Where else can I find pretty, girly, smelly bath things?

March 21, 2009 7:14 PM

Totally girly but unique bath and body products. Who makes 'em? I mean besides Bath & Body Works, Sephora, The Body Shop, and Lush.

I'm partial to bath stuff and lotions that smell like dessert rather than flowery scents (I'm also a sucker for good package design), but really, I'm just looking for a new place to indulge my rarely-acknowledged girly side. What shops do you recommend? Either online or local (Los Angeles) works for me.

posted by katillathehun to clothing, beauty, & fashion (34 answers total)

Rocky Mountain Body Works has a some unique and wonderful stuff that Mrs. C,F loves.

A friend owns it and the website is a vortex of suck but it's really worth it.
posted by Confess, Fletch at 7:24 PM on March 21, 2009

Etsy is my go-to site when my girly side needs indulging.
posted by amethysts at 7:29 PM on March 21, 2009 [1 favorite]

Two others that come to mind are Carol's Daughter and, one of my absolute favorites, Cake Beauty.
posted by katemcd at 7:33 PM on March 21, 2009

philosophy has some pretty great stuff. you can buy it at sephora.
posted by thisisnotkatrina at 7:39 PM on March 21, 2009

Villainess carries unique products, like their Smooch, which is both an exfoliant and a moisturizer meant for shower use.

If you're a little on the Goth side, Black Phoenix Trading Post carries soaps, foot scrubs, and other items based on the scents offered by Black Phoenix Alchemy Lab.
posted by fairytale of los angeles at 7:58 PM on March 21, 2009

Oh, yeah, and BPTP/ BPAL have local vendors in Los Angeles-- LePink on West Sunset and Dark Delicacies over in Burbank-- and an occasional open house at their factory in North Hollywod.
posted by fairytale of los angeles at 8:00 PM on March 21, 2009 [1 favorite]

Cherry Blossom & Co is my absolute favourite - I get a huge order shipped all the way to Ireland once per quarter - and I am anxiously awaiting the re-opening of their store. SpaGoddess is on my To Buy From List, but there's a great list of bath and beauty products and shops voted top by Etsy buyers, pretty much all of which I lust after.

You can shop off that list for-ev-er. I have never been disappointed with an Etsy purchase, either.
posted by DarlingBri at 8:00 PM on March 21, 2009

My favorite place on the net for items like this is Your Cosmetics. I am particularly fond of The Thymes brand products.
posted by netbros at 8:32 PM on March 21, 2009

Ever since I found the bath and beauty products on Etsy, I have never looked back. I especially recommend Dress Green and Dhara Holistics.
posted by crankylex at 8:35 PM on March 21, 2009 [1 favorite]

Oh, I almost forgot: Sisters Simple Soap, if you just want soap. It's beautiful looking soap, beautifully packaged, and it makes a great gift!
posted by DarlingBri at 10:01 PM on March 21, 2009

I bought my friend a Neopolitan Soapsicle (realistic scents and other flavors too) at Kim & Jason's Lemonade Stand for Christmas and she loved it.

Vintage Sister has some really great lip balms.

If you're on a tight budget, most things at E.L.F. are a dollar.
posted by IndigoRain at 10:01 PM on March 21, 2009 [1 favorite]

You'd probably love MorganStreet at Etsy - she makes bon bon soaps and cake scrubs and cupcakes fizzies and things like that...sounds like what you're describing, and they're very professionally done and packaged. Very girly, lots of pink, lots of frosting, some things come in cake boxes. She runs a Saturday Night Special, too, so you can get a discount if you buy now. Look through her Sold Section to see her cake slice-shaped soaps and some other things that you can order too, like black raspberry truffle soap...stuff like that.
posted by iconomy at 10:03 PM on March 21, 2009

etsy etsy etsy. i also buy a lot of stuff in person from this place (Le Savon) - they make everything and their scents are really strong. my favorite scent (citron city) isn't on the website for some reason, but it smells like lemon meringue pie and makes me want to eat my hand when i use it.
posted by kerning at 10:13 PM on March 21, 2009 [1 favorite]

Seconding netbros' recommendation of Thymes.
posted by j at 10:14 PM on March 21, 2009

I am partial to Bliss - it is grotesquely expensive but the Vanilla Bath Gel is possibly the best smelling thing ever in the world.

(You maybe can buy stuff from this line at Sephora though - I can't remember).
posted by naoko at 10:45 PM on March 21, 2009

I'm a big fan of Cattail Soapworks in BC. Small and independent...Farmer's Market stylz, but their stuff is SLS free and smells amazing, and the lip balm lasts forever.
posted by sarahkeebs at 10:55 PM on March 21, 2009

All the Demeter Fragrances I've ever encountered have smelled exactly like what they were supposed to smell like (this includes the bizarre ones like Humidor, Fireplace, and Glue). Demeter has a lot of food-themed scents like Brownie, Angel Food Cake, Caramel, Chocolate Chip Cookie, Tomato, and Celery--some of these are available in soap and all are available in bath gel/body lotion.
posted by hurdy gurdy girl at 10:58 PM on March 21, 2009 [3 favorites]

Huge & enthusiastic second to Villainess. I'm not a fan of their lotions, but Smooch is absolutely amazing stuff. Your skin will love you.

For bath bombs, I rave about Fantasy Bath, but they don't seem to have a whole lot in the way of dessert scents.

I've also been pretty happy with the stuff I've ordered from SkinDecent and they have all kinds of sweet, foodie scents. Their pink sugar dupe is particularly fantastic. They also make these hair mists which, when used very lightly, drive my guy absolutely crazy.
posted by diamondsky at 1:48 AM on March 22, 2009 [1 favorite]

I like soap and glory stuff, the packaging is probably what appeals to me most, but they are nice products and there's different smells.
There really easy to get in the UK (in boots) but on their website it says there available through target
posted by Tingle at 2:02 AM on March 22, 2009

My girly-ass roommate swears by Fresh.
posted by saladin at 5:40 AM on March 22, 2009

You could make your own products. For example, see here for a really simple sugar scrub recipe. Add whatever scents you like, maybe almond and vanilla or coffee grounds for a nice dessert flavor.
posted by thirteenkiller at 7:53 AM on March 22, 2009

You might like Bath Junkie. You can get pretty much any lotion or bath product, in any custom made scent you can imagine. You can even get other things for your home in the scent you create, such as room spray and all purpose cleaner. And all the products are really gentle on the skin.
posted by Buttons at 8:08 AM on March 22, 2009

I feel the need to say that this may be my favourite Ask thread ever. It may bankrupt me, but I will go to the poorhouse smelling fabulous.

MetaFilter: You'll spend way more than $5.
posted by DarlingBri at 8:35 AM on March 22, 2009 [2 favorites]

Very late to the party, as I thought I had nothing to contribute, then remembered who I order from every once in awhile: Body Time! It's so much better if you can go into a store location the first time, but you have to be in the SF area. Berkeley, really. Anyway, they make all sorts of scented products, and you can specifically order whichever scent you like best. I tend to go with tea rose, but that's because I'm a freak for anything rose-scented. It's all natural stuff, handmade, and high quality. I especially recommend their bubble bath, but not shampoo or conditioner.
posted by brina at 9:12 AM on March 22, 2009

Oh man, oh man, oh man. I'm so girly-ing out right now. Thanks for the suggestions! So much awesomeness to check out.
posted by katillathehun at 11:20 AM on March 22, 2009

I'm also a sucker for good package design

You should definitely check out SoCal Cleanse.

"We decided to truly focus on packaging with the goal of creating eco-friendly, zero-waste products. We also wanted to ensure that our suppliers’ manufacturing processes supported our eco-friendly initiatives and focused on zero-waste, minimal water, and the use of non-toxic materials. Being a certified organic company we felt the packaging deserved as much attention as the organic sourcing of our ingredients."
posted by Fuzzy Monster at 11:35 AM on March 22, 2009

I've never bought anything from them, but the MOR packaging kicks my ass.
posted by birdie birdington at 1:54 PM on March 22, 2009

L'Occitane. Example: Green Tea Fizzy Sugar Cube. Bonus: "From the very beginning, L'OCCITANE has been a socially responsible company. The meaning and purpose of the brand are based on strong values: respect for both man and the environment, with an emphasis on exchange and sharing."
posted by iviken at 3:05 PM on March 22, 2009

Nthing Villainess. Their smooches are great. Scintillating is particularly awesome; it's a vanilla mint, but I like it because somehow it seems not very vanilla-y or mint-y.
posted by Nattie at 3:26 PM on March 22, 2009

Pangea Organics

I can't vouch for them in any way except to say that they are next door to where I work.
posted by Confess, Fletch at 4:20 PM on March 23, 2009 [1 favorite]

Sabon

nthing Black Phoenix. I'm a dude and I didn't even think I liked cologne until I tried their "Satyr" and "Envy".
posted by The Whelk at 8:56 AM on March 25, 2009

Oh, I second L'Occitane! I stayed at a hotel that had L'Occitane products and fell madly, madly in love with them. Who knew hotel shampoo could make your hair look so awesome?
posted by naoko at 9:09 PM on March 28, 2009

Update: for anyone curious, I've tried Villainess so far (specifically, the Pyromania Smooch and the Grundy mask), and it's excellent stuff. Good texture. Pleasing but not overpowering scent. Nice package design.

I've used Soap & Glory in the recent past, and I'm thinking it may be responsible for some itchy skin issues. I liked the stuff, but it may not be so good for sensitive skin.
posted by katillathehun at 8:56 AM on March 31, 2009

It's not at all candy-sweet, but Pangea Organics' Pyrenees Lavender and Cardamom Body Wash is my favorite luxe bath product for everyday use. I stocked up on like 4 or 5 of them when it was cheap recently at World Market's going-out-of-business sale; that's how much I love it and how much I don't want to think about ever running out. A little drop goes a long way, and it smells so clean but delicious, and that smell lightly lasts. My boyfriend always jumps me when he smells it, too.

It's cheesy, but Victoria's Secret Very Sexy body wash rules too. And I'll second Fresh if you have the dough (expensive but awesome; I only ever got to try it because a rich woman I house-sat for gave me some as a gift), etsy, Demeter Plain Pleasures, Philosophy (their 3-in-1 gelees are the best way to travel in luxury and efficiency in my opinion), MOR, and Korres (their Plum stuff and Vanilla Cinnamon Body Milk is yummy). You can often find Demeter, MOR, and Korres stuff that retails at like 20+ bucks for 4 at TJ Maxx/Marshall's; it's where I get all of mine. Jacqua's supposed to be good too, but I can't vouch firsthand; this opinion comes from a female friend of mine who is hyper-obsessed with candy-smelling bath stuff (I prefer fresh, vegetal scents myself). I have a feeling BPAL's bath stuff is great, but I've always been too overwhelmed by their catalog system to venture that way.

Specifically, MOR's body scrubs, which come in scents like Pistachio and Limoncello, rule--I was skeptical (I admit it, I'm one of those St. Ives Apricot Scrub freaks) but it's way better (and subtler and gentler) than I'm used to using, and it has stuff like mango extract and marshmallow in it! And you already mentioned Lush, but in case you haven't tried the Butterball ballistic in particular I highly recommend it--it is the number one most amazing smelling bath product I have ever used. It makes me want to eat myself in the tub.

This may not be your style, but this seller on etsy has always intrigued me as being girly bath products-focused but with a unique, geeky edge: her soaps look like different minerals and rocks, or have some historical (often Egyptian/Mediterranean, IIRC) fancy schmancy ingredients and properties.
posted by ifjuly at 2:08 PM on May 9, 2009