At first sight, the Sephora branch in the El Triangle shopping mall on Plaça de Catalunya looks rather modestly sized. It’s an arrow-shaped space with entrances onto the street and the mall, and it seems to offer mainly skincare products and services.

Worry not — there’s a discreet escalator in the middle, which takes you down to a HUGE basement perfume/ cosmetic space.

All the usual European department store fragrances can be found here, but they also carry Acqua di Parma, Adolfo Dominguez, Bond No. 9, Loewe, Serge Lutens and Thierry Mugler’s Miroir series.

Getting there: C.C El Triangle, Calle Pelayo 13 – 37, 08001 Barcelona, Spain + 34 93.3 06.39.00 Metro: Catalunya

Nearby: Barcelona’s biggest department store, El Corte Inglés, is on the other side of the square.

— image & report filed by Nina.