... in response to Santa Claus is coming to town, posted by Montrealer on Dec 1, 2005If you buy her perfume, you might consider the O Boticário brand from Brazil. O Boticário means The Pharmacist, and is so named because it was started by a pharmacist who started making perfumes, colognes etc. on the side and built the largest chain of perfume/cosmetic stores in Brazil. Excellent products, reasonable prices.
I had used up all my O Boticário colognes after a few months back in the States, and wasn't sure how to replace them. I didn't want to buy cheapo stuff, but I didn't really want to pay an arm and a leg for designer stuff either. During my visit to Medellín, I could not find an equivalent Colombian brand, and the prices of imported colognes were quite high.
However, on the way to the Delta counter in the Miami airport on the way home, I passed a shop called Aroma&Co or something like that, with a poster that advertised O Boticário products. I had a fun chat in Portuguese with the clerk, who was from São Paulo, and bought a couple of bottles of cologne. The best part is the prices, about $22-$25, are about what you would pay in Brazil, and they can special order any products not in stock. The best men's colognes, IMNSHO, are, in descending order: Clipping, Classic, and Portinari. I know Colombians tend to pay a lot of attention to labels and brand names, so maybe O Boticário wouldn`t be "acceptable", but it`s a thought; definitely different.
Something I was thinking about the other day: in Brazil, walnuts are imported from Chile and are unbelievably expensive. I bought a bag of Emerald brand glazed (candied) walnuts at Costco last week for a pretty good price, and got to thinking that if I were to go back to Brazil and bring gifts for friends these would be a good choice-- not expensive for me, but a delicacy that would be almost entirely out of reach for them otherwise. Not the most romantic gift, of course.
