Originally published on metropolis.co.jp on March 2011

Courtesy of Aesop

When skincare manufacturer Aesop sets up shop around the globe, it makes a point of working with local designers and materials. The goal, says press representative Fuki Ikeda, is “to blend seamlessly into the local environment.”

This, we suppose, explains why the Australian company chose a space in one of those ubiquitous white tile apartment buildings for its first Tokyo roadside boutique, which opened last December. Well off the main drag, in that no man’s land between Harajuku, Omotesando and Gaienmae, the location would otherwise seem an odd choice for a brand that has established itself in Japan over the last 15 years via swish department stores and select shops.

The shop’s stripped-bare interior, designed by Jo Nagasaka of conceptual architecture firm Sschemata, is adorned only with scrap wood salvaged from demolished traditional homes and a single wall lined with nearly identical amber bottles. With classical music playing in the background, it feels almost cerebral—perhaps to suggest that choosing products composed of high-grade natural ingredients is an intelligent idea. Heck, it probably is.

For a limited time, Aesop is offering a “Tokyo” starter kit which includes small bottles of parsley seed cleanser, toner, serum and mask as well as shampoo, conditioner, body wash and lip balm, all packed in an attractive black travel case—a bargain at ¥7,300. For the approaching warm-weather months, Ikeda recommends Aesop’s B & Tea Balancing Toner and Sage & Zinc Facial Hydrating Cream with SPF 15.

4-8-2 Jingumae, Shibuya-ku (next to Maisen). Tel: 03-3470-8311. Open daily noon-8pm. Nearest stn: Omotesando. http://aesop-japan.com