Speaking of Perfume

In Mexico City's Historic Center it is common to find stores selling one kind of product to be clustered together on one street.  I suppose it's rather convenient for the shopper, because it you don't find what you want in one shop, or if you want to compare prices, you can go from one store to another.

On Thursday, as I was walking down Tacuba Street on my way to the Perfume Museum, I noticed the concentration of perfume shops.

The biggest chain of perfume shops that you will see all over Mexico City is Fraiche.

Fraiche sells imitations of designer perfumes.  I have a bottle of fake Paco Rabanne cologne that I bought at a Fraiche shop not too far from my apartment.  I don't think it really smells like Paco Rabanne, but it is a nice fragrance.  When I finish it, I can return the bottle, and they will refill it for a cheaper price.

What struck me was that there was not just one Fraiche shop along "perfume row" of Tacuba Street, but one after another, large and small.

There was even what sounded like a fancier offshoot of Fraiche called "Mystic Prestige".

I counted at least eight Fraiche stores along a few blocks of Tacuba Street.  It seems like overkill... you are competing against yourself.

Fraiche's main competitor is Perfumes Europeos which also sells imitation designer scents.

There were several Perfumes Europeos shops, and one of them was right next door to, you guessed it, a Fraiche shop.

As I got closer to the Perfume Museum there were other independent perfume shops.

This one is called "Alchemy"

I like the art deco façade of this store that has been there since 1932.

Of course if you want to buy genuine designer perfumes, just as in the U.S., all you have to do is to walk into any department store.