Here at Civilian, we are constantly drawn to bathroom products that we’ve never seen before, particularly if they’re as beautifully packaged as the ones by the Rio de Janeiro-based company Granado. Despite frequent visits to Brazil, we hadn’t encountered the range – which dates back to 1870 – until last month when we discovered them in our room at the Relais & Chateaux Hotel Santa Teresa. It’s a hotel that’s big on contemporary Brazilian cool and local design – we were also very taken with the Sergio Rodrigues chairs that they have in reception.
The hotel uses products from Granado’s Castanha do Brasil line, which is part of its Terrapeutics range, formulated with Brazil nut. It has the kind of delicious cake-baking smell that makes you as hungry as it does satisfied, and yet doesn’t seem incongruous with a beauty product. We became so enamoured with it that we made a point of visiting the Leblon store and set a budget of £100 for shopping, which we didn’t manage to put much of a dent in. Despite the quality of the products and the luxury trappings of the store in Rio’s most exclusive shopping area, the prices are actually more Superdrug (or Rite Aid) than Selfridges. We tested everything they had, but the Castanha do Brasil line was definitely our favourite, and the packaging – with vintage, colonial-era, floral-border style typography and green and yellow graphics – is by far the most beautiful. Granado from Rio is some of the best contemporary design in Brazil.
We loaded up with soap (R$2.20, around 80p), shampoo (R$7.90, around £2.80) and conditioner (R$9.05, around £3.20) as well as some handsomely packaged barber’s foam (R$18.25, around £6.50) and a few pieces from the very appealingly packaged Vintage Salomé range. It’s not, as far as we know, available anywhere in Europe, although you can order the range via Amazon.com in the US.
Granado, Pharmacia do Leblon, Rua General Artigas 470, Loja A, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
(21) 3231 6759; www.granado.com.br