There's a change in the air in St Petersburg as new cosmetic stores send the scents of desire wafting on the local breeze. KATYA YUSUPOVA spoke to those responsible for bringing some new scents to St Petersburg.
Several fashionable cosmetics boutiques have opened recently in the city, turning the once homely and staid local marketplace into a frenetically competetive place as the giants of the beauty industry fight to win Russian hearts and noses.
Russian women have traditionally had a weakness for French cosmetics and perfumes. The revolution of 1917 and its aftermath created women determined to be equal to their menfolk.
Soviet women scorned all the bourgeois-capitalist trappings of femininity except for one -- their desire for French perfume.
Until recently, local customers could buy cosmetics only in a variety store, often blindly choosing color and shade.
It was also common practice to smell a piece of paper to decide whether they liked the scent or not. Now customers can actually try before they buy.
"People's attitude has changed toward cosmetics, as they started appreciating specialized stores like ours," said Natalia Sergeyevna Gulya, manager of Christian Dior in St Petersburg.
"They do not come to us simply to buy cosmetics, and we do not just try to sell them our product, but to guide them toward an appreciation of their cosmetic needs," she added.
Mrs Gulya, who is responsible also for the management of the newly opened Nina Ricci store, said, "Only in a special store can one test the products properly.
"One can try different colors and tones on the skin," she said. "Other stores will not put lipstick into customer's hands, but here we will try 10 different colors and advise the client which one looks best."
American company Estee Lauder's boutique in Passage has gone further in their efforts to bring their products to Russians' attention.
The store has two color TVs playing commercials to display its products to passers-by.
Prices at Christian Dior in St Petersburg are higher than in Paris, and Nina Ricci's are the same as the French market's, although Yves Rocher's, another French firm, have been lowered one and a half times for Russia. Foreigners like to buy presents for a bargain price there, Mrs Loginova said.
"Russian men and women are very beautiful and it is very nice that they are getting used to looking after their appearance," Mrs Loginova said.
Popular among northern women now are weather protective makeup, self-accelerators, and body trimming lotions sold for the Spring season, Mrs Loginova said.
This kind of elite cosmetics differs from copycats without a name. "There are no illusions in such cosmetics, it does not reduce the weight, but strengthens the skin. High class companies do not allow any stupidity with such things."