Enfleurage is the kind of shop that seems somewhat endangered on the streets of Manhattan’s West Village these days: intimate, independently owned, and quirkily specialized in its merchandise. If you’re walking past its open door, you might be lured in by the colorful focal point of brightly tinted and patterned soaps arranged on a central table. Once you’re inside, you’ll realize why this business is particularly well known for its selection of essential oils, which the owner of Enfleurage has gathered from locations around the world.
Enfleurage’s catalogue of essential oils includes everything from the familiar (various types of lavender, tea tree, and geranium oils) to the rare (white rose otto, Corsican pine, spikenard). The shop’s staff members are available to offer aromatherapy advice, if you’re seeking an oil to aid you with a particular emotional or physical issue. They can also assist you in differentiating between several varieties of jasmine, for example, and they can tell you the background and origins of any particular essence…
