Beauty spot: cult Paris apothecary Buly 1803 opens in Hong Kong
![Beauty produts](https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/UUaTcGGNisMBR4BGZk7FVF-415-80.jpg)
Parisian apothecary Buly 1803 has opened its first store in Hong Kong, in a snug new space on Wyndham Street. The brand, a revival of the historic perfume apothecary originally founded by Jean-Vincent Bully in 1803, was created in 2014 by Victoire de Taillac-Touhami and Ramdane Touhami who were inspired by 19th-century beauty secrets and ancient recipes, based on natural ingredients.
The couple’s local partner, Arnault Castel – the founder of the Kapok concept stores – was the first to spot the narrow 70 sq m location sporting unusual 5m high ceilings. ‘It is extremely small but our French carpenter hand-made floor-to-ceiling walnut cabinets to look just like they came from an ancient apothecary, so it feels like stepping into a small, historic chapel,’ Castel says. ‘We nicknamed it Charlotte because it reminds us of the French cake with “ladyfinger” biscuits.’
The artisan look, further emphasised with decorative mouldings and vintage Italian clay floor tiles, is fitting considering Buly’s hallmarks: water-based perfumes, scented matches and candles, vegetable oils, aromatic creams and powders, most of which is formulated and bottled in France, in distinctive traditional glass or aluminium packaging. Keeping with its headquarters in Paris, laboratory-clad staff trained in the art of origata and calligraphy personalise each purchase.
‘We wanted to go beyond the usual idea of a boutique in Hong Kong,’ explains de Taillac-Touhami. ‘If someone visits us, it has to be a memorable experience.’ The store’s unconventional aesthetic is, however, unusual given the city’s notorious property market. ‘Sometimes success brings a doubling – or more – of rent so just in case, our interiors are moveable. The only problem would be finding such high ceilings again,’ says Castel.
Left, the interiors emulates an ancient apothecary or a small, historic chapel. Right, the storefront located on Wyndham Street
The artisan look is further emphasised with decorative mouldings and walnut cabinets
INFORMATION
For more information, visit the Buly 1803 website
ADDRESS
L’Officine Universelle Buly
G/F 20 Wyndham Street
Central
Hong Kong
Wallpaper* Newsletter + Free Download
For a free digital copy of August Wallpaper*, celebrating Creative America, sign up today to receive our daily digest of inspiration, escapism and design stories
Catherine Shaw is a writer, editor and consultant specialising in architecture and design. She has written and contributed to over ten books, including award-winning monographs on art collector and designer Alan Chan, and on architect William Lim's Asian design philosophy. She has also authored books on architect André Fu, on Turkish interior designer Zeynep Fadıllıoğlu, and on Beijing-based OPEN Architecture's most significant cultural projects across China.
-
Take off: Mathieu Lehanneur's Olympic Cauldron rises into the Parisian night sky
The Paris 2024 Olympics’ opening ceremony was closed with a soaring cauldron spectacle that will go down in history
By Hugo Macdonald Published
-
Phaidon’s new Graphic Classics is a lavish greatest hits of graphic design
Graphic Classics is a compendium of seven centuries of visual culture, from the everyday and ephemeral to visionary works that reshaped our world
By Jonathan Bell Published
-
Birley Chocolate hits the sweet ’n’ chic spot in London’s Chelsea
The new Birley Chocolate shop, a sibling to Birley Bakery, is a confection of colour as delicious as its finely crafted goods
By Melina Keays Published
-
Bottega Veneta constructs ‘invisible' pop-up in Shanghai
Conceived by creative director Daniel Lee, the three metre-high, 100 sq m mirrored cuboid continues Bottega Veneta’s subversive denouncement of self-promotion
By Daven Wu Last updated
-
Ripple effect: Trongyee’s undulating Shantou boutique
Shenzen-based firm AD Architecture has conceived a rippling, pared-back retail design for Shantou, China-located luxury womenswear boutique Trongyee
By Laura Hawkins Last updated
-
The China List: Chanel, Fashion
Wallpaper* and China’s Cultural Heritage and Sustainable Development Fund (CHSDF) present China By Design—a celebration of Chinese cultural heritage and the many global creatives who have been inspired by it. Explore the full list here.
By Laura Hawkins Last updated
-
The China List: Jean Paul Gaultier, Fashion
Wallpaper* and China’s Cultural Heritage and Sustainable Development Fund (CHSDF) present China By Design—a celebration of Chinese cultural heritage and the many global creatives who have been inspired by it.
By Laura Hawkins Last updated
-
Playing it spool inside Annakiki’s thread-stacked boutique
By Laura Hawkins Last updated
-
Atelier Tao+c designs monochrome multi-brand boutique in Zhengzhou
By Cat Nelson Last updated
-
AIM designs steely cosmetics boutique in Hong Kong
By Emi Eleode Last updated
-
Inside SND’s ceremonial boutique in China’s Chongqing
By Ali Morris Last updated