ROME + WEATHER + FOOD & DRINK + SHOPPING +
ARTS & CULTURE + MOVIES + FUN + SERVICES + BEAUTY + HEALTH & FITNESS + KIDS + SURVIVAL GUIDE + BLOG
HOTELS & LODGING + WEEKEND GETAWAYS + LANGUAGE + MEET THE ROMANS + SCHOOLS + ABOUT US +
ADVERTISE WITH US + ROME READING LIST + ROME PLAYLISTS

Site Map

Our Italian Playlists

Rome Fashion Shopping:
Spanish Steps + Pantheon + Campo de' Fiori + Trastevere + Piazza Navona + Monti + San Lorenzo + Parioli
More Shopping:
Beauty and Fragrance +Bookstores + Designer Discounts + Flea Markets + Florists + Gifts + Gourmet Foods + Kids +Historic Pharmacies +Home Furnishings + Department Stores

The Best in Rome

Rome Shopping: BEAUTY AND FRAGRANCE

Pro Fumum Durante
Specializing in the ancient art of creating and bottling fragrances, the artisans of the Durante family produce perfumes, soaps, incense and candles. Each of their fourteen scents is accompanied by a poem, describing the perfume's romantic properties. In addition to their own line, the four Durante shops carry hard-to-find French and English imports, including products from Jean LaPorte's Maitre Perfumerie et Gantier, famous for having revived formulas from the 17th century. Other stars in the line up: perfumes by Andrée Putnam, Fréderic Malle, British perfume maker Miller Harris, the complete line of oil-based fragrances and objects from Neapolitan Bruno Acamparo, and the Australian cosmetics line Aesop.  
Via della Colonna Antonina 30 tel 06 679 5982
Via Ripetta,10 tel 06 320 0306 (Spanish Steps)
Piazza G. Mazzini, 4 tel 06 321 7920 (Prati)
Viale Angelico, 87/89 tel 06.372 579 (Prati)

Olfattorio Bar à Parfums
There are some 200 perfumes to try at this olfactory "bar", where owners Gaidano and Renata de Rossi will you invite you to sit at their "bar", where you can comfortably sample the various aromas from spicey to musky to floral. Among the labels y ou'll find here: L'Artisan Parfumeur, Diptyque, Penhaligon's, Comptoir Sud, Rosine.
Via di Ripetta 34 tel 06 361 2325

International Pharmacy
Stocking the complete line of Dr. Perricone skin care products, as well as French imports such as Rêve de Provence, and one of the few pharmacies in Rome to stay open at night.
Piazza Barberini, 49 tel. 06.482 5456 Open daily, Saturday and Sunday evenings only from 7:30 pm.

Lush
You could be forgiven for mistaking this soap shop for a candy store. The soaps, sold in bins, are ball-shaped and candy-colored and many of them are food-scented, with names like “Besame Mucho” for a a chocolate–based soap, and "Bibi", for one scented with cloves and mint. Shop for bath and shower gels, massage oils, face and body creams with names like “One Man, One Cream,” “Symphony for the Skin” and “Tiramas.” Their shaving cream is called “Blade Runner.” All the products are made by hand, with no animal products or animal testing. Gift boxes, looking just like candy boxes, are also available.
Via Baulari, 112 tel. 06.683 01810 (Campo dei Fiori)
Via del Gambero, 25 (Spanish Steps)

MAC
The Canadian line, coveted by makeup artists and fashionisti, has a flagship store in Rome, complete with makeup artists available for advice, lessons and makeovers. This shop carries the complete line including Mac Pro for professional makeup artists.
Via del Babuino, 124 tel. 06 67 92 989 Also in the COIN department store on via Cola di Rienzo in Prati.

Materozzoli
Kiehls addicts will be thriled to find that the line is available in this Rome profumeria, but distressed to find that the prices are up to double what they pay in New York. The shop carries some of the most expensive and luxurious products for bath and beauty (Lorenzo Villanezi, Institut Karité, La Compagne de Provence), as well as shaving items, jewelry, hair accessories, and, strangely, a selection of fine quality knives.
Piazza San Lorenzo in Lucina, 5 tel. 06.688 92686

Ai Monasteri
In this charming old shop, still furnished wth the original polished wooden fixtures, you’ll find products from the monasteries of Italy: soaps and bath and beauty items, fragrant oils and essences, candies, chocolates, cakes and marmalades, all hand-made, charmingly packaged and reasonably priced. Ask to take home the catalogue.
Corso Rinascimento 72 tel. 06.688 02783 (Piazza Navona)

Roma Store
A fragrant oasis in the midst of Trastevere, the shop stocks exclusive perfumes from all over Europe, as well as fragrant candles, soaps and incense. You’ll find Aqua di Parma, Lorenzo Villoresi, L’Occitane, Annick Goutal and many other exclusive brands not available elsewhere. The window displays (pictured at left), which are changed monthly, are works of art created by scenic designer Enrico Miglio.
Via della Lungaretta, 63 tel. 06. 581 87 89 (Trastevere)

Santa Maria Novella
These luxury products, which originated in a Domenican monastery in Florence in 1621, are now available in outlets from Neiman Marcus in Beverly Hills and Houston to boutiques in Osaka, Tokyo, Paris, Brussels and London. The Rome shop, beautifully outfitted with polished wooden shelves and cabinets, sells the complete line, from essential essences to liquors, soaps, lotions and bath products, with help available from a multi-lingual sales staff. Try the almond hand cream or the potpourri. Expensive but worth it.
Corso del Rinascimento, 47 tel. 06.687 9608 (Navona)

Sephora
The Roman outpost of the cosmetic superstore is in the lower-level shopping arcade at the main train station, Stazione Termini. Like its counterparts in France and America, it's almost always crowded. The merchandise varies a little from country to country. Here you'll find lower-priced lines like L'Oreal as well as more costly Chanel, Dior and Yves Saint Laurent, and the Sephora trademark range.
(Stazione Termini) Also in Via del Corso near Piazza del Popolo.

Ufficina Nazionale
The place to shop for an excellent selection of soaps, lotions and unguents with labels hard to find in Rome, particularly the popular English Neil’s Yard range.
Via della Reginella 3 (Campo de' Fiori)

Back to home page

In Rome Now Travel Guide: Shopping in Rome, Italy