World

I just love this store — it’s got the most exquisite perfumes, lotions, candles and antique treats — great cook books. Not only is it completely indulgent and epensive but the woman that works here is SO lovely and SO accommodating. She will always tell me about the perfume’s, is so knowledgable and helpful. She’s also a chatty Kathy, we talk about all sorts of things whenever I go in there.
I cannot wait til I can afford my very own bottle of Amouage.

World Beauty stores are a branch of the World fashion brand. They stock a range of exclusive and boutique beauty and skin care brands. They do Demeter fragrances (Google it if you don’t know) — I have a friend who is obsessed with the ‘baby powder’ one, and the ‘laundromat’ and ‘grass’ are also pretty nice, and popular skincare brand, Aesop, amongst a whole host of other quality beauty lines.
If you need a gift, this is definitely a place to go. There’s soaps and candles and knick knacks and all sorts of creams and perfumes in beautiful packaging.
As a bonus, the stores are laid out beautifully. The merchandising is on point. The Ponsonby store is small but cluttered with fascinating objects (taxidermy animals, glass vases, antique furniture) so it’s almost just worth going in experience that.
Extra bonus: When you get hungry from shopping, you can go to the Devonport Chocolate shop which is just down the road, and to Renkon for lunch. Parking is usually okay around there also.

Walking in this store is like walking back in time to a Victorian apothecary shop: a tiny cramped space with row upon row of gorgeous smelling liquids in weird and wonderful bottles. There’s so much to look at and smell and rub on yourself in here, you could be in here for quite a while!
This certainly isn’t your average trip around a department store beauty hall. This is what you’d call a bona fide perfumery. They stock perfumes and skincare from brands you just can’t find anywhere else and exists in a world where no price is too extreme; so if you’re in the market for a decadent treat for yourself, or perhaps an unusual gift for a beauty fanatic, this is definitely your place.
My favourite part about the store is the huge collection of vintage trophies above the shelves. I feel like I should award them one for ‘Quirkiest Shop in Ponsonby.’

Located on Ponsonby Road, World Beauty is one of those stores I try to avoid. I just know from experience that as soon as I step inside I’ll never want to leave! World Beauty stocks some of the loveliest most desirable perfumes and skin products I’ve ever seen.
My favourite range World Beauty offer is Aesop. An Australian brand created in the 1980s, Aesop has become one of the most popular (and fashionable) skincare, hair care and fragrance brands around. As someone with quite dry skin, I’ve tried their Parsley Seed Hydrating Lotion and was really impressed with the difference it made to my skin. It was noticeably smoother (I had a few dry patches) after only a few uses. Many of Aesop’s products are made from organic, natural ingredients — and while this is commendable, it does mean they can be quite pricey.
World Beauty is one of the few places in the country that stocks the Aesop range, so is worth checking out just for that. But Aesop is definitely not the only thing that makes World Beauty so dangerous to enter. The store itself is a treasure trove of fragrances, eclectic gifts, and cosmetic goodies, plus –it smells delicious!
Tip: If you haven’t already been to World Beauty, try and keep it that away. Addiction is a serious problem!

The World Beauty stores are not mere stores, they are a multi-​sensory experience. This Ponsonby Road store like the other World Beauty stores combines some of the most exclusive global beauty, skin care and fragrance brands within what could only be described as a fantastical setting. The stores are the result of a collaboration between the World designers Francis Hooper and Benny Castles and Meredith Lee of European Antiques & Furnishings.
You could spend ages of both time and money in this store. Visually enticing as well as olfactory appealing, the store is a wonderful collection of mid century and antique furniture and other rare and wonderful objects, including creatures (the taxidermy animal busts in this Ponsonby store are pretty awesome). The rare and wonderful objects are much like the products that line the shelves. This store is a must visit for anyone who truly appreciates the finer things in life. I came here to purchase a Creed fragrance, not because it is my last name. Creed is a luxury fragrance dynasty that was founded in 1760 and World sells it amongst many other beautiful things.

I’m not a World fashion shopper, and to be honest, I never looked twice at this store because I assumed it was just another World store that I couldn’t afford to go into, lest I break or mark something and need to buy it. This store is different, however — it’s a specialist beauty store that’s almost wall-​to-​wall with perfumes and other lovely smelling stuff. I was taken here by a perfume blogger to learn about different scents, and it was very enlightening! The staff member working on the day took great delight in taking newbie me on a fragrant journey, showing me the difference subtleties in floral and fresh scents, and offering up a few fragrances with notes I never thought I’d like. Leather scents are yummy — perhaps I’m another K’Road leather queen waiting to happen?