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

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

That's the point; it was packaged in a faux luxury way! The name is reminiscent of an old fashioned English upper class shop eg Paxton & Whitfield (cheesemonger) or Turner & George (butcher).

I'm firmly in the 'Its soap, get over it camp'

I think the B&H Ginseng & Black Pepper hand soap smells divine and always keep some in the bathroom that guests use. So shoot me!

I’m a tutor. I get it all the time as a gift at Christmas. I don’t t mind it really. I decant the shower gel etc into our soap dispenser and let everyone use it as hand wash.

I never buy these, they have a strong association as crap, cheap gifts you get for people you don't know/like/secret santaish kind of way

@TheKeatingFive

what is there to say about it?

Oh you’d be surprised 😆

I'm not, it is MN after all.

I love the hand wash, it’s the only hand wash that doesn’t leave my hands cracked and bleeding. Imperial Leather however…

It’s not the hand wash that is bad. It’s their shower gels and scrubs. They’re all gloopy and do no lather. I had a scrub and the scrubby particles didn’t absolutely nothing. It didn’t even foam off, just fell off my skin. Their hand wash is good like another other big standard hand wash. I can’t understand why their shower gel is so bad when supermarket own branded toiletries are so much better.

Well its cheap shit, but its priced like cheap shit.

I'm glad that companies have brought out basic cheap products that come in decent looking packaging. No-one wants Tesco Value branding out on display in their bathroom as it's unattractive. They've filled a gap in the market.

As for marketing themselves as luxury. Anyone can do that these days. What a load of drivel there is on company websites, about "philosophies". All a load of garbage. Do people really read that stuff? Actually they probably do, and believe it. I guess it's why beauty companies in particular sell about 40 different moisturisers, and are always bringing out something new to bamboozle you when you go to Boots and just want something basic that works.

Remember when Herbal Essences first came out? There were about 6 different types of shampoo/conditioner max. I jiust googled them and the amount of different things they're flogging just turned me off completely. Who wants to sit looking through all that to find the most suitable one? They've probably nearly all got the same ingredients anyway....

Bah humbug to the beauty industry. Bag o shite.

The Rose & Geranium handwash in their Goodness range is really nice. White Company handwash gave me a bad rash...

I hate being gifted anything like this, I have eczema and most products I can’t use, my mother knows this yet she will still gift me cheap smellies for Christmas. There’s only a few products I can use but others in the same brand can irritate my skin or give me thrush so I would rather people didn’t both (or asked me first).

I would never put it in a MB bottle cos I'm not Hyacinth Bouquet.
Nor would Hyacinth - Crabtree and Evelyn? Yardley?

as well as Lynx sets!
Down with such nans.

Other plus points for me with the Jasmine and Apple Blossom anti-bacterial hand wash is that it is made in the UK and the bottle is recyclable.

I have been bought B&H and I think it is fine, I definitely don’t take offence to it and I have bought it as presents.

I think Molton Brown is expensive for what it is and definitely don’t spend that much on toiletries as gifts.

Yes it is. It’s something you receive as a present from people who don’t give a shit about you.

Yes it’s absolutely rubbish . I found some bath / shower gel in M&S £7.50 for 500ml .
It’s the best Copy of Molton Brown I’ve seen .

I dont mind them but they are way too expensive for what they are and the quality. To be honest I would rather get something like Dove. they do have a lot of ribbon and glitter to make it nicer to disguise what it is really like

@Witchinaditch

I buy it for people I don’t really like, I’d buy cowshed stuff for the people I love.

Any kind of toiletries are basically shit and in the couldn't give a dam category.

It really is and I sort of cringe inside when a very close friend gifts me this at Christmas.

However, she has also very generously gifted me Body Shop and Rituals gift sets before as well as treated me and other friends to dinner/drinks etc as well as other nice gifts so I can't be too ungrateful.

@BrightYellowDaffodil

YANBU. It’s a cheap Molton Brown imitator.

I've never found Molton Brown any better. Have had it as a gift a couple of times but no idea what is supposed to be great about it.

people need to stop 'gifting' and go back plain old 'giving'.

I don't know what people expect for £1.50 a bottle compared to £20 for a similar sized bottle of Molton Brown. You are obviously paying for the packaging rather than the contents.

@Tooembarassingtomention

That's a bit unfair about the any kind of toiletries are basically shit and in the couldn't give a damn category.

I've received these as gifts but also bought these for people too. I don't generally give toiletries to people unless I know what they like and that they'll like it and some close friends of mine have also given me things apart from toiletries - more personally chosen. Close friends of mine who have busy lives/jobs/kids etc who do gift me toiletries - well I'll give them a pass if they give me nice toiletries!

@Pokhora

I don't know what people expect for £1.50 a bottle compared to £20 for a similar sized bottle of Molton Brown. You are obviously paying for the packaging rather than the contents.

Molton Brown was bought out in 2005 by Kao Corporation but they're still fairly good.

Having said that though - at one point I got and bought loads of Molton Brown and soon got quite bored with that, and the scents.

@Wife2b

I love the hand wash, it’s the only hand wash that doesn’t leave my hands cracked and bleeding. Imperial Leather however…

Actually their hand wash and hand cream is the only thing from B&H I'd like to receive or give as gifts.

I tend to find that any gift sets even the more expensive ones in Harrods are overpriced. Better to buy separately but then again if purchasing at Harrods the price of the top brand gift sets don't really matter.