Where did the body shop go wrong?

[Foxes157]

I remember them in the 90s, and remember there stance of being ethical and so many things being relevant to modern society.

Reusable plastics and shopping bags as well as cruelty free cosmetics.

Why did it sell out and become an unethical mlm.

I always had a morello Cherry lip balm on the go in the 90's, along with white musk, fuzzy peach and dewberry.

Now I only buy the ginger shampoo, and only when it's on offer, they generally have a 40% coupon online but often it doesn't apply to their 'best sellers' range.

When it stopped selling passion fruit cleansing gel. I've got madly allergic skin and it didn't make me itchy or spotty.

I don't really understand why someone else hasn't swooped in and started their own version of how they used to be!
They had all sorts of 'homemade' bits and bobs, like Japanese washing grains' in a funny cardboard tube.
The nearest thing I suppose is Lush but their prices!!!
I had their beauty book when I was a teenager. I read it all the time. I was obsessed!
When you go in there now, they are really pushy and follow you around!

All their products come in huge amounts of plastic!

I stopped going in there when Roddick sold it to L'oreal. The whole ethical thing was chucked out the window for me by her doi that.

I've just remembered, the skin irritation and subsequent doctor visit from the strawberry Bath stuff. "natural", my arse

I’m surprised it’s still a viable concern.
Back in the day it was affordable and unique. Bloody loved the white musk oils which came in huge jars behind the counters that you could take your bottle and refill.
As a teen I could afford it.
Prices now are ridiculous.
It is also no longer selling anything you can’t get somewhere else for less money.

It mostly smells like it would give you thrush.

That said, they do an excellent dupe for Elemis’ monoi body oil, called Polynisan Monoi Body oil or something. Smells and feels exactly the same. I’ve always got a bottle on the go.

*Polynesian.

Oh I forgot about the Japanese washing grains! Loved the passion fruit stuff and fuzzy peach and all the rest. I agree that it’s all just way too expensive now and a lot of other similar things are on the market. They should review their prices and bring back the classics!

Too expensive and not great quality. I used to love the Olive body butters and used to balk at paying £8, now it’s £16.
I’d rather spend a bit more and go to l’occitane

The prices.

The stores were rammed full of teenagers in the 90s spending all their pocket money on soaps, bath pearls and 100ml shampoos. Our store is empty whenever I walk past-there are always two shop assistants and no customers!

If I want to spend £16 on a face serum, I’d buy something from a decent brand.

They really cocked their market up-it wouldn’t surprise me if they’re next to go bust.

What is MLM??? So I remember when growing up it was also super expensive. I could not afford it as a teenager. So I don’t think price index is much different honestly. I do think it has gone more ‘beauty’ and less ‘banana shampoo’. Some of the products are amazing. An spf 50 super light lotion for instance last summer. I also know it didn’t sell out when it was sold to L’Oréal - it got very much managed separately. But probably is in a better home now with Brazilian owners that also own naturals brand Natura and Avon. I am going back there now honestly after years of not and am quite impressed. But then I hated the ubiquitous white musk.

It's probably cheaper than lush, so it's less about price and more about the fact they discontinued stuff I like. I do still get the odd thing there though, but last time I went in they said they didn't think they would be continuing to stock the shower gel I was buying and encouraged me to buy the rest. Three more bottles at £15 each, I think not, I just said if they were stopping then I would run out at some point anyway and wasn't going to spend £60 on shower gel. The assistants always seem fed up too.

I've just ordered the book! I loved mine back in the day. The comments say that it's still relevant, but even if it's not, I will enjoy reading it. It's 33 years old 😬

It was never affordable!

Ice blue shampoo was GORGEOUS.

Their grapeseed serum is excellent, I will say that.

There's some good stuff and some not
The SPF is fab but had been out of stock for ages and nobody seems to know what's going on with it
The honey and almond hand cream is fantastic, no grease and sinks in instantly
The rest I'm a bit meh about

But they do regular sales. I can’t remember the last time I bought a full price body butter, plus their loyalty card regularly gives £5 discount vouchers and even one on my birthday. So it doesn’t work out that expensive.

And they still do white musk, I use it myself.

Lush is hideously expensive too.

We have an outlet nearby in Portsmouth. I do have a browse and my daughter liked the Tea Tree range when she was spotty but it is expensive.

Everything I've bought in the last couple of years makes my skin react.

Did you let them know, and if so what did they do? I had a shampoo of theirs back in the 80s that made my scalp itch and go bumpy. Took it back and the girl just shrugged and said she'd never heard of that before. She didn't check with her colleagues and there was no reporting procedure at all, so no way of Head Office knowing whether I was a one-off or part of a rare pattern.

I'm all for not testing cosmetics on animals but if your customers are in effect your guinea pigs you have to have a robust reporting system to pick up rare reactions.

Anyway, their stuff smells too much. It's not as overpowering as Lush but it could smell nice without being anything like so strong.

It's all full of crap. Used to be it had 'natural' connotations but it's just cheap overpriced rubbish now, and much better stuff is easily available.

It’s owned by Natura & Co, who also own Avon & Aesop’s

Oh yes, ice blue! And white musk, fuzzy peach, dewberry. They also used to do a pink grapefruit shower gel that I loved. And those bath pearls at made you (and the bath) all oily.

Haven't been in for years though, I agree that you can get more interesting bath products from the supermarket these days.