Hi everyone! Today I'd like to tell you about Paintbox Soapworks, a brand that sneaked its way into my favorites of 2013. To read more about my experience with this brand's soap and solid perfume, follow the jump!
Paintbox Soapworks is an Etsy-based indie bath and body company run by a woman named Hayley. The brand is located in Pennsylvania, USA. In the shop's About page, Hayley shares her story of the origin of Paintbox Soapworks, and also shares the following helpful information for folks with coconut allergies:
I've devoted myself to formulating coconut-free soaps, thanks in part to the number of folks with coconut allergies who have crossed my path in recent years. But honestly, I do coconut-free because someone once told me it couldn't be done. And I said watch me...I ordered some samples and a solid perfume from this company after hearing some recommendations, and I'd like to tell you about my order!
Packaging: Right from the start, this brand impressed me with beautiful packaging. My order included a sample set of glycerin soaps. For $6, I received five individually wrapped and beautifully labeled mini bars of soap, neatly arranged in a sleek black box. I couldn't believe how lovely and professional it looked for the price!
I also ordered a solid perfume, which was just as nicely packaged. Hayley pours her solid perfumes into small round tins with screw-top lids. I like the threading because it makes me feel really confident about tossing the perfume into my bag without worrying about the lid coming off. My only complaint about the tin is that the lid screws down pretty far onto the base, so it can be a little tough to grip the base with my fingers to open the tin.
Selection: Paintbox Soapworks offers a general catalog of permanent scents, plus a rotating selection of limited edition and seasonal scents. The brand crafts a great assortment of products: glycerin soaps, hot process (coconut-free) soaps, lotion, sugar scrubs (called Sorbettos), a bubbly and moisturizing bath product known as a Bath Streusel, wax melts, solid perfumes, and shaving soaps. I've only tried the glycerin soaps and solid perfume so far, but I have every intention of trying more.
As another note about selection, I want to express how happy I am that the brand offers most of its scents in most of its products. This makes it easy to layer the scents I love for even more longevity, and it means I can buy a soap sampler set to try out a handful of new scents before springing for a full size. Based on an exchange I had with Hayley, I believe the only reason a particular scent might not make it into a particular product is for safety reasons - for example, use of an essential oil that's fine in rinse-off products like soap but unsafe for prolonged skin contact as in lotions or solid perfumes.
Samples: Specific to my order, I was delighted to receive a free soap sample tossed in with my order. I also want to talk about the sample selection in general. In the months I've been perusing Paintbox's offerings, I've seen sample version of the glycerin soaps, lotions, and Sorbetto sugar scrubs offered. The glycerin soap samples are incredibly generous for the price, and give you enough uses to figure out whether you like the scent enough to buy more products. Take a look at the size of one of the soap samples:
Quality: I am really impressed by the quality of these products. The solid perfume melts nicely under my fingers and feels great on my skin, and the scent lasts for hours. I will absolutely be picking up more of these. But the true standouts were the glycerin soaps! They quickly lather up into a rich and creamy foam, which makes my shower feel a little more luxurious. The soaps are perfectly scented for my taste - enough to smell fantastic in the shower and leave a faint scent to linger on my skin, but no one else will be able to smell it unless they give me a hug. Since I have friends and coworkers with scent sensitivities, it's important to me that any scent stay very close to my skin, so I'm delighted with the soaps.
Cost: I'm really happy with the cost of the products. I still can't believe I could get a beautifully packaged soap sampler for $6. The solid perfumes are $9, which is right on par with other indie solid scents, and still a hell of a deal given the quality if you ask me. The other products look right on par with other bath and body shops I frequent, with the exception of the Sorbetto sugar scrubs, which are both a bit pricier and a bit more expensive to ship from Paintbox Soapworks than they are in other stores. However, I haven't ordered a scrub and can't determine how much product comes in Paintbox's full-sized scrubs, so it's entirely possible the price difference is due to a larger product, which would also account for the increased shipping cost.
Customer Service: I have nothing but positive things to say about my experience with Hayley's customer service. When I contacted her with a question, I got a quick and helpful response. My products were shipped out quickly and arrived beautifully packaged.
TAT: I don't remember exactly how long the TAT for my order was, but I do remember them shipping and arriving quickly.
Shipping: Shipping is really reasonable on all items, though I did raise an eyebrow at the Sorbetto shipping, as I described in the Cost section above. Otherwise, it seems very much in line with other US-based indies I frequent.
Personal Thoughts: I really like this brand! As I said at the top, the glycerin soaps in particular sneaked their way into my 2013 favorites without me realizing it. I distinctly remember picking up a different brand's soap after working my way through several Paintbox soaps and trying to figure out why my lather felt so wimpy. Hayley is very good at what she does, and I can't wait for her to finish her post-holiday restocking so I can buy more high quality, delicious smelling products!
As a final note, I want to show you one last shot of the brand new soaps all lined up in their box:
These are some seriously beautiful products - I would be delighted to give these as a gift. My selections ended up being somewhat monochromatic, but the shop stocks soaps in a variety of colors. They're gorgeous and inexpensive, they smell amazing, they lather and clean your skin beautifully. What's not to love?
Have you ever bought anything from Paintbox Soapworks? What did you think of it? What scents would you recommend I try on my next order?
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I love Paintbox Soapworks! I started the same way you did...with a sampler. Great price for a ridiculously-long-lasting amount of lathery, sweet, yummy soap. I can't believe how long even the sample sizes last, given how much lather and scent they produce. My favorite part: I have scent allergies and am a HSP, so while I love a bit of fragrance, a lot of the commercial scents out there are overpowering and artificial. Haley's soaps smell good enough to eat but don't waft out overpoweringly.
ReplyDeleteI adore Paintbox. I was previously very devoted to LUSH for all my bar soap and have completely converted to Paintbox Soapworks. I cannot praise her Gingermilk soap highly enough. The scent is spicy and gingery and creamy and the lather is so thick I could make a bubble bath out of a piece of one bar. Perfect for shaving legs and the bits of ground ginger (I think) on the top of the bar are a lovely very mild exfoliant.
ReplyDeleteI commissioned Paintbox to make a collection of 'calling card' soaps with my internet nickname an email address for a convention I attend every year in case I made new friends and wanted to keep in contact. Hayley of Paintbox even especially designed a cool label for me and was very communicative.
I could go on and on. There is a lot of variety for different skin types and sensitivities and Paintbox has a genius science-meets-art approach.