Best of Boston

At too many department store cosmetics counters in this town, too-chic salespeople more often than not will slather your screaming pores with overly perfumed chemicals and then, as if a life depended upon it, try to force you into spending upwards of $300 on said chemicals. That’s why E6, with its well-organized shelves of hard-to-find lines (from diva staples such as Helena Rubinstein and Versace to cult favorites Rescue Beauty Lounge and Becca) and its always-informed but low-pressure sales staff, remains our local shrine to beauty.