Murale

Walked in to the Southcentre mall location one day, to see what they had to offer that Sephora doesn’t. I wandered around for a couple of minutes before a salesperson came up to me and asked if I needed any assistance. She wrinkled her nose at the MAC bag I was holding, saying she thought their foundations were too cakey. Way to start a conversation! Reprimand your customer for going to a different place that sells the same thing you do!
I told her that I was looking for an angled blush brush for contouring, since I had seen one in a YT guru’s video and it seemed like a good idea. She acted like she had never heard of such a thing, but went with me to the giant display of Quo and Murale brand brushes to look for one. When we couldn’t find one, she told me that angled blush brushes probably don’t exist and that I should try buying one of their blush brushes and cutting the bristles at an angle to get what I was looking for. What. If you can’t find it, it doesn’t exist? What a great way to approach things in life.
I left and went to a Rexall near my house later. Found an angled blush brush there. Resisted the urge to hop on my unicorn and mosey on back to Murale to show that salesperson that I found my mythical brush after all.

Wow! I knew that Shoppers had revamped some of its stores to include Beauty Boutiques, but it wasn’t until I stepped into this Murale store that I was like «ouch! Watch out Sephora!» Beautiful stores with bright lighting and gleaming white marble, top end brands that you would normally find in a Holt Renfrew or in some cases, The Bay.
I came in just as they were about to close, and they quickly directed me to what I was looking for. I didn’t bother asking how much what I bought was, but I wish I did. My wallet was a lot lighter after I left.
The one thing that is like Sephora is the accessibility of all the products. Instead of being behind a counter, like at the Bay or Holt Renfrew, you can fiddle around with all the different cosmetics. This also creates the illusion that things are totally accessible price-​wise, like in a drug-​store.
There are two things that make Murale different from Sephora. First, is that prices are not clearly marked on the shelf. You are sort of left to guess unless you ask the salesperson or until you get to the cash register. I noticed afterwards that there was a tiny price tag on the box of the product I purchased. Thumbs down for that. On the thumbs up side, the staff here are really friendly and nice, and are made up really tastefully (while Sephora, the people working there seem to overdo their makeup to tranny proportions, as a friend of mine says)
Overall, a great place to get some high end makeup. Nice staff, just beware the pricing before you get to the cash register.

Murale is owned and operated by the Shopper’s Drug Mart chain of stores, which means you can collect Shopper’s Optimum points when you visit. Murale is located in the still growing Fashion Central located downtown, and it is such an… interesting choice. It is definitely a high end cosmetics store, of that there is no doubt. I stepped from the slush of Stephen Avenue mall and onto the pristine white floor of the store.
There are two levels in Murale, and the main level allows you to peer down to the one below. The atmosphere is very swanky, and you can see the brand names splashed everywhere: Bobbi Brown, Fekkai, Biotherm, etc. It is like Sephora on swanky crack, and there is not a price tag to be seen. That actually makes me really uncomfortable. I know how much my favourite cleanser is supposed to cost, but what if I get it and it has been marked up a hundred dollars? Until I see a price tag I am suspicious.
The staff were super sweet and very helpful, and were super knowledgeable about all of the products which was great.

This location of Murale is hands down as fantastic as its other location in Southcentre mall.
As you know, Murale is relatively new to our city and they carry cosmetics. And when I say they carry cosmetics, I mean they carry HELLA cosmetics. Calvin Klein, Dr. Hauschka, Ferragamo, Jean Paul Gaultier, Marc Jacobs, Nina Ricci, Versace and Vera Wang are just a few of the fine names I encounter every single time I step foot into this store.
You know the Beauty Boutique at Shopper’s? Well Murale is an upscale, 5 star version of that.
The staff is helpful and knowledgeable and this store is the ultimate candy store for any woman out there.
Happy shopping ladies!