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| An array of sample and full-sized GoW products. |
Many of the products I use come from Garden of Wisdom. This company, based in Prescott, Arizona, first attracted my interest because of its cult following on online forums and affordable prices. They sell both raw ingredients and finished products like cleansers, serums, and moisturizers.
Packaging
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| Pulled, checked, packed. |
I definitely wouldn't purchase from Garden of Wisdom if I were looking for a luxury experience--the containers I have are mostly opaque white plastic flip-top bottles with paper labels printed with the name of the product, its ingredients, and sometimes some minimal additional graphic design elements, like a stock photo of cranberries included on the label for their Cranberry Fruit HA serum.
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| Products are individually shrink-wrapped and packed in a plastic bag. |
I find the packaging annoying for a couple of products--for example, the small bottle of Light 'n' Bright serum I purchased has a very liquid, watery texture but a fairly large opening, so the first few times I used it, I spilled way too much serum when trying to dispense it; it just poured right out of the hole when I turned the bottle sideways, rather than coming out slowly or in droplets.
Selection
Garden of Wisdom has an enormous selection that I actually find a bit overwhelming sometimes. I think they're well aware of this, as their site has a link on the front page that says "No Time To Browse Our Site For Hours? Check Here For Our Customers [sic] Favorite Product Picks."
The finished products are divided into 18 sections:
- Cleansers
- Tonics
- Exfoliators
- Hydrators
- Masks
- Serums
- Carriers/Exotic Oils
- Facial Moisturizers
- Eye Products
- Body Products
- Hand Products
- Healing and Soothing Products
- Men's Products
- Products for Skin Conditions
- Rosacea Skin Care
- Sun Protection, Self-Tanning, and Bug Protection
- Sampler Packs and Skin Care Kits
- Hair Products
I've never purchased a premade kit. Most of my experience comes from the "a la carte" finished products, and from the raw ingredients side, I've purchased a small jar of manuka honey--haven't tried this yet, but supposedly it has antibacterial properties and potential skin benefits.
Samples
Sample sizes of many items are available for purchase, which is good since it allows you to patch test new products for potential allergies or intolerances before springing for a full size. Most of the samples are packs that allow you to pick a few options for a set price, with each sample size varying depending on the price of the full-sized individual item.
For instance:
- Three cleanser samples for $9.90, ranging from 0.25 to 0.5 oz
- Three hyaluronic acid serum samples for $13.90, ranging from 0.25 to 0.5 oz
- Three oil samples for $9.25, ranging from 4 grams to 1 oz
In other categories, like toners, moisturizers, or serums, you can buy sample sizes individually.
These are just a few examples--click into each subcategory to find the sample options for that category. The "sampler packs" link from the main Finished Product menu really just gives you the options for the premade skincare kits, and does not link to every sample pack option on the site.
Last but not least, Garden of Wisdom offers an interesting subsidized sample model where, for a nominal surcharge (currently between $0.05 and $1.25), along with your regular order, you can order one sample of a product that's under development.
Cost
Garden of Wisdom's prices seem quite reasonable to me, especially compared to mainstream skincare offerings from stores like Sephora. I don't think they're the absolute cheapest if you're willing to hunt around on the Internet a bit, so you may want to shop around a bit if price is your primary concern, but on the other hand, I certainly don't think they're ripping you off or anything.
For reference, compare the prices for cleansing oils:
- $1.71 an ounce for Kose Softymo cleansing oil
- $2.19 an ounce for Sephora brand cleansing oil
- $2.26 an ounce for Garden of Wisdom's cleansing oil
- $4.40 an ounce for Shu Uemura's cleansing oil
Or for maracuja (passion fruit seed) oil:
- $5.09 an ounce for From Nature With Love's maracuja oil
- $5.25 an ounce for Garden of Wisdom's maracuja oil
- $9.50 an ounce for Oca Brazil's maracuja oil
- $27 an ounce for Tarte's maracuja oil
It is a little hard to compare prices accurately when you're looking at the different formulations for finished items like serums or moisturizers, so pure ingredients like maracuja oil are more telling.
Customer Service
If you're willing to spend a minimum of $40, Garden of Wisdom offers an essentially free personalized skincare consultation, which I think is a really nice service. I haven't tried it myself due to lack of advance planning on my orders, but here's how it works--basically, you purchase this consultation for $40, then get a $40 credit to use in the store. They will send you an email with a questionnaire to fill out, and request photos of your skin without makeup on, then schedule a live chat with you to go over your personalized product suggestions.
Other interesting customer-service related features of the site to take note of include the forums, customer referral discounts, and live chat.
I did email them once because I had a concern, due to the smell, about one of my products possibly having gone bad. I got a polite same-day response back assuring me that the product had not gone bad, but that they would send me a replacement if I wanted to ship mine back (they did not offer to pay for the postage or give store credit, however). Given that their return policy states they do not take returns unless there was a defect in the product or an error on their part, this seems like an appropriate response.
TAT
This company has a very good turnaround time, in my experience. I've placed two orders with Garden of Wisdom so far; one was shipped within one day of ordering, and the other within three days of ordering.
Shipping
The shipping policies are here:
- You can choose from First Class or Priority USPS shipping
- International shipping is available
- Garden of Wisdom will charge the actual shipping price
- Free shipping on orders of $225 or more
However, when you go to actually check out, the site offers a fairly confusing DIY jumble of shipping options...
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Personal Thoughts
The areas of the site I've explored the most thoroughly are their oils and serums. I definitely recommend getting a sampler pack of oils and testing them out if you're interested in exploring moisturizing or spot treating your skin with different oils.
I had never moisturized with oils before getting a free deluxe sample of maracuja oil from Tarte. I really liked the oil--it absorbed quickly, kept my skin moisturized all day, and didn't leave me feeling greasy or smelling weird. When that ran out, though, I found myself reluctant to spend $46 on a 1.7 ounce bottle of the stuff, so I first bought a sample pack of oils and then large bottles of Garden of Wisdom's maracuja oil and camellia oil, both of which work wonderfully for me. I personally disliked their tamanu oil and red raspberry seed oils due to the smell.
My two other favorite items from Garden of Wisdom so far are the Cranberry Fruit Hyaluronic Acid serum and the Majik C Serum.
I ordered a sampler pack and all the HA serums seemed to perform essentially the same for me, so I selected my favorite on the highly scientific basis of which one smelled the best--the cranberry serum smells lightly fruity, tangy and refreshing. However, I would recommend the others I tried (Blue Mallow and Matcha Green Tea) as well. The HA serums have a thick, gel-like texture that's not too runny and spreads easily over the skin. They do a great job of locking in moisture and plumping up the skin; my (admittedly minor) marionette lines and lines under the eyes have been visibly diminished since starting to moisturize with HA serum and oils instead of just the drugstore night creams I used to use.
I've read that topical antioxidants are important for fighting aging and sun damage. The Majik C serum is simple, containing 15% L-ascorbic acid, ferulic acid to stabilize it, neroli hydrosol which is apparently also high in vitamin C, and optiphen, a preservative. Vitamin C is notoriously unstable, and while ferulic acid should stabilize it in the formulation, this serum has a labeled shelf life of 90 days and a warning not to use it if it changes color, so I probably wouldn't buy the 1 oz bottle unless someone else in my household was using it as well--it seems like it would be hard to use it up before it went bad. This serum is very watery and has a strong citrus smell.
I use a few drops each of the Majik C serum, HA serum, and oil as my moisturizing/anti-aging treatment in the morning, smooshing them all between my palms and applying the mixture to my face. I let them sink in for a few minutes and then apply sunscreen. At night, I typically use the oil and HA serum to moisturize, but swap out the Majik C for a retinol or alpha hydroxy acid-based active treatment.
In my next order, I'm interested in trying neem and perilla oil samples, since I've heard these are wonderful spot treatments for blemishes, and I'll definitely reorder the Majik C and HA serums once I run out. I'm intrigued by their GoAway Circles eye serum for treatment of dark circles, since I've read good things about Matrixyl 3000 and haloxyl for treatment of circles, so I may try that soon as well.
Have you tried any products from Garden of Wisdom? What are your favorites?
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