Beauty at Butala Emporium

For those of you who have followed my beauty rants and raves, you know that I occasionally talk about many of the random Indian beauty tricks, remedies, and products that I indulge in. Some of you have asked where to find certain products like eyeliner and hair oils. I usually don't have an answer since it's hard to find certain products in the U.S. But now I do! I recently discovered that one of my favorite stores in Little India, Butala Emporium, has significantly expanded its selection of hard-to-find Indian skincare and beauty products.

Butala Emporium is a huge, treasure chest of a store on the corner of 28th Street and Park avenue. It's one of those wonderful places where you can stroll for a long while before you realize you need absolutely nothing from there. It carries imported Indian goods including furniture/home decor, religious items, magazines/books, music, and other randomly fun stuff that you can't find anywhere else.

But Butala's greatest strength turns out to be its selection of skincare and beauty products. This includes: a wide variety of hair oils, body/facial oils (including rose and almond), soaps (like sandalwood and lavendar), ayurvedic skincare products (from the Himalaya Herbals and Biotique lines), and makeup (including popular eyeliners) from Shanaz Husain and Lakme.

I recently picked up a plastic bottle of rosewater for cosmetic use (I use it in face masks and occasionally as a toner) and an herbal facial moisturizer from Himalaya Herbals. Prices vary from the drugstore range to more expensive depending on the type of product.

If you're into these kinds of things or just want to try something different that you can't find at Sephora or Duane REade, you'll find a lot to choose from at Butala. Butala Emporium, 108 E 28th St., (between Lexington Ave & S Park Ave), New York, NY 10016; (212) 684-4447