Aura Candle Bar has a calm, quiet, relaxing atmosphere with exposed brick walls, light flooring,…read morehigh ceilings and floating shelving. One wall holds all the candle inventory with fragrances like old books, dad's den, dragon-blood or more identifiable scents like elderberry, dark chocolate, bonsai, yuzu. The candle experience starts with an explanation of the experience and setting expectations before exploring fragrances that speak to us individually. Off we went to the shelves, making notes and sniffing coffee in a silver sifter to reset "nose fatigue". Our "chandlers" curated our blends with us and instructed us on blending technique to help us build the scent. Vessels were selected, wax poured, fragrances added and candles created. Candles are available for pick up the next day. I have been back three times. I highly recommend this business. They are a family owned business.

Aura Candle Bar was such a fun experience that I would 100% do again!…read more Alex was our guide. Not only was she knowledgeable, but she was also very sweet and kind. Gave very clear instructions and was just super interactive which I appreciated. They have so many scents to choose from that you definitely won't be able to smell them all, but I think you can get through a good amount of them to know that you're picking the best scents that stand out to you. I think this experience is definitely worth the money! They hold the candles for you for two weeks, but you can go in the same day to pick it up too just a few hours later. I can't wait to go back!

The R n B candle making was fantastic. The experience is unique and not what I expected. I was very…read moreimpressed with the interactive aspect of this event and highly recommend. I plan to come back for another event.

Such a fun, personal and lovely experience. A group of us women had a lovely bday celebration with…read moreOgi. We made candles and and flowers arrangements. She was so lovely and it was a great time. We laughed a lot.

I attended a private candle making group event and it was so much fun! It was my first time making…read moremy own candle and I absolutely loved the whole process. There's quite a bit of waiting around for the candle to solidify before you decorate it. They have so many choices including different stones, glitter, and shells for decorating. I picked the sage fragrance for one candle and a more fruity scent, which I believe was the mango papaya, for the other candle. I also liked their birthday cake scent. I could see this being such a fun, unique activity for a date or bachelorette party.

Candle Castle and Co was such a fun outing for girls night. The store is so cute inside, with…read moreplenty of vessels and scents to choose from. The instructor did an excellent job explaining all the steps during the candle making workshop, so it was really easy to follow along. I love how my candle turned out and I'm so excited to use it at home. The only downside is that the candle making workshop is a bit pricey for only being able to make one candle, but for the overall experience it seems like a fair price.

Super cute store! Have a really good selection of candles, books, stickers, trinkets, and cute…read morelittle gifts or decorations. Prices range but for a boutique business not bad at all. Candles range from 10-35$. Service was great the person who helped us was friendly and nice, they even give a discount for new customers at the time we went! They also offer candle making experiences which sounds so fun!

Love this store. Good selection. Nice owners and beautiful things... I just go in a happily…read morebrowse. Than but beautiful things.

I came to HH after hearing about it on social media. I should've listened to the other reviews that…read moresaid the customer service wasn't great. I walked in and was flat out ignored. Not saying I want a lot of interaction when I'm browsing, but I should have at least been greeted or asked if I needed help. It's a really tiny shop so it's hard to get lost. They definitely knew I was in there. Maybe I didn't fit their preferred demographic. Didn't purchase anything.

A fun selection of gifts, cards, jewelry and food items. I spotted hats and stickers from The…read moreSilver Spider Print Shop (including ball caps declaring your favorite items such as "Butter" or "Dill Pickles") and ended up buying a weekly meal planning/shopping list notepad that hopefully my fiance and I will be organized enough to make use of. Cool gifts for those quirky friends (or if that's you, go in and find something fun for yourself).

Amazing clothes. Cool owner. I loved this store so much. Don't be deterred by prices online. They…read morehave sales!

Another placeholder so my pictures link. I'll update with details later, but the 4 star rating…read moreholds true.

Stepping into Diptyque Chicago felt like being transported back to Paris. The boutique is…read morebeautiful. It is refined, intimate, and effortlessly chic. We had long admired the brand and were excited to finally experience it in person. Steven welcomed us warmly and guided us through the collection with such kindness and expertise. His knowledge and passion really elevated the experience. We found the perfect diffuser, a scent that now holds special memories and was the most beautiful way to celebrate Valentine's Day. We will absolutely return to shop with Steven again. A lovely experience from beginning to end!

Came here in the summer to check out the orange perfume. I want to say they have the entire fleet…read morethere, possibly more than what you can find on their website, even the new ones, even the old lol. So I was able to smell any that I was curious about. I also discovered the tiny compact solid perfume version they have. The decor of the place gave me 19th century vibes. It's lovely, so is the staff that day. She didn't make me feel less comfortable about wanting to try many scents and tried to answer all my questions. I ended up getting a small Oyendo in addition to the Hesperides.

I would describe this botanica as having an assortment of old and new. By this I mean that they…read morehave quite a few of your classic plaster statues of Catholic saints and spirits used in Espiritismo but they also have a selection of resin statues that are more common today. In addition to statues, they also have a decent selection of votive candles along with oils and incense. As far as items in the Santeria tradition, I was only able to see a selection of elekes but I didn't see any other items. I could be mistaken so it might be a good idea to call ahead if you need a cauldron or any other hard-to-find items. The herb selection was not as abundant but there were enough to meet most needs. The woman that worked there was very friendly and approachable. Definitely worth checking out if you're in the area.

I called to see if they had certain candles and they were really good with helping me out. I was…read moreable to get my order curbside with no problem and they wore a mask. I know quite a few people that have gone to this business of different races and everyone has nothing but good things to say. As far as their knowledge on candles, saints and other items, they were very knowledgeable. I read a review on here that said otherwise and that is really hard to believe. These are good people with over 30 years years of experience and are very good at what they do. Please take the time to visit this business and you will also be impressed with their kindness and excellent service. I am a regular.

Ravensgoods is a unique boutique gift store with many products made by local artists…read more A definite go-to place for gift shopping for infants to grandparents.

I love a good punny name, this one based upon the name of the neighborhood (Ravenswood). I've…read moredriven by Ravensgoods so many times; if it wasn't here before I moved to the neighborhood, it opened shortly thereafter. This very tiny shop has a variety of items that would be perfect if you need to pick up a gift for someone. They have candles, greeting cards, jewelry, and several baby items. I ended up buying a cute little onesie that has is designed to look like the Chicago flag but with hearts in place of the stars. it's so cute and I can't wait to put it on my little ones. They had several other onesies that were cute. I mentioned to the shopkeeper that I wanted to get a little bean onesie, and she mentioned they carry them but they sell out so quickly and the woman who she gets them from is backed up in stock.It makes sense to me because they're adorable! I didn't realize they had them here so it's good I could pick it up from here if I can't find it elsewhere. Parking is on the street BUT you're in luck because the Brown Line station is half a block away. There's also street parking on Damen and possibly the surrounding streets (not sure, but because it's near a train station I'd suspect it might be permit parking on the side streets).

I went to the Chakra Shoppe for help with a health issue. I have been practicing a healing…read morevisualization given to me by Blanche and techniques from Lillian to consciously create reality. A recent scan confirmed that the condition is improving. The Chakra Shoppe is an amazing place for learning and healing!

This is a small shop with a limited amount of merchandise. They only had about ten or so tarot…read moredecks and most i didn't find beautiful or interesting at all. The crystals and beaded necklaces were nice to look at, and there must've been 6 or 7 varieties of sage smudge sticks. They were playing nice music and burning nice incense. Unfortunately by the time I left my tongue tasted like soap from the incense. And I have to say it was quite off-putting to have so many different modalities rattled off that they supposedly specialize in - (psychic readings , reiki and I don't remember what all else) - I felt sure it was all a scam and not to be trusted. Which left yet another bad taste in my mouth because sick and suffering people should not be taken advantage of like that.