Indie Spotlight on Small Bath and Body Companies – Part 2

As my FAQ indicated, ordering from etailers is generally very good, but like with anything, there is also the bad and the ugly. I wanted to post this so that you also have an intro to some of the etailers I order the most from because I have a bunch of scent and product reviews posts coming up in the next month.

First, the good:

Many etailers have great customer service, blend their products by hand in small batches, have a myriad of scents to choose from, use high quality ingredients, have some or many natural products, accommodate special requests, ship within their turnaround times and are just generally lovely shopping experiences.

Here are some of my favorite etailers.

First, my go-to etailers:

Cleanse your Soul: Great CS, long list of fun scents, wide range of products and very reasonable turnaround (2 to 3 weeks). CYS’s owner, Judy, makes some of her own bases, and her body emollient is very popular (and very natural, made with a germall preservative). Other natural products are the Body Cream and the Behemoth scrub. Judy also buys some premade bases that are not quite as natural. Sadly, my beloved Foaming Sugar Scrub (from which I am trying to move on) is among them. That said, even though it does have chemicals, I have never had a problem with it, nor does it dry out my skin.

Coconut Hut: I love this etailer because her scent list represents all my favorite scent families. Her Big Kahuna Body Butter is one of my favorite natural products and it is made from scratch, as is her slightly less natural (but still very natural) Shea Cream. Her CS has traditionally been very good although she just reopened after 5 months of closure, and is swamped. Her shower wash is pretty natural, but many of her other products have premade bases (like the soufflé).

Flour City Bakery: Great CS and growing catalog of products and scents. (note, FCB is now KZM Facial Care Boutique, and can be found on an etsy site)

Skindecent: My first etailer ever. Amazing CS and usually very quick TAT (less than a week sometimes). Marliss makes the majority of her products from scratch and uses Germall preservatives. Three of her products are premade bases (the conditioner, the Bath Whip and the Body Buffer). Good scent list, but not as long as some other etailers (that’s good for me though – I already have trouble choosing). Also, SDE is the maker of the world’s most AMAZING bath bombs ever. They beat Lush in the tush.

Bathed and Infused: Phenomenal TAT and very fun, different and sophisticated scents. Unfortunately, most of their products have parabens, so I now only order their edps, which are very long lasting.

Jeanne’s Bath Shoppe – Another etailer with great CS and quick TAT. I love her body butter, foot cream and her soaps, both of which are made with high quality and natural ingredients. I cannot comment on the rest of her products though, as I have not tried them. Sadly she is currently closed for at least a few months.

MMU: MMU has a long TAT, but the scent list is great in terms of its variety. My favorite product there is the Body Custard, which is a 98% natural thick body butter. I only order occasionally because of the long TAT and the fact that they are pricy compared to other etailers, but I always love my orders from there.

Wylde Ivy: I enjoy the soaps (and they are all natural) but can no longer use anything else from that line except for the soaps and the perfumes. There are parabens in all the other body products, sadly. The CS is great as is the scent offering.

The bad:

Plenty of etailers do not have consistent customer service. One that people really have had problems with is The Body Dessert Shop. Some people receive their orders in a matter of a couple of weeks and all the contents are well packed, while others have waited up to 4 months with no products, or receive products completely shattered because of inadequate packing. Another one (according to makeupalley.com) has been Suds and Light. Plenty of etailers do not post their TAT times. In my opinion that is a huge red flag. TBDS, Suds and Light, and Isle of Eden have been the worst offenders in the last year, based on the information I see on makeupalley.com.

Also, sometimes, no matter how wonderful the etailer is, NOTHING works with your body chemistry: those moments really suck. I know they happen a lot to my friend Hillary (author of an awesome blog dedicated to etailer reviews), and they have happened to me. You basically end up with a whole order of stuff that just does not smell good on you because of body chemistry issues. Also, sometimes skin needs changes over time. You might find yourself needing a more moisturizing butter than your favorite etailer offers.