H Mart
Among the aisles of instant noodles and pickled veggies at this Asian supermarket, you'll find a selection of hard-to-find Korean beauty products, like pearl-infused sheet masks, of-the-moment beauty cushions, and hyaluronic acid moisture packs. Sounds weird, but it's magic, we swear. 7320 Old York Road, Elkins Park, PA 19027, hmart.com.
Volta Market
Meet the neighborhood mom-and-pop shop with a holistic twist. Under the store's small-batch organics line, you'll find Dead Sea salt mud masks, silky body butters, and a giant hutch housing every kind of bar soap you never knew you needed. 1439 East Passyunk Avenue, Philadelphia, PA 19147, voltamarket.com.
Kink Shoppe
Nonjudgmental shopkeepers? Workshops for beginners? An easy-to-navigate selection of ropes, XXX miscellany and apparel? BDSM suddenly seems—dare we say—accessible. 126 Market Street, Philadelphia, PA 19106, kinkshoppe.com.
The perfume wall at Joan Shepp
If you inquire about a ubiquitous fragrance like Chanel No. 5, a staffer might emit a good-natured chuckle, then direct you to the newly expanded fragrance wall. Lined with impossible-to-find brands like Maison Francis Kurkdjian, Montale and Eight & Bob, it’ll soon have you muttering Coco who? 1811 Chestnut Street, Philadelphia, PA 19103, joanshepp.com.
Port Richmond Books
There are days when you just feel like getting lost for a couple of hours in the company of more than 300,000 musty, well-loved books -- plus old magazines, fragments of maps, first editions of The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings, 1940s sheet music, and other undiscovered gems you'll find in this renovated silent-movie house. Okay, maybe more than a couple of hours. 3037 Richmond Street, Philadelphia, PA 19134, portrichmondbooks.com.
Bicycle Therapy
This bike shop, stocked with tons of Specialized bikes, Capo jerseys and a very bike-savvy staff, is to serious cyclists what FAO Schwarz is to six-year-olds: a giddiness-inducing toy store. 2211 South Street, Philadelphia, PA 19146, bicycletherapy.com.
Philadelphia Runner
Not only will they hook you up with the perfect pair of trainers every time; you'll be welcomed into their community, which organizes races, group runs and more. Locations in Center City, University City, and Glen Mills, philadelphiarunner.com.
Arrowroot Farmacy & Cafe
Arrowroot is like a playground for the health-conscious: an apothecary full of natural supplements and homeopathic remedies, shelves stocked with clean beauty products, and a cafe serving vegan, organic and gluten-free smoothies, salads, lattes and cookies. And with a newly opened upstairs space for cooking classes, herbalism workshops, facials, massages, and nutrition counseling, we can’t think of any reason to ever leave. 825 West Lancaster Avenue, Bryn Mawr, PA 19010, arrowrootbrynmawr.com.
Proper Goods
Visiting Proper Goods feels like stepping into a lush jungle — if jungles happened to sprout up in cool boutiques in the middle of Fishtown. The moody outpost is packed with hundreds of houseplants (no flowers here), from philodendron and spider plants to succulents, air plants, and trailing pothos and ivies, along with all the pots, stands, soil and know-how you need to keep ’em alive. 2032 Frankford Avenue, Philadelphia, PA 19125, areyouproper.com.
Redcap's Corner
Trendy places like Thirsty Dice and Queen & Rook are where you go when you want to hang out with your friends, have a beer or latte, and casually play some board games for an hour or two. Well, Redcap’s isn’t trendy. There’s no cafe. The store just recently upgraded from folding chairs. But what it does have is a hard-core dedication to providing an inclusive environment for serious tabletop gamers, whether your jam is Magic: The Gathering (tournaments every Friday!) or far more complex endeavors that make lesser players’ heads hurt by page two of the brick-thick manual. 3850 Lancaster Ave, Philadelphia, PA 19104, redcapscorner.com.
The Indie Shelf
This itty-bitty, very pretty boutique is packed with must-haves you won’t find at big-box shops, all by indie, often international beauty brands. Bonus points for legitimacy: Owner Sabeen Zia is a cosmetic chemist by trade. 2247 Grays Ferry Avenue, Philadelphia, PA 19146, Theindieshelf.com.
Jenzy
This e-comm app created by two local women tells you what size shoe you should order in a variety of popular brands (See Kai Run, New Balance, Livie & Luca) based on a photo of your tot’s feet. jenzy.com.
Philadelphia Salvage Company
The only thing better than combing through 35,000 square feet of salvaged furniture, fixtures, and only-in-Philly finds (like wood from the chocolate factory that’s coming down at 21st and Washington)? Doing so on a Thursday evening, when this arch-salvage warehouse serves up free beer and bourbon. 2234 West Westmoreland Street, Philadelphia, PA 19140, philadelphiasalvage.com.
Joan Shepp
Unless you’re a celebrity, you probably don’t often have the chance to rub elbows with fashion’s in-crowd – think Yves Spinelli (founder of cool-girl jewelry line Spinelli Kilcollin) and Jonathan Simkhai (founder of the eponymous clothing line). Enter Joan Shepp, which throws must-attend parties featuring the designers behind some of your favorite brands. The best part? You don’t need to be an A-lister to get in. 1811 Chestnut Street, Philadelphia, PA 19103, joanshepp.com.
Totem Woman
Goods for the outdoorsy woman (Patagonia hats, Barbour jackets), goods for the indoorsy woman (Rifle Paper Co. notebooks, Brooklyn Candle Studio candles), and goods for every other woman who has long wished that men’s boutique Totem Brand Co. would finally open a store just for us. 529 South Street, Philadelphia, PA 19147, totembrandco.com.