Three local beauty boutiques can offer you customer service and products different from those at the average beauty counter. We sniffed and sampled our way through all of them — for the sake of your good looks.

Cherie Boutique
750 E. Lake St., Wayzata, 952-475-2212
Open since: February 2003.

What you’ll find: A charming (and huge!) European-style perfumery with an incredible collection of fragrances, as well as skin care, candles and makeup. Sniff a fresh spritz (in a shot glass with netting) of La Chasse aux Papillons by L’Artisan Parfumer, which picks up on the flowers that butterflies frequent (linden, lemon, pink pepper berries, tuberose and jasmine). Then cleanse your nasal palate with a whiff of coffee beans and inhale Creed’s Spring Flower, originally blended for Audrey Hepburn.

Other notables: Caudelie, Oprah’s favorite Kai body butter ($55, they’re expecting a shipment Jan. 15; call to be on the waiting list), Longchamp bags ($132 for a Le Pliage foldable tote and $825 for Kate Moss’ favorite Legend bag) and Tarina Tarantino jewelry.
 Signature product: Bond No. 9’s Scent of Peace ($195 for 3.4 ounces, $125 for 1.7 ounces and $40 for a purse spray) with grapefruit, black currant and lily of the valley.

Aesthetic: Old-school European. Antique cases and fixtures, such as a shelf from an old apothecary in Paris.

Who: Diane Wissink owns the store along with her daughters Jennifer Carpenter and Sally Clayburn.

Size: 4,000 square feet.

Top seller: Fresh’s Sugar Lip Treatment, $22.50. An upgrade from Chapstick.

Sample policy: If you’re seriously sniffing out a perfume, they’ll give you some to take home. 

Men: A men’s section includes the Art of Shaving, Kiehl’s, Molton Brown and Bumble & Bumble.

Experts: A makeup artist works three days a week and the three shopkeepers are authorities in all of the products.

Why go there: It’s a destination for those who seek a fragrance experience and care more about the quality of ingredients and blend than if there’s a celebrity name on the bottle. Also great for gifts and skin care.

Tip for now: If perfume tends to bother you, keep it away from your face, though a little on your chest is nice for people who hug you. Also, fragrance lasts longer on hydrated skin. Put an unscented body cream in your hand and spray perfume into it, blend it and use all over your body.

Cos Bar
3905 W. 50th St., Edina, 952-303-6249
Open since: September 2007.

What you’ll find: Department store lines such as Chanel, Nars, Bobbi Brown and Clinique along with harder-to-find, higher-end luxury lines such as Kevyn Aucoin, La Bella Donna (mineral makeup), La Mer, La Prairie, Kanebo and Clé de Peau and RéVive. There’s a waiting list for one of Oprah’s favorites — Clarisonic skin care, an electric-brush system.

  Signature product: Créme d’Olives, a super-rich moisturizer made with olive oil ($125).

Other notables: Prada Lip Tint Balm ($38.50 each) and Jan Marini lash conditioner ($160), a treatment that helps lashes grow.
Aesthetic: Sleek and shiny in classic black and white.

Who: Lily Garfield created the original Cos Bar after experiencing the cold mountain air of Aspen, Colo., in 1976. That makes it a great fit for our climate. This is the ninth boutique in the mini-chain.