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Original poster

Where did the body shop go wrong?

179 replies

Foxes157 · 11/02/2020 21:13

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.

OP posts:
MrsWhites · 12/02/2020 21:44

I’d go back if they brought back bath pearls! Bath bombs have never lived up to these in my opinion!!

housinghelp101 · 12/02/2020 21:59

I remember going to the shopping centre just for the Body Shop, it was an actual day out. Smelling each perfume individually even though you knew all of them and I remember our branch had a section at the back where someone made up the baskets and I used to fantasize about getting a job like that when i grew up. I went in recently and nearly died at the prices. The body butter in the pound shop is exactly the same stuff as the £16 one in TBS.

SomethingOnce · 12/02/2020 23:18

I miss the Blue Corn 3-In-1 Deep Cleansing Scrub Mask.

Emijen · 12/02/2020 23:22

@MrsWhites I completely forgot about bath pearls! I loved them

Ginfordinner · 13/02/2020 06:17

Were the bath pearls those horrible little squishy balls containing bath oil that made the bath slippery and difficult to clean?

If so they can stay in the past thank you. Apart from the prices there is more in today's offerings at The Bodyshop that I like than 20 years ago.

Wannabangbang · 13/02/2020 06:53

It's not the same anymore so overpriced and the fragrances so minimal and disappointing. The last time i bought a body butter from there it hardly smelt of anything.

Any decent smell they come out with is discontinued, started with dewberry disappearing from the shelfs and since then they've got rid of citronella which i loved and the banana body stuff only shampoos remaining.

Also hate the fact when i want to leisurely browse some assistant follows you round so you feel compelled to bloody buy something.

I don't see the place lasting another year tbh

Ozgirl75 · 13/02/2020 07:05

It used to be THE place to head on a Saturday afternoon. McDonald’s for lunch, then Body Shop for a little basket that you could fill with some bath balls, maybe an animal soap and if you’ve saved your money, a face scrub. And it would cost a couple of quid. Plus a nice spray of dewberry or fuzzy peach.

And for your friend’s birthday you could put together a lovely gift set and they would wrap it all for you. My prized possession was my “Against Animal Testing” t shirt. You felt like, as a 14 year old, you were making a difference and could also have a nice bath for not too much money!

LHMBF · 13/02/2020 14:39

The thing that killed it for me is they never kept anything or brought it back seasonally. I love their peppermint candy cane and it never came back this christmas

I loved the peppermint candy cane and was hoping they'd bring it back

LadyLovelyLockz · 13/02/2020 22:09

Oh those washing grains! Yes, they were ace. And the milk bath powder. And those papier poudre plotters- I know you can get others but those were the best

TheMemoryLingers · 13/02/2020 22:14

All the tiny bottles of perfume oil where a drop would last you all day. I miss those. Also their henna. It's just another shop now.

TheGirlFromStoryville · 13/02/2020 22:23

We used to all love it in the late 80's as teenagers. Fave products were Dewberry perfume, Japanese washing grains (no blackheads here!) and the kiwi lip balm.

I received a Vitamin E skincare set from there for Christmas and I wasn't impressed. It just seems like any other mass market products.

TheMemoryLingers · 13/02/2020 22:34

It sounds naff but The Bodyshop really captured the zeitgeist of the late 80s - when ethical purchasing was just moving from a niche concept into the mass market. Plus, it was affordable for teenagers by virtue of offering products in very small sizes. The packaging and marketing was so different from other shops. I'm not sure who it aims itself at now, but the range of fragrances is much smaller and it seems to have an emphasis on gift sets.

FamilyOfAliens · 13/02/2020 22:51

I make my own Japanese washing grains by whizzing up dried aduki beans in the blender Smile

MarthasGinYard · 13/02/2020 23:15

Are you Dr Gillian McKeith?

twilightcafe · 13/02/2020 23:21

I haven't forgiven them for getting rid of the Sweet Lemon body butters.

BrimfulofSasha · 14/02/2020 13:15

It is pricey now but I do love their camomile cleansing oil and ginger shampoo. Not a fan of their body butters and overly scented body wash rubbish.

Wannabangbang · 14/02/2020 15:59

I used to love the sweet lemon body butters they were lovely

frugalkitty · 14/02/2020 16:10

I haven't forgiven them for changing the peppermint foot lotion from pink to blue. Grr.

MrsPelligrinoPetrichor · 14/02/2020 16:19

It was never affordable

^^ This. I was a teenager in it's heyday and remember it being more expensive than Boots or Superdrug or anywhere really so only buying the cheapest products or things on sale and it still being quite expensive, but you paid the prices because it was ethical and the products were nice

Completely agree,it was always expensive. No7 used to be much cheaper then had a bit of a revamp and suddenly had a price hike and was on par with TBS.

If you order online there are always sales and offers on. Very common to have 25% off.

SarahTancredi · 14/02/2020 16:41

I used to love body shop . Another fab if the passion fruit cleansing gel. Hou used to get animal shaped bath Pearls. Vanilla musk stuff smelt so nice. remember the fuzzy peach and the dewberry. It was so nice to have somewhere that could recycle your bottles or refill them.

It was more expensive than boots but still cheap enough to be in a teenagers price range . I used to save up in bus fare change so 5/10p a time Blush

All the other fave washes were so drying but that helped felt really nice

It's trying to hard now to be like all the fancy shit. Like everyone else it forgot its core market and tried to aim higher and you felt you were no longer good enough to shop there.

TeaAddict235 · 14/02/2020 19:42

I still can't understand the raving reviews about the banana hair products. Why would I want to wash or condition my hair with banana scented products??

I am impressed with their rainforest hair range however, just not with the prices curmudgeonly grumpy old goat

JuniperSling · 14/02/2020 20:04

I loved them in the 80's when all their labels were green and everything matched on your bathroom shelf. Favourites were hair salad, chamomile face wash and strawberry shower cream.

Ginfordinner · 14/02/2020 20:19

I still can't understand the raving reviews about the banana hair products. Why would I want to wash or condition my hair with banana scented products??

I'm with you there, and I am baffled why anyone wants to clean themselves and use body butter etc scented with any kind of food product - yuck.

WhentheRabbitsWentWild · 14/02/2020 21:52

I remember it in the 80s

White Musk, Dewberry and I think it was called a Milk Bath ? Came as solid type powder in a little hessin bag as I recall . Just had a look on the website and agree with others that it is expensive .

WhentheRabbitsWentWild · 14/02/2020 21:53

Ooo and little bath balls . Long before the bath bombs.
They came in a few colours and they let out an oil type thing for the bath . They were popular among me and friends at the time

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