Favorite Products from C.O. Bigelow

C.O. Bigelow, the oldest apothecary in America, was established in 1838.  If you have never visited one, you're missing a beautifully merchandized shop filled top to bottom with unique and unusual products for beauty and home.  To add to our Best of Class List, here are a few of our all-time favorites from C.O. Bigelow.  Rose Salve is amazing stuff for chapped kissers.  Beloved by both men and women for about a zillion years, it goes on smooth with a faint rose and vanilla scent and completely eliminates dry, chapped lips with no waxy, menthol smell.

I love, love, love these blotting papers and keep them in all of my evening bags.  Gently pat one small, thin square to your face, anywhere there is excess shine.  They have no powder or fragrance.  My skin is actually dry, not oily, but after a few hours at a party, I press one of these little miracle workers to my nose and forehead to restore my makeup to perfection without disturbing it one bit.  A model's secret weapon.

I discovered Diptyque's little shop on the Boulevard Saint Germain the first time I visited Paris ages ago.  Now, of course, Diptyque has been discovered by magazines and celebrities and the brand is famous everywhere for clear, true fragranced candles.  My favorite scent is Tubereuse, a glorious, rich, unbelievably real tuberose scent.  I get so many compliments on this, and I love that it comes in a deep, garnet colored glass jar for the holidays. 

I searched forever for a comb with wide, smooth teeth for de-tangling, that would look pretty in my monogrammed travel bag or on the counter.  The drugstore has only bright plastic versions (don't even get me started on the hunt for a decent toothbrush) so I ordered umpteen varieties on the internet each time thinking, "This is the One."  But they always turned out to be disappointing.  Like the perfect guy, this handmade comb is a substantial weight and size, classic, attractive and doesn't shout.  The One.

Visit C.O. Bigelow Chemists here.