A day for smart shoppers

Ingrid Millet’s first store in Beijing

The beauty of going for the new

 

By Annie Wei

Here is a secret about spas and beauty salons: new ones offer the best quality for the lowest prices. They have to impress in order to build a solid clientele, so they offer cheap yet impressive service.

Ingrid Millet, a newcomer in Beijing, is a big beauty salon chain in Hong Kong with about 30 outlets. The company is named after its founder, French cosmetologist Ingrid Millet, who made the discovery that plant cellular extracts have a rejuvenating effect on the skin. She became the first to use these botanical ingredients in cosmetics to combat premature skin aging.

The brand has since produced a range of beauty creams, like Perle de Caviar essential and Bio Elita for facial care. Its ReGen skin care service, which improves the skin condition, is also not bad.
 
The brand began expanding on the Chinese mainland market in 2006 and has opened a dozen stores in Guangdong and Sichuan Province. Its shop at The Village is far smaller than those in Hong Kong and Guangzhou, but it retains the company’s signature clean and contemporary decor. The place has four treatment rooms in which customers can lie down and enjoy a one-hour facial.  After a facial, customers can try on Millet’s makeup products. The store has a makeup consultant on hand for customers who need extra help.

The shop is offering a special package until the end of this month: 1,000 yuan for 10 facials. Customers can also choose from a range of other services that cost 180 to 250 yuan. Members get a 12-percent discount on Millet products.
 
Ingrid Millet
Where: S14 (opposite DHC on Underground Level 1, The Village, 19 Sanlitun Lu, Chaoyang District
Open: 10 am – 10 pm 
Tel: 6413 0183 

Alessi egg holder and spoon

A new option for smart shoppers

 

 

By Annie Wei

The opening of Sundan, a home appliance store, at The Village should be exciting news in these penny-pinching times.

The shop is the first in Beijing for the Shenzhen-based company known for affordable but durable products.

The store’s home appliance section is probably what draws the most customers. Visitors can freely touch high-tech products like laptops, cell phones and digital camera; other giant chains sometimes display replicas of the products only.
 
Compared to other distributors in Zhongguancun, Sundan’s digital products are from legit manufacturers with quality assurance.

Sundan has a good selection of water and air purifiers, including Sweden-made Blueair sold exclusively at its stores. The air purifier is available in four models that cost from 2,780 to 6,980 yuan. 

Cleansui, a line of water purifiers manufactured by Mitsubishi Bayon, has models priced from 550 to 3,900 yuan. The small 500-yuan purifier is a good match for individuals who live in a compact apartment, while the 3,900-yuan model is ideal for a family. Sundan offers free installation for each purchase. Take note that the purifier’s cartridge needs to be changed every one-and-a-half to two years.

The appliance store also boasts of a household equipment section called Nature Living. It does not look as fancy as Pastry-Magic at Nali Patio, but it offers a wide selection of merchandise at reasonable prices.

Its Alessi wine opener (328-388 yuan) and pepper shaker (388 yuan), for instance, are 50 percent cheaper than in Shin-Kong Plaza and Lufthansa. Its air freshner Geruchas Killer, which is made in Germany and is environmentally friendly and lasts for over 30 years, costs from 500 to 1,200 yuan. 

Wine lovers can also find here high quality crystal products priced from 42 to 86 yuan.

Sundan
Where: B1-36, The Village, 19 Sanlitun Lu, Chaoyang District
Open: 10 am – 10 pm
Tel: 6415 3443 (Nature Living); 6415 4732 (Sundan) 

Chocolate art for sale

Chocolate as art

 

 

By Annie Wei

People have been flocking to Comptoir de France’s shop on Dongzhimen Wai to see a display of “chocolate art.” The exhibition by some French artists showcases chocolate bars engraved w French words and Chinese characters. 

The event, called Recherche du Temps Perdu, or Search for Lost Time and Remembrance of Things Past, is also the title of a popular French novel.

The exhibit, which is free and open to the public, offers samples of the chocolate art. The chocolate costs from 180 to 3,800 yuan, depending on the size.

Comptoir de France bakery is popular among expats for its breads, pastries, chocolates and ice creams. All its chocolate products, from pralines to truffles, are hand-made using Valrhona chocolate as a base.

The shop also offers coffee to go with cakes like Choc Tartiet (20 yuan per slice), which has a strong chocolate flavor; Petits Fours (6 yuan), which resembles a mini Choc Tartiet; and Rich Choc Truffle (60 yuan). Non-coffee drinkers can go for a mug of hot chocolate. 

Comptoir’s shop on Dongzhimen is also a geat place for outdoor sunbathing on a relaxing weekend. Now is a good season to visit, with trees and flowers blooming all around.

 One can find delicious simple lunches there as well. Its 50-yuan lunch includes ham and cheese or turkey sandwich, chef’s salad or mix salad, soft drink and large muffin; its 60-yuan lunch has salmon or tuna sandwich, tuna, Greek or Caesar salad, lemon or fruit tartlet and a soft drink. Fifteen yuan for any coffee goes together with these set lunches.

Comptoir de France – East Lake Villa
Where: Club house of East Last Villa, 35 Dongzhimen Wai Dajie, Chaoyang District
Open: 7:30 am – 9: 30 pm
Tel: 6461 1525                    
Comptoir de France – Huamao
Where: 15-102 Huamao Compound, 89 Jianguo Lu, Chaoyang District 
Open: 7 am – 8: 30 pm
Tel: 6530 5480