ASOS is an international online retailer shop settled in the UK that sells a great range of men and female fashion, beauty and jewellery products at great prices. Young people, from 16 to 34 y.o.a. are their preferred target. They cater for all sizes, from petite to oversized. In a way, ASOS is a "very fashionable right now" sort of shop, although they also sell items from well-known designers like Calvin Klein, Stella McCartney, Dita Von Teese, Ralph Lauren, and Armani Exchange among others. They even have a marketplace area to buy/sell pre-owned, second hand and vintage clothing.
Although usually ASOS is
not my cup of tea, this is a great place to shop from, and I especially like their lingerie and hosiery areas. I bought a
couple of fancy tights, which are ridiculously expensive in Australia, for a very good price.
ASOS offers free shipping to Australia on all standard orders, no matter how much (or how little) you spend. This is great, always, especially if you just fancy little cheap things, which you would not buy if you had to add a shipping fee.
ASOS' website is very
easy to browse, very simple and clean to the eye, still very well organised and extremely informative. They even have a corner
devoted to fashion trends. The photos are
zoomable, their refining search system fantastic, and Australian sizing
and prices are shown all the time as the ASOS Australia online site is
where you are automatically directed if you live in Australia.
Major credit/debit cards and
PayPal are accepted for payment, but you will need to register before checking out. ASOS stands out, to me, for the great service and diligence with which they fulfil your orders. I placed my order on a Sunday, and the parcel was posted that very day! This is the first time that an online shop does that, and I buy online a lot. Confirmation order and tracking link were provided a immediately, and the tracking link was updated and emailed to me once the parcel was handed over to Australia Post. My parcel (normal standard shipping) took less than a week to reach my place in Western Australia from the UK. That is... how to put it?... wow! That is what usually takes parcels from the Eastern States to reach WA.
391 Fitzgerald St North Perth Western Australia 6006 (08) 9227 0545
Wealthy Nails is conveniently located in the corridor leading to the Coles Supermarket at the North Perth Shopping Plaza. I have been going there since they opened. In fact, I was one of their first clients, and they have never failed to do their job properly and do it with friendliness and care. I usually go there for pedicure.
The place is family operated by a hard-working couple and their niece.
The place is simple, not posh, and they offer the usual services of manicure-pedicure, with massage spa chairs, at average prices.
Three main things set them apart from other similar salons. 1/ They treat you as a person 2/ They are extremely friendly and even affectionate. 2/ They do their whole pedicure routine without skipping any step (something that happens quite often elsewhere).
Although bookings are recommended, walk-ins are welcome, especially during weekdays and off-peak hours on Saturdays.
They have specials and discounted prices now and then.
665 Beaufort St Mt Lawley Western Australia 6050 (08) 9272 6867 Website Facebook Hours: Mon-Sat 10:00 - 17:00 Sun 11:00 - 16:00
Mariposa is one of my favourite words in Spanish and indeed one of those shops that honours their beautiful name. They are one of the few perfumerys, a real one, in Australia, and have a huge range of male and female perfumes from exclusive world perfumiers, Creed, L'Artisan, and Amuage included. I could expend my whole
salary buying the many fanciful good-quality divine-smell soaps,
creams, candles, sprays, perfumes and make-up items they have. Everything is chic and exclusive. They don't sell
mass-produced corporate-owned fashion brands, but perfumes and perfume-related products that have a piece of history in the History of Perfume,
or that have been making perfumes in a very hand-crafty sort of way,
or are very innovative in the products they use. Mariposa is, indeed, a niche perfumery.
The ambience of the shop is very clean and modern, with the wood shelves full of bottles of perfume for you to test, and their beautiful goods and packaging really shining. The shop is a bit small, but it is easy to browse around. Mariposa stands out not only for the products they sell, but also for their customer service. Mariposa's shop attendants are really wonderful. They will spend their time with you, generously, if you show interest in any of the perfumes, even if you say you aren't going to buy anything at the moment. They know their gild, and are passionate about what they sell, and about providing you with a great experience as a shopper. All the girls are approachable, chatty and very knowledgeable. Truly, they deserve the salary they get. They are that sort of shop attendants who can actually hold a conversation on perfume, instead of the usual lorikeets selling designer perfumes at Myers or David Jones. When you leave the shop, you leave feeling like a Royal, convinced that this is one of those places that truly understands what good service is and how to win customers. Mariposa has two main downsides. The first one is their simplistic website, with barely any information about the shop, brands they cater for, or even an online-shop or sample program, as other high-end perfumeries have overseas. This should be Mariposa's next step. Facebook, is a bit, how to put it?, too "popular" for such an exclusive shop.
The second downside is the fact that they rarely have samples. Or at least this has been my experience in the past. This is, actually, a big downside for a proper perfumery. You win people with samples, so you make sure that they the big perfume houses send you a big bunch of those.
MIND The products they sell are fantastic, high quality and very exclusive. Therefore, the prices have to match that. Still, you know that you pay the right price for the product, and that the prices are not inflated by the corporate brand behind the designer. These are nor corporate brands products, thank Gosh. Still, you can buy a box of adorable French Anisette drops or a posh Marseilles hand-wash or soap, and I am sure you can afford that. Sometimes you
have to forget about the world and indulge yourself, because life it is
too short, and you are a chic girl after all. Be grateful for being
able to afford things like these, and enjoy your whimsical purchase at
Mariposa.
On the other hand, they hold special perfume events and personalised attention from invited perfumiers. The last one was a hit, held on 8 and and an encore on 10 May 2013, with the presence of of Libertine's mastermind in the shop!
