Stéle — Local services in New York

Infuriating experience!! you have no idea what they really smell like, because you can only experience them through a ceramic disc that’s been sprayed god knows how many times, and they don’t let you test the scents any other way (on skin or on a test strip).

Great way to learn an expensive, non-returnable lesson!

I couldn’t read the handwritten label on a bottle so I picked it up just to read it and this salesgirl came down on me about not even touching the bottles.

They have the bottles out anyway and 20 security cameras on the shelves. It has nothing to do with theft. If you won’t let people smell the actual scent on their skin or a truly neutral surface before buying, you should also let them return it if they get it home and it smells nothing like 70 layers of drydown on a disc.

I find this store’s premise completely ridiculous. Even Aedes gives you a fresh spray of anything you ask for on a nice, labeled test card that you get to take home with you.

FULL DISCLOSURE - I’m also salty because they overcharged me for a bottle that was labeled for $30 less on the shelf, and when I asked why, they gave a vague bullshit answer about “tariffs.” Mind you the bottle is still listed on their site for $30 less...

The store has a diverse selection of niche fragrances, many of which you cannot find anywhere else in NY. BUT…. the experience inside is truly ruined by their policy of not letting you touch and test the bottles yourself. You can smell the scents on small ceramic discs, but if you want to try a perfume you must ask the staff to pick it up for you and spray it. I’m assuming this is to prevent theft but they have cameras all over anyway. I own a large collection of niche scents and have been to speciality fragrance shops all over the world and this restriction is highly uncommon. Like any luxury product, one wants to hold the bottle to see how it feels in the hand, to admire it from all sides. Not only does it feel stingy on their part like they’re trying to make the tester bottles last longer, it just feels icky and infantilizing and as if they’re treating you like a criminal. If it weren’t for this I’d give it 5 stars as the curation and...

Amazing experience shopping here-

The store is beautiful, the masonry of the displays is breathtaking- the saleswoman on staff was so gentle- the system of clay tablets allowed us to fully explore a range of bottles without getting overwhelmed by people spraying contrasting perfumes into the air every three minutes

For this reason and others, restricting customers from handling the bottles is a fantastic policy in my opinion!

I’ve been searching for months to find even one perfume that suits me, in this selection I was able to find four incredible scents by houses I can’t find in any other store. The person choosing these scents is a beautiful genius who has a genuine interest in natural, artisan grade perfumes from around the world, and an artists eye for...