Most Bostonians associate Hotel Commonwealth (500 Comm Ave) with its popular restaurant Eastern Standard, noted for its lemon-drizzled fried calamari and ice-cold Arnold Palmers. Tania and I enjoy a splash of vodka in the latter, and once tipsily teetered into the hotel after our weekly lunch date. We were anticipating a wad of second-rate souvenir shops, but ended up stumbling (quite literally) into a true Beantown hotspot.
Nantucket Natural Oils felt a bit mystical at first, as we beheld the floor to ceiling shelves dense with tiny glass bottles filled with mysterious-looking potions. We half-expected to discover a witch lurking in the corner, and were taken aback when greeted by a friendly young man from behind the counter. We smiled back, and then began to marvel over each bottle with drunken enthusiasm, not at all restricted by our complete cluelessness. We did not know whether these strange liquids were hair products, medication, or beverages, but we were intrigued nonetheless.
Eventually, the man kindly took it upon himself to explain to our drunk asses where we were: in a specialty fragrance shop, containing the exact scents of every men’s and women’s designer name fragrance. The sole difference is that here, the alcohol (which typically stings our nostrils initially, seeming “too strong,” then quickly fades to “nonexistent”) is replaced with an essential oil, allowing for the purest and longest-lasting scent possible. Ordinarily, aroma lingers on the skin for about three hours, but here, a minuscule dab is guaranteed to last all day. With this in mind, I decided that the price (about $45 per 0.25 OZ) is not terribly atrocious.
It doesn’t end there. Nantucket Natural Oils also encourages custom scent creation, or the mixing of several fragrances to form your signature. It may seem like a complex task, but if Paris Hilton and Britney Spears can do it, so can you!
…and so can a monkey.
…and so can a rock.
Anway, after you’ve whipped up your perfect whiff, why not take it to next level and select a hand-blown bottle ($40-$90) in which to store it? (This is what the salesman asked me with a smirky smile.)
I’ll tell you why not: because $40-$90 is WAY too much to dish out for a perfume bottle, especially considering the additional $150 I’d have to spend to fill it. Plus, I’ll be honest: they aren’t even cute, so I recommend dodging the expense and saving your extra coin to host a party here. Guests enjoy mouthwatering platters of Eastern Standard’s fingerfood while fashioning their fragrance, making for an absolutely perfect girls’ day out.
To sum it up: You need not a witch to create a magic potion.
























