shampoos -- is all natural and handmade from very fresh products (meaning use 'em or lose 'em). The irresistable market-style arrangement allows you to chop your own chunk of soap -- all with clever names, from "Honey I Washed The Kids" to "Gratuitous Violets" -- from gigantic loafs lined up on tables.
The sizable Armitage outpost of L'Occitane stocks the brand's full line of high-end beauty, bath and home products imported from Provence, France.
[ Lisa Arnett is the Metromix suburbs and shopping producer. lmarnett@tribune.com ]
