Apres Peau

showed up at 5.40pm on the Friday before Christmas aaaand the store was closed! Lights off, no one home, no chance to pick up a Christmas gift before I left town. Hours are generally imited, so I planned accordingly to run in and pick up a tie and apparently they were not interested in cashing in on holiday shoppers. To state the obvious, I was beyond disappointed. Hours indicated opened until 6pm. Not so much! I won’t attempt another stop. If its not open Friday before a huge shopping holiday, I’m pretty doubtful it’ll be open on Christmas Eve… fairly certain I’m not the only person who can’t get there from work much before 6pm, but I made a special trip to do so, only to be shut out.

Many of my favorite and useful items are from this little shop with something for everyone. My best buy was a jewelry box that I use everyday. My last purchase was two bracelets that I get tons of compliments on. If someone wants to buy a gift, this is the perfect place to do so. My husband has been pointed in direction of Apres Peau several times. Yes, location is not ideal, but go off the beaten path and you won’t be disappointed.

This lil shop NEVER disappoints. I have a good friend in NYC who has EVERYTHING. I mean, I know DC is way behind the curve on trends and we might not always have the «in» things, but I seriously have THE WORST time finding her a gift.
And then I walk into Apres Peau and walk out with the perfect candle, clutch, funny office sticky notes, lip balm. They have cute unique things that I know the trendsetting friend doesn’t have yet.
My one gripe is its location. It’s in such a weird spot, nestled away on K street. I don’t mind– its merely 3 blocks from my apartment, but I think they would benefit so much more if they hiked it up 14^th street to a more shopper/​boutique-​friendly part of town.
Bargain hunters, this isn’t the place for you, expect to pay premium price on stuff, but its good, unique stuff… guaranteed you’ll go in there looking for a gift and come out with something for yourself!
…and it’s a local business– support!

Urban chic ladies who love cute/​hilarious chotchky’s, one of a kind purses, stationary, fabulous designer soaps and body lotions, candles, and intricate jewelry will LOVE Apres Peau. Gentleman, there are even items on the shelves that cater to your tastes and desires (ties, manly desk clocks, catch-​alls, etc).
Much like the previous poster, I agree that this place is fab but is located in a downright awful part of town. Aka right next door to my office building on 14^th and K (on K). I walk by it ALL the time and have been through once but since it’s that time of year I decided to pause through on my way back from CVS and ended up spending $ 100 in less than 10 minutes. Had the little creditcard angel on my right shoulder not been victorious over her devil counterpart, I would have spend $ 300 or more…
I managed to secure the following AWESOME items:
1. Cubicle Notes by Knock Knock (
). (3 for $ 15). My fav states at the top «IT’S IMPERATIVE THAT I SPEAK TO YOU ABOUT» followed by the following boxes that can be checked off: 1. Hot Office Gossip 2. That Project 3. Your Grave Error 4. After-​Work Drinks 5. A Promotion 6. Our Stupid Boss. And an area for a personal message. Too funny! I literally laughed out loud when I read it (and this isnt a big store so of course I drew attention to myself as usual). There were 8 different cubicle notes all of which were very clever… the aforementioned being my #1 fav. I bought 6 and distributed them to members of my department as an early Christmas present. I spoil those bitc*es way too much.
2. Fold up nylon bags with super cute designs. $ 9. These bags are folded tight and appear to be about the size of a standard plastic grocery bad when opened. WRONG. This bag is is big (and ADORABLE) and is totally functional. I plan to use it for: carrying my lunch to work, serving as my gym bag, hauling a change of clothes should I need to run to a happy hour after work. Shoot I’ll shove my laptop in there too. It’s great!
3. Amh Design Contemporary Needlepoint — KEYCHAIN. $ 22. My kinda-​sorta roommate (she’s just living with us temporarily) is crazy with the crafts and this is PERFECT for her for a Christmas present. It’s described as a «Quick and fun needlepoint project to personalize with your initial and use as a keychain.» Comes with an instuction sheet, charted initials, needle and a keyring. Totally original.
4. MOR Emporium Soap Bar. Snow Gardenia. $ 15. Description: «Unwrap a remnant of 17^th century decadence and indulge with this creamy triple-​milled soap. It will leave skin feeling velvety soft.» This soap smells divine. It’s wrapped in a beautiful silver paper embellished with some fancy design. Has a very nice black ribbon noting the scent and is closed with a black wax MOR seal. For my aunt K!
5. Save Water Soap Bar. $ 8. It has the words «Shower with a friend» carved into the bar. Grapefruit scent… and is cute. That one is for me…
6. Lip gloss. I didn’t catch the name of the company that creates this product, but I do know it’s from Spain, comes in either a tin container or a plastic «ball» container. Both have really nice designs. These are cheap and great for your office «frenemy» or someone who you aren’t that close to, but are forced to buy a present for.
This place is one of a kind. It probably should relocate further up 14^th St torward the U St. area. It would probably receive a ton more business.
I highly recommend this store and am really REALLY happy that I had previously put myself in Creditcard Timeout because I would literally buy everything if I had the $$$ to do so.
I give Apres Peau 5 stars.
LOVES IT!

I think this boutique has everything going for it, except its location. They carry everything from funky touristy goodies with the monuments on them, to designer glasses and handbags. I liked that I hadn’t seen most anything they carry. Sometimes these little indy boutiques all have to carry the same thing, b/​c it’s all they can get from their buyers, but this one has gone out of its way to come up with very quirky, very chic gifts for yourself or anyone else. I’m a big fan. I bought my soon-​to-​be-​sister-​in-​law a handbag I think she’ll adore.
The way I thought of it for her is that, you know those people who are obsessed with that one thing — like the one thing you know you can always get them and it’s safe?! Hers is bees — anything with a bee on it. Well Apres Peau had this bag that wasn’t just a bee — it’s a mod, funky bee with cool lines and bright colors — granted on the same old canvas tote bag you’d get anywhere else, but much more stylish. I think she’ll really like it.
And there’s a ‘bee’ there for just about anyone I think.