Rebel Rebel

I grew out of this whole ‘alternative’ thing about seven years ago so it’s not particularly my cup of tea. That said this shop does have some pretty cool stuff like studded belts, sunglasses, posters and other ornamental pieces. The shop is very snug so beware about walking through with a backpack as there is barely enough room for one person to walk down the ‘aisle’.
When you walk in you will instantly notice the smell of incense which gives the shop a sort of ‘Moroccan’ feel. I think there is a certain niche market that this shop is trying to tap into and by extension; people who do frequent this shop know this is aimed at their personal style. This shop isn’t for everyone but worth a look if you see something that catches your eye in the window.

The thing I like about this shop the most is that there appears to be so much stuff crammed into it. If you took everything out of the shop it’s not actually a bad sized store at all. It kind of looks like there were 2 shops here once upon a time and that Rebel Rebel has taken over the very end store when they ran out of room to put more things in. I’m not sure if this is the case however.
As you walk inside there are scarves, bandanas and belts etc all hanging down from the ceiling which kind of makes it feel like you are entering some kind of Arabian boudoir. Here you will find all manner of alternative items, smoking paraphernalia, piercing jewellery, rings, unusual hair colours, incense sticks and room aromas gothic and street/​alternative clothing. If you want to see everything the shop has you really have to look in every nook and cranny as there is stuff up above you and right down to the floor.

This is a slightly neglected-​looking shop for people into piercings and other alternative and Gothic-​style stuff.
From the outside, it seems a bit confused — with a long shop front split into two different colour schemes (one red, the other green).
The large window display is crammed with various stock, however, so you can get a good idea of what’s on offer before you decide whether or not to venture in. They do piercings and sell every type of body jewellery you can imagine. You can also pick up alternative clothing and accessories such as belts, buckles and sunglasses; oil burners and joss sticks; bongs, pipes and other smoking paraphernalia; and hippy-​ish home ornaments such as laughing Buddhas.

I actually got the top of my ear pierced here a couple of years ago and often get new eyebrow bars whenever I lose them.
The piercing went well, was quite cheap and had a wicked laugh with the piercer as he made a couple of tears/​blood come out of me.
I do like this place as it brings me back to my teenage days in Camden, especially with the incense hippy smells mentioned eluding the place

Back when I was in school their was a crowd who appeared to worship at the alter of both Blue Banana and Rebel Rebel. I on the other hand have never really been «got» this place, and share Tiffany and Tanya’s sentiments that it is both dingy and grotty.
As mentioned the staff are rather rude, and I get the impression that they’re trying to come across as intimidating to those who aren’t their mirror images (don’t worry they fail).
They sell a lot of «hippyish» items such as dream catchers and bongs. I will point out that they do have a large selection of alternative jewellery, which is quite hard to come by in Cardiff shops, if you’re not in the know. So for that I’ll give them 2 stars rather than 1.

This place is, for want of a better word, a wee bit dingy but that’s only because it’s small and moody. It has a very familiar smell to it, I bet I could probably identify it from a load of incense samples.
As soon as you walk through the door it hits you, like a wall, a sickly sweet smell of burning sandalwood/​sage/​something I can’t identify. I don’t really like incense but if you do, then there’s a nice little selection of oils and burners to choose from.
I used to buy my hair dye from here and they stock the kind of colours that wouldn’t be out of place on an acid trip as well as paler than pale white goth foundation.
There’s a fair amount of body jewelry with a good selection of flesh tunnels and gauges. I bought mine from here when I stretched mine up and had no problems finding something tiny but still decent looking.
I usually find the staff to be quite friendly/​helpful and I’m nowhere near my former goth self anymore, though I do still wear a lot of black so that might explain it.
If I’m honest, I’ve probably outgrown rebel rebel, but if I was looking for a reasonably priced ring for my tragus (that’s flappy bit of ear cartilage to you) then this would be my first stop.

Even when I was a teenager going through my alternative phase, I was aware that this place was kind of grotty, for want of a better word. They deal in gothic clothing, incense, jewellery, tarot and smoking paraphernalia. Many of their products I simply do not understand. To cut a long story short, it’s the kind of place your grandmother shudders to think about you going into alone.
The staff here are often rude, and give you quizzical looks should you not be wearing black which is blacker than the night. Or a band t-​shirt; that might do. I’ve little more to say on this place really.