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AIBU?

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Original poster

To think a lot of people are fooled by this brand

216 replies

Doubtfuldaphne · 02/01/2015 21:48

They've Just stuck two names together and do some minimal looking packaging to fool people.
The quality isn't good and still people think it's posh. It's not!
It's in most supermarkets.
Who can guess which brand I'm talking about?

OP posts:
lomega · 04/01/2015 13:27

Aw I like B+H's stuff, I think its great if you're on a budget but smells good...I do find it a bit shite to receive as an cmas gift though, they may as well have given me a tesco's own brand bottle of bubble bath, it's exactly the same!

monkeytroubles · 04/01/2015 14:40

Amazed at how strongly some people feel about brands of soap Hmm
My only issue with B&H is the size of the packaging. I was given three different B&H gift sets from relatives this Christmas. Each one comes in a huge box but when you actually open it all up there are only three little bottles in there. It's all very nicely presented but seems very wasteful and a bit pointless.

LarrytheCucumber · 04/01/2015 15:52

I got some Bayliss and Harding for Christmas and I assumed the person who gave it to me got it in a charity shop (which is where she usually buy her presents). You can tell from the box that it is nothing special.

BiteySwan · 04/01/2015 17:43

UngratefulMoo - "My favourite was l'Occitane almond hand soap" - try Dr Bronner almond liquid soap. It's runnier, but the smell is gorgeous and it's about 8 for a huge bottle that will last literally months. Holland & Barrett do it online, sometimes on a BOGOF.

somebodythatiusedtoknow · 04/01/2015 19:17

The Tisserand rose liquid soap is indeed lovely. L'Occitane is gorgeous, pricey but not quite as bad as it seems per ml as the bottles are big.

Mil actually eeks out the last thirdof any liquid soap by adding water to the bottle and it annoys me no end. It becomes so watery and yucky. She isn't short of money and it isn't super posh soap. And yes she has sometimes watered B and H down...

For the style conscious who find a bottle of Carex or whatever a bit ugly in their bathroom, why not buy a stylish soap dispenser bottle and then fill it with whatever? A lot cheaper than buying MB etc.

Dfg15 · 04/01/2015 19:26

Oh FFS what a snobby OP get over yourself

Trills · 04/01/2015 19:29

I don't think the OP is snobby.

The gift sets are packaged and marketed as if they are a "posh brand" and you are getting "a bargain" by paying the amount they cost.

It is not and you are not.

howtodrainyourflagon · 04/01/2015 19:35

But it's soap! For washing your hands... This is a functional product. I'm sure that mb products are made from organic moon moss harvested by specially trained ginger kittens in the light of the harvest moon... but at the end of the day it's soap in a plastic bottle. I can't fathom how it can be worth £28. B&H costs a bit more than waitrose essentials and a bit less than method but essentially it's normal soap price. I can't get my head around the idea that somehow using a particular brand of soap conveys something to the world about taste and social status. Although I agree that giving anyone soap for Christmas is a shite present.

adora1985 · 04/01/2015 19:48

I've got both Molton Brown and B&H in my house, the MB is kept in the boxes it came in, and the B&H is for every day use. The B&H stuff is pretty and smells nice, and is cheap enough to use every day. I use both brands and like both brands, I don't get why anyone would think you'd not heard of MB if you buy/use B&H, seems a bit of a strange assumption to me.
My favourite is L'Occitane though, and Bath and Body Works, which are at fairly different price points but both brands make lovely products. I just tend to choose toiletries based on the scent and if the packaging is pretty (if it's going to be something that's sat out).

irregularegular · 04/01/2015 19:57

I buy both Bayliss and Harding and Molton Brown for completely different purposes. MB I would buy as a gift (though fear I may be being ripped off) and would be happy to receive it. BH I buy as our normal day to day handsoap because it has the least offensive packaging of the cheap soaps. I certainly don't think I am being ripped off. I would find it a bit odd as a gift.

Dfg15 · 04/01/2015 20:00

Trills - surely anyone with sense can see that - b&h is always cheap in the supermarkets - it's decent stuff but not a luxury brand

irregularegular · 04/01/2015 20:04

No one has explained how B & H is a con in any way. It is cheap and not claiming to be anything it isn't.

somebodythatiusedtoknow · 04/01/2015 20:14

It is incredibly like MB in styling and the scents so maybe that is what makes people feel that, plus the idea that all done up in a box, it is gift worthy, more than a couple of bottles of Carex would be. Not expressing my views, rather what I think others are saying to suggest it is a little cheeky.

When it first came out I in this form, I did do a double take that it wasn't MB tbh. Especially the grapefruit one which is identical to a MB combination on the face of it. I was surprised MB didn't sue.

I don't like it as a soap and prefer Method's consistency so usually get that for everyday and it is quite cheap on offer, which it often is.

YoullLikeItNotaLot · 04/01/2015 20:22

There's nothing wrong with bayliss and Harding. It's cheap and does a better job than the price would suggest. I bought MIL some for Christmas to finish off her pressie - I'd bought her two things which were pricey but small and I wanted her to have another present to open.

I've had some bought for me and quite honestly the only thing I thought was "thanks".

Does anyone get irate about M&S and their copies - Isis was a copy of issy miyake and perfection was a copy of pleasures if I remember rightly. There were others too.

RJnomore · 04/01/2015 20:36

B and h ARE rip off merchants though, and not just of molton brown - they do stuff that looks like other ranges too. The beauticology range is them and it is a rip off of the philosophy stuff and there are several others I think too - do they do that Calcott manor stuff that is for sale in tesco and is a sanctuary rip off (and almost as pricey) or is it a separate brand?

I think we currently have a molton brown, a sanctuary and a carex pink laces in assorted bathrooms. I buy what I like and what I can afford at the time I buy it, and it doesn't bother me what anyone else thinks as long as I like it.

I am however feeling a bit crap about the gift set of hand wash and lotion from space nk which I gave to DH uncle and his wife this year. I would be happy with it as a present, I didn't realise so many people wouldn't.

londonrach · 04/01/2015 20:42

B&h looks cheap but makes good pressies. No one would think its an expensive brand ever.

YoullLikeItNotaLot · 04/01/2015 20:46

RJnomore
I am however feeling a bit crap about the gift set of hand wash and lotion from space nk which I gave to DH uncle and his wife this year. I would be happy with it as a present, I didn't realise so many people wouldn't.

Don't feel crap. They're probably like me and appreciate that someone has taken the time, effort & expense of purchasing a gift for them. If I know for a fact something was "cheap" I assume the person is watching their pennies. If something is bland or generic I don't get annoyed that they should have bought something more personal - I appreciate the gesture. I think most people are like this. Thankfully.

Norfolkandchance1234 · 04/01/2015 21:15

Being given B&H soaps would be like being given Carex hand wash as a present or Tesco own brand.

IMO you give hand wash and stuff to people you don't know very well or are not overly close to, not close friends and family who require a bit more thought.

My DM doesn't think this way and got me rose hand cream and handwash, last year it was hand wash and cream from M&S which turned out to be for men. I gave heavy but subtle hints but still got bloody hand wash this year. Luckily my Ddad is a million times better at choosing gifts like DVD box sets that have been mentioned.

OnIlkleyMoorBahTwat · 05/01/2015 11:04

The last few posts illustrate why toiletries aren't a great present, and I really wish people wouldn't bother. It's just buying for buying's sake and wastes everyone's time and money.

We have generaly been conned by the consumerist society into paying over the odds for everyday mass market household toiletries. Even on the Boots permanent 3 for 2 deal, where the 'discount' is just included in the marked price, they are hideously overpriced for what they are.

I normally just get whatever shower gel is on offer in the supermarket for a quid or two, so it makes me sad that people are conned into paying a fiver for the same item just because it is encased in excess packaging and marketed as a gift.

If you can afford it, 'luxury' brands like MB or Jo Malone might be OK if you like them and appreciate the premium price, but not everyone does, and people who don't have loads of spare cash might be saddend that someone has spent the price of a small weekly shop on a single candle or hand wash and cream set.

I got one B&H and two Nivea gift sets at Christmas. Yesterday I removed the packaging and was therefore left with a cupboard full of toiletries that are not of my choosing and a load of waste packaging.

I will use the shower gel and deoderant(!) but won't ever use the body lotion as I don't use it. I have several body lotions over the years and have sometimes just sent the entire gift sets to charity shops unopened, sometimes donated them elsewhere and sometimes just binned them.

It's just so wasteful, but I don't know what else to do with them. Would foodbanks want body lotion? who uses all this body lotion?

squoosh · 05/01/2015 11:14

I bet foodbanks or a women's refuge would love donations of unwanted toiletries.

MsAdorabelleDearheartVonLipwig · 05/01/2015 11:40

I am Shock Confused that so many people give this much of a shit about soap.

MmeGuillotine · 05/01/2015 12:51

We have Method Mulled Cider handwash in the kitchen. Yes, this is a thing. It doesn't smell like booze though (sadly?), just mulled, which is pleasantly wintry?

There's always Carex cola bottles handwash in the bathrooms though. I keep going into Molton Brown etc but can't justify it as I have a pretty hefty handwashing OCD going on and we get through epic amounts of handwash (and hand cream) here alas. I might actually try Bayliss and Harding though as some of the scents mentioned on this thread sound rather naice. ;)

MonstrousRatbag · 05/01/2015 13:04

If I want nice soap for the bathroom, I go to Lush and get their marmalade or caramel or porridge bars.

I have never been into a Lush shop. I get beaten back by the throat-searing pong about 5 metres from the shop door. Just walking past puts DH in fear of an asthma attack.

PrimalLass · 05/01/2015 13:05

MsAdorabelleDearheartVonLipwig Mon 05-Jan-15 11:40:23
I am shock confused that so many people give this much of a shit about soap.
_

Me too. I gave B&H for teacher presents a couple of years ago. Hardly offensive and rather useful.

MumsyFoxy · 05/01/2015 13:10

Lush is over-rated
Carex too drying
B&H ok for everyday use, but the fact that they pretend to be posh is annoying. Wouldn't dream of giving B&H as a present.