Fresh, with its neatly focused line of products and simple-but-sophisticated visual style, has offered an upscale alternative to The Body Shop and Bath & Body Works since the early 1990s. Fresh's flagship boutique in SoHo looks almost clinical at first glance, but its tiled floor and white shelves create a neutral background for Fresh’s meticulous product displays and understatedly decorative packaging. In keeping with the company's clean, streamlined style, most of Fresh's Eau de Parfums are composed around fruit and/or foliage notes, and many of them could be worn by either men or women. A handful of the fragrances are also available in smaller sizes, packaged in refillable, one-ounce bottles; and many of them can be layered with matching shower gels and body lotions.

Fresh also features a range of high-end skincare and body products, many of which smell as decadent as they feel: favorites include Brown Sugar Body Polish, Rice Dry Oil, Rose Face Mask, and Sugar SPF 15 Lip Treatment. The brand's carefully edited cosmetics collection includes lustrous lip glosses and highly wearable eye shadow palettes, among other items. A selection of fragranced candles rounds out the offerings. Once you've indulged in a few products to soften and scent yourself, you might want to step next door to Ceci Cela (55 Spring St.), where you can order a croissant and a café au lait to take with you as you continue your stroll through SoHo.

Current best seller: Citron de Vigne

Not to be missed: Fresh’s classic fragranced soaps, weighty triple-milled ovals wrapped in lovely patterned papers

Details: 57 Spring Street, New York, NY 10012, (212) 925-0099, website

Nearby: Red Flower (13 Prince St.), Le Labo (233 Elizabeth St.), Lafco New York (285 Lafayette St.), Bloomingdale's (504 Broadway)

— report and image filed by Jessica M

See also: Perfume Shopping in New York City