Villainess Soaps, run by Brooke Stant, is probably my favorite indie purveyor of bath and body products at the moment. I first heard of them through their collaborations with perfumers Possets and Black Phoenix Alchemy Lab (in the Black Phoenix Trading Post division). I still haven't tried any of their collaborations, but I've tried various products of theirs over the last few years and have never been disappointed.
Villainess is available not only through their own website, but other indie soap retailers such as The Soap Box Company (check out the exclusives only available through The Soap Box Company!) and Magical Omaha--they have some international stockists as well! They are based in Waverly, TN, and a number of local stores in the Nashville area carry Villainess products.
Packaging: Villainess is available not only through their own website, but other indie soap retailers such as The Soap Box Company (check out the exclusives only available through The Soap Box Company!) and Magical Omaha--they have some international stockists as well! They are based in Waverly, TN, and a number of local stores in the Nashville area carry Villainess products.
The packaging is well designed and high-quality--Villainess has a consistent aesthetic, and the packaging is sturdy and includes nice details like waterproof labels on the scrubs and lotions. I have no complaints about any of the packaging for the products I've tried, but I've heard complaints that their perfume ampoule bottles are fragile and break very easily. They appear to be moving to a new style of bottle for their perfumes, probably because of complaints about the old style of bottle.
Selection:
Villainess's site is divided into the following general sections:
- About Face--facial care products such as toners, clay masks, and cleansing oils
- Soap--currently 20 different scents available
- Smack!--a foaming body scrub, available in 26 premade scents and 1 custom option that allows you to choose your own combination of 3 scents out of 26 single note options
- Smooch!--a moisturizing body scrub, available in 10 different scents. I haven't tried Smack!, so I'm unclear on the exact difference between the foaming scrub and the moisturizing scrub; I do know that Smack! is a few dollars more expensive than Smooch! at $15 per jar rather than $11
- Whipped!--a thick body cream, available in 10 different scents
- Perfume Oils--currently available as a full size in 16 different scents, but the full collection (available in a sampler) consists of 21 different scents. There is a note that many scents are out of stock at the moment due to the packaging revamp.
There are also sections devoted to:
- Wicked As They Come--a set of products themed around a collaboration with author Delilah S. Dawson
- Gift Ideas--includes random products like candles, mugs, bubble bath, and tea.
- Clearance--self-explanatory
- Gift Certificates--also self-explanatory
Villainess provides two free samples with every order. Currently, you can choose from fifteen different samples of soap; the text at the top of the page suggests that sometimes Smooch! and Whipped! are available as samples as well.
You can purchase a pack of six perfume samples of your choice for $20, or sample all 21 of their scents for $62.
You can also purchase a pack of 12 slices of their best-selling soap scents for $11.50.
The Best Seller pack ($23) provides three random samples in addition to Dulces En Fuego Smooch!, Krakatoa Whipped! Body Creme, Scintillating Body Soap and Jai Mahal Perfume Oil.
Quality:
The quality of everything I've tried from Villainess has been excellent. Their soaps smell lovely, and are large, dense, and long-lasting, and do a good job of cleaning (my skin isn't fussy, though, so I am not sure if others might find the soap drying or harsh). The Whipped! lotion is creamy, rich, non-sticky, and moisturizing (check out my review here) and the Smooch! is appropriately scrubby and delightful (review here).
Cost:
The cost of Villainess's products is reasonable, though not bargain-basement, in my opinion--they're on the pricier side, but I think they have the quality to match, so these are good value even if the price per ounce isn't the lowest out there.
The soaps are $6 for a bar that weighs at least 3.5 oz ($1.71/oz)--compare this to Arcana soaps, which are $7.50 for 4.5 oz ($1.67/oz), Paintbox Soapworks hot process soaps, which are $7 for 5 oz ($1.40/oz) or Haus of Gloi soaps, which are $5-6 for a 3.7-4 oz bar ($1.25-$1.62/oz)
Since Haus of Gloi offers many similar options, I may as well continue offering price comparisons:
Smack! is $15 for 10 oz ($1.50/oz; compare to Haus of Gloi bubbling scrubs at $8 for 6 oz, or $1.33/oz)
Smooch! is $11 for 7 oz. ($1.57/oz; compare to Haus of Gloi emulsifying scrubs at $10 for 7.5 oz, or $1.33/oz)
Whipped! is $11 for 6 oz. ($1.83/oz; compare to Haus of Gloi pumpkin butters at $10 for 6 oz, or $1.67/oz)
The perfume oils are $16 for 5 mL. (Compare to Haus of Gloi at $12 for the same size, or BPAL General Catalog at $17.50 for the same size)
Customer Service:
I have not had to contact Villainess about any issues, but they provide multiple means of contact on their FAQ page, including two email addresses, a contact form, and a phone number, which is a rarity in the indie world, and always a reassuring sign.
TAT:
The turnaround time is quite good, in my experience. In my most recent order, I received a shipment notification four days after placing the order (over a weekend, though, so it was only two business days later). They state that they ship orders on the first Tuesday after payment arrives (consistent with my experience), but can expedite upon request.
So, in theory, the longest you would have to wait would be seven days before your package ships out, if you place an order on a Tuesday after the shipping deadline.
Shipping:
US shipping is free for orders of $100 or more.
I'm unclear on the shipping policy. In the shopping cart, for smaller orders, you can choose from USPS first class or Priority Mail or UPS Ground--when I created a sample order with a bar of soap, the cheapest shipping option was first class mail, estimated at a very reasonable $2.68. However, in the FAQ, it says that all orders are shipped via UPS Ground for a flat rate of $7.95. My last order seems to have been shipped via USPS Priority Mail, so perhaps the FAQ is out of date.
International shipping is available to anywhere in the world via USPS Priority Mail. International customers also get a free shipping option: shipping is free after $125 for North American (non-US) destinations, or $200 elsewhere in the world.
Personal Thoughts:
I really like using Villainess's products, and enjoyed reading their eloquent manifesto, which mirrors many of my own sentiments about seeing companies advertising "natural" and "chemical-free" products. Their key values are candor, accountability, safety, efficacy, and indulgence--I have to say I really love this list and approve of the way Villainess does business. They do some trash talking in the manifesto about the technicalities of animal testing, but they do have a cruelty-free logo on their site.
In addition, I was actually starting to write up this company overview when my heart sank because I saw that palm oil was listed as the #1 ingredient in their soaps. Palm oil is a big environmental problem--I started to feel that I shouldn't shop with Villainess anymore, and that I couldn't write a positive review of the company in good conscience. Then I clicked through to their Global Manifesto page and saw that Brooke was one step ahead of me--they are concerned about their sourcing and purchase only organic, sustainably harvested palm oil.
I have a few bars of Villainess soap and a new jar of Smooch! in my cupboard waiting to be used, and once those are done, I'm looking forward to trying some of Villainess's other products that are new to me--perhaps a custom Smack!, a candle, a mud mask, or some of their perfume oil.
The Soap Box Company has a very tempting-looking sampler of 6 exclusives for $10 (3 Whipped! samples, 3 Smooch! samples) so I might order through them next time. Then again, I've been wanting to try some of the Black Phoenix Trading Post collaboration soaps like the unspellable Xmvlzencab or Embalming Fluid, which is a fresh, lovely green tea scent in its perfume form.
If you're looking for specific recommendations out of the Villainess products I've actually tried, I can say I really enjoyed the scent and feel of their Crushed soap, which is raspberry and chocolate-scented and has little scrubby bits in it--too harsh for sensitive skin, but I loved it. I love their Ennui Whipped! and the Scintillating minty vanilla soap as well.
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