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

It's not so much the product being shit, I think we've all been on the receiving end of well meant but utter crap presents.

The problem with B&H is that it says, "I've not got enough knowledge about you as a person to know what you like (fair enough), but don't care enough to find out" or the more basic "You are not important enough to me to put any thought whatsoever into a gift for you"

It's worse than generic packs of socks.

It's not really a copy if the other brand isn't popular or well known in the UK, then.

Well one directly ripped the other off as the packaging & semiotics are almost exactly the same. I don’t know which way round it happened.

I don’t know what the relevance is for this thread though, as I can’t see where/why Tresemme was brought into the discussion.

Is there a mid-range one then? Between pound shop and Molton Brown? that I could never afford

I used to buy the handwash as it was always on offer, until I realised that it was reacting with my rings and giving me burns on my fingers(I just thought I had fat fingers...). Don't care how cheap it is now, I wont buy it

YANBU. It’s a cheap Molton Brown imitator.

OH calls it 'poor man's MB' and if he notices then it must be bad!!!

I think it's fine and would quite happily receive it and use it up. I also liked Ferrero Rocher prior to a Coeliac diagnosis.

Haha, I have around 15 B&H gift sets in the bottom of wardrobe! I have had to be very honest this year and say to everyone to please not waste their money on buying any more, I appreciate it but I have a stockpile!

Is there a mid-range one then?

& Other Stories do a nice hand wash

I love the handwash and have it in our downstairs loo, people usually comment on the fragrance, so it can't be that weak.

@namechangenumber2 I agree! The Aldi Abbot & Broome lime & patchouli hand wash is GORGEOUS. And only 75p

Maybe the Eastern European Tresseme is the same product with a different name for a different market, like Lays crisps in most of Europe and probably elsewhere as well, which are owned by the same parent company as Walkers.

There's lots of mid range mid priced handwash on all the supermarket websites, just not packaged up as a 'gift'.

Maybe the current mass awareness of reduction in excess packaging might see the death of gift sets as more people will realise that standard range toiletries with additional packaging that serves no purpose other than to dress up random groceries as a slightly bizarre gift is something to be avoided.

Maybe the Eastern European Tresseme is the same product with a different name for a different market

It’s not. I did work on the Tresemme brand for Unilever some years ago. The EE brand was really fucking their entry to some markets up.

I wish I could remember its name.

I like the handwash & buy it when it's on offer, it doesn't dry out my hands.

I found it, it’s called Syoss. Sorry for pointless derailing.

I have some Syoss. I bought it in Tesco (in England) on the recommendation of a Mumsnetter.

It's not very good, but I'm trying to use it up, because what else would I do with it? I can't bring myself to throw it away.

It's still on their website but says it's unavailable.

www.tesco.com/groceries/en-GB/products/294959677

Google suggests that it's also available from other online UK suppliers. Is this the imitation Eastern European Tresemme Laurie or have they themselves being imitated?

Most people on here shop at Joe Malone so not surprised at responses. They look nice, smell ok. I wouldnt be devastated if i got some..send it all to me..

Is this the imitation Eastern European Tresemme Laurie or have they themselves being imitated?

That’s what I don’t know. I don’t know which came first. Syoss is owned by Henkel, Tresemme by UL, one ripped off the other.

Syoss is a big presence in some markets (Eastern Europe and Germany) where Tresemme isn’t sold, whereas Tresemme is much bigger in Anglo markets and Asia. I don’t think there’s much overlap, so interested to hear you got it in the UK.

Neither are particularly high quality products.

Seems to work well on my hair. I used to pay through the nose for Kerastase at one time, but Tresemme works just as well, and my hairdresser rates it.

Pantene and Herbal Essences on the other hand I find terrible.

Of course, we could all just use soap......

It never occurred to me that it was meant to be posh or suitable for a gift

I buy it off the shelf in the supermarket as our bog standard hand wash because it Is always on offer so cheap, and I like the pink one (rose ?) and the brown one (ginger and black pepper?)

Most people on here shop at Joe Malone so not surprised at responses.

No they really don't. Most people shop at the supermarket, where you can buy lovely imperial leather shower gel that smells lovely and lathers beautifully for less than a £1. Why do people always insist that just people people complain about the quality, they must be rich?!

Yep, hate it and all the other ‘I don’t really know you or care about you’ landfill gifts on Boots 3 for 2.

Yep, they're like the stuff you get at hotels but dressed up nicely

You can get them for £10 so hardly expensive

All fur coat and nae knickers, that brand