Is anyone else just finished with The Body Shop?

[QuimReaper]

I "rediscovered" TBS about 5 years ago (having had them firmly pegged in my head as '90s purveyors of elephant-shaped soaps and "bath pearls") and found I really liked their stuff, have used them pretty consistently since then. I order several times a year, whenever they have a good offer on (which recently is all the time - as another poster put it earlier this year, soon they'll be paying us to use their products. Not a good omen) and buy people presents from there.

However, in the last year or so they have:

• Changed the eyebrow pencil I liked from a good stiff one to a useless smudgy crayon which literally looks like you've finger-painted your brows on with clay, and half the pencil is this gold "highlighter" thing which is a waste as it gets used at about 10% the rate of the eyebrow bit
• Discontinued my favourite Honey & Oat face mask, which they always touted as an OMG-bestseller and were frequently sold out of, until they abruptly discontinued it to usher in an inferior and much more expensive product
• Discontinued the Rainforest Volume shampoo & conditioner which I used to buy.

But the most recent and weirdest thing they've done is to the plain flannel headbands. I accidentally left mine in a hotel bathroom so nipped into my nearest Body Shop to buy a replacement, and found that they've changed it so that it's a bizarre, tiny little thing with no stretch, so you more or less break your nose and garrotte yourself trying to get it over your head That's such a basic product to get wrong, it suggests to me that they literally don't care any more. I was so cross about the headband that I actually marched it back into the store the next day for my £4 back on a matter of principle, and the shop staff passed it around amongst themselves in disbelief at the change. One of them was so convinced it must be a mistake that she took another one from the shelf out of its packet, but of course it was the same.

It's not even that I'm boycotting them (although I am) so much as that I've literally run out of products to buy from them. Every single thing I was loyal to has been changed or discontinued, the only thing left in their whole offering which appeals to me is shower gel, which I can get absolutely anywhere.

Is it just me?

My sister likes their grapefruit range - which is quite zesty. But I will never buy anything from them full price as I get texts fairly frequently giving codes for 40% discounts.

I think they will go the way of BHS - they are no longer cheap or that ethical, and there are similar products elsewhere which are cheaper (eg those body butters)

The sales staff are quite full on IMO.
I went in because there were stands in the doorway of "Buy Shampoo Get Conditioner Free" offers.
Top level Aloe Vera, middle Banana, lower level Ginger.

Except Ginger shampoo doesn't have a conditioner.....and you had to buy the matching S/C combo. And Ginger wasn't in the Special Offer - so why the blazes put it on the stand?

I miss the Oatmeal&Honey mask from years gone by. The most recent one was too creamy not gritty enough.

agree

I got disillusioned with them when they sold themselves and their ethics to L'Oreal. I used to walk by one of their shops to/from work, I havn't done this routinely for s few years and havn't felt the urge to seek them out.

YANBU. BS lost its way years ago.

Owned by L'Oréal, who sell in China, so test on animals. Not even cruelty free any more!

I tried the vitamin E eye cube; firstly its cylindrical so that annoyed me, and the product was awful! It was shimmery and it dried my skin out and made it itchy! Definitely worth looking around for a better product! It's a shame though because I love the sound of some things but am put off so easily.

They're in the process of being sold to Natura Brazil, a cruelty-free brand.

I think, oddly, for me there are just too many stores (3000!) so they just feel routine. There seem to be as many Body Shops are there are Boots, Superdrug, and pound shops. I feel like in my 20 years of having my own money I've probably bought everything they make.
They really desperately need a change in marketing and have ruined their price proposition by having too many discounts. Sometimes in the sale you can now get a £13 tub of Body Butter for about £2.50 by the time you take off 50% and then add an extra 40% plus free delivery.

I still use their body butter, and I love their Vitamin E moisturiser.

I've been angry with then ever since they discontinued my fave wheatgerm soap circa 1998! Bastards!

The offers and sales don't even do it for me. Blurgh. It all smells so plasticky sweet and fruity too. It brings on headaches.

Nope. I'm still a fan.

Anyone know where you can find cheaper but still nice body butters?

Stopped using them when they sold out to L'Oreal who test on animals.

Haven't missed them one little bit.

Boots and Tesco, Champagne

(though the Body Shop ones are a steal when they are half price in the sale and then there is one of there flash 40% off everyintg, incuding sale items)

I still like the vitamin eye creams but they've changed the drops of youth serum and now it brings me out in spots - and it's still got that crappy squeazy thing so that you cant get the last bit out of the bottom

Their honey lip balm was the best lip balm ever. Then they discontinued it, for which I have never forgiven them.

The shower gel is good value though. I got a couple of the big bottles on discount and each one has lasted for months.

There are always more shop assistants than customers in our local branch-I'm amazed it hasn't closed down.

In the 80s/90s the same branch had queues going out isn't the door on Saturday afternoons and was hugely popular-it did different things that were affordable. Surely it's better to sell things cheaper and be really busy and popular than have no customers?!

I think they are trying to aim themselves at the 'high end' market but people who can afford expensive stuff, probably don't want to shop at the Body Shop.

There have been some great products over the years but they've all been randomly discontinued for no good reason so I've given up. I've also no idea who their target market is anymore. Rich Hippies?

I finished with it about 20+ years ago when I sensed it was aimed at teens and not more mature women. I only liked it on its heyday back in the 70s.

It has totally lost its way, and our nearest has more staff than customers most days, it's all overpriced and too many things have been discontinued over the years. Anita Rodrick, sadly, must be turning in her grave

They're in the process of being sold to Natura Brazil, a cruelty-free brand.

^ Yep. And Natura also won't sell in China as they are opposed to animal testing, so TBS is sort of going back to its roots.

I used to love their concealer years ago, the sort like a lipstick, and I actually stocked up on it at their outlet shop in Cheshire Oaks. Then when I'd used them all up, I had to back into the high street store and found they'd changed it to a chubby pencil type one that needed a special sharpener (couldn't use an existing B Shop sharpener with two holes I already had), so had to spend even more money buying the sharpener. Went in recently looking for it and guess what, discontinued, and the replacement concealer is like a shimmery 'touche eclat' type so not what I wanted. The sales assistant actually suggested I go to Superdrug and buy a 'Collection' one for a few pounds!