Baylis & Harding is shit isn't it?

[DuckWillow]

It's all I see in the shops, beautifully packaged and expensive sets. However having sampled them I am always left underwhelmed.

The bottles look like they've been made as cheaply as possible. They buckle the moment you've opened them.
The fragrances are so minor as to be virtually unnoticeable.
Same with the creams and body lotions.
They always seem all style and no substance.

Or am I being unreasonable?

As an aside they are among the most donated unused items our charity gets for raffles. So they do have a use

why the heck would anyone start a thread about a supermarket level range of hand wash etc?
what is there to say about it?

Pretty sure Aqua is the main ingredient of most shower gel

@NoIDontWatchLoveIsland

anything sold in supermarkets & pound shops etc is usually cheap/low quality.

If you want something nicer, go to a department store toiletries department, or look for the upmarket brands that have their own dedicated shops (eg Milton brown). These will be much pricier though.

and more often than not the quality is no where near where it has bamboozled you into thinking it is

Bayliss and Harding is the 21st century equivalent of a tin of Danish Butter Biscuits - the generic supermarket token Christmas gift nobody likes that you might give a neighbour who watered your plants when you were on holiday but isn't a friend.

what is there to say about it?

Oh you’d be surprised 😆

You lot are hilarious. B&H has NEVER sold itself as a luxury brand so I can't think what you're complaining about, OP. It isn't expensive at all. To me it's just an everyday basic kind of brand. We use the hand soap in our bathrooms and think it's great for the money. It suits all our skin, and we have v sensitive skin with eczema so have to be careful. I do splash out on Moo Goo body wash as find it suits my skin best, but brand names don't bother me in the slightest as long as it suits my skin and smells nice. I like the Aldi version of MB hand soap too. I couldn't give a shit if visitors were to look down on either of those and think "Hmmm...it's not MB!". Oh, and I would never put it in a MB bottle cos I'm not Hyacinth Bouquet.

Christmas gift sets of basic everyday brands like that ARE bloody ridiculous, I do agree there. The plastic packaging waste does my head in when it's products that you just use every day like deodorant and shower gel that you grab individually from the shelf when you're doing your food shop if you run out. But I suppose they are useful for people on a low income to buy as a gift. Lots of nans seem to buy them at Christmas, as well as Lynx sets!

If you REALLY want to be ripped off for style over substance, choose MB......

MB Handwash ingredients. For 20 quid:

INGREDIENTS
WATER / AQUA / EAU, SODIUM LAURETH SULFATE, COCAMIDOPROPYL BETAINE, LAURETH-7 CITRATE, FRAGRANCE / PARFUM, GLYCERIN, COCO-GLUCOSIDE, CITRUS HYSTRIX LEAF EXTRACT, POLYQUATERNIUM-7, LONICERA CAPRIFOLIUM (HONEYSUCKLE) FLOWER EXTRACT, LONICERA JAPONICA (HONEYSUCKLE) FLOWER EXTRACT, PROPYLENE GLYCOL, ETHYLHEXYL SALICYLATE, BUTYL METHOXYDIBENZOYLMETHANE, DIETHYLHEXYL SYRINGYLIDENEMALONATE, LINALOOL, LIMONENE, TOCOPHEROL, SODIUM PHYTATE, TETRASODIUM GLUTAMATE DIACETATE, SODIUM BENZOATE, PHENOXYETHANOL, CITRIC ACID, SODIUM HYDROXIDE, SODIUM CHLORIDE, PEG-18 GLYCERYL OLEATE/COCOATE, HYDROGENATED PALM GLYCERIDES CITRATE, ALCOHOL DENAT., YELLOW 5 / C.I. 19140, GREEN 5 / C.I. 61570.*

It's hardly top quality natural essential oils, is it?

@chesirecat99

Bayliss and Harding is the 21st century equivalent of a tin of Danish Butter Biscuits - the generic supermarket token Christmas gift nobody likes that you might give a neighbour who watered your plants when you were on holiday but isn't a friend.

Oy! I love them Danish Butter biscuits

@TheKeatingFive

I wonder if their ‘mistake’ was aping MB too well? People feel there’s a danger of being taken in and they hate that feeling?

I say ‘mistake’ presumably they’ve done well out of people not paying much attention and confusing the two.

I think you're right. If you google Baylis and Harding, one of the top questions is "Is Baylis and Harding a luxury brand?"

Well, no - CLEARLY by the price of it is isn't!!

I like the soap. I don't consider it posh whatsoever.
We had some at work and I though it was very gentle on my hands. It's there with the other soaps in Tesco. If there's a scent I think I'll like I'll buy it.

I must be one of the few who likes it. I got given a Christmas set as a gift and it smelt lovely(shower gel). Each to their own I suppose. The only one I am allergic to is Nivea, I cannot use anything in that range.

@Gothichouse40 I am also allergic to nivea. Mainly the sunscreen but I avoid it all. B&H is fine though.

@DevonBelles

Precisely what I thought - except my version is:-

FFS it's soap! Get over it - no one gives a shit

Faith in Nature liquid hand soap is lovely. Pretty cheap, gentle on your paws and the orange and grapefruit scented one is gorgeous.

@CornishMaid1

I've only used the handwash (I am picky about other products so hate boxed sets). The handwash is okay and smells fine. I only buy it when on offer and only then because DH likes the bottle as it is less likely to fall over than the cheap Radox/Carex handwashes.

I also buy the handwash because of the bottle! It fits neatly inside the weird circular indentation in my bathroom sink, whereas the Carex ones wobble around.

Never tried anything other than the handwash.

It's good value at about £1.50 for 500ml, cheaper than a lot of others and no worse, obviously if you want a fancy box it will be a bit more for packaging. I usually pay about £12-14 for MB in the sales and I'm not sure its that much better, it's also a smaller bottle

You lot are hilarious. B&H has NEVER sold itself as a luxury brand

No but the font, bottle shape and packaging design they use is made to look like the distinctive Molton Brown design. When it first came on the market, it was an uncommon shape and design so it looked upmarket compared to similar priced brands, especially because of the copycat MB style.

I never knew soap snobbery was a thing.
It’s soap you wash your hands with it. The end.

I've always thought it was a snide Molton Brown so I've never bought it.

....as a gift!

You lot are hilarious. B&H has NEVER sold itself as a luxury brand

Did you read my post CurlyhairedAssassin? It's not a luxury brand, but it definitely tries to sell itself as one. Their website says so.

Aldi’s Hotel range is a lot better.

Whenever I have any it won't lather at all. Aldi shower gel for 34p is better and nicer smelling

No better or worse than Molton Brown IME

@TheKeatingFive

I wonder if their ‘mistake’ was aping MB too well? People feel there’s a danger of being taken in and they hate that feeling?

I say ‘mistake’ presumably they’ve done well out of people not paying much attention and confusing the two.

Yeah, I think that must be it. People have such strong feelings about it because they want people to know they'd never be fooled by a cheap knock-off.

Yes. Very cheap and cheerful stuff with some clever branding. Surely though, most people know it's not going to be good when they see the price?

That said, the Jo Malone dupes in Aldi are excellent. Candles and hand soap. If only they did bath stuff as well.