ONE BATH AND BODY: First Impressions

Yes, I admit it.  I love it all... the haircare, the skincare, the bath junk... all of it!  From bath bombs to bath melts to solid deodorant to dusting powders to solid serums to massage bars, AHHHH!!  LOVE!  It's so lovely and delicious and so good to my finicky skin that it's pretty much been my exclusive hair/skin/body brand since about last December when I placed my first order.

However, my closest LUSH store is about 5 hours away, and the best internet deals come from the UK site.  Okay, so the mailing time down to south USA nowheresville seems to be about 4-5 weeks at times.  And, it's a bazillion degrees here, meaning that some of my stuff is subject to melt.

Did I mention that due to my bad timing, I'm pretty much all out of LUSH?

Okay, so I was browsing around my local Target, looking for a few things to try in the meantime, and I thought for a moment I was seeing a mirage.  It looked like LUSH. and the packaging said things like LUSH, except, of course, it was a Target.  Go figure.

So, I grabbed a few things to bring home and try, hoping I'd found a happy medium until the weather cools down a bit or until I just cave and place another online order and wait, wait, wait for it to arrive.

I've been using these products for about 2 weeks now, which isn't quite enough to do a full blown review, but is probably just enough to give my first impressions.  So, here we go.

Starting with the company, (http://www.onebathandbody.com) prides itself on two things: being natural and being affordable.  Each product is $10 or less, which is definitely a contrast to LUSH, which can really grab your pennies, dimes, and dollar bills pretty quickly.  However, at least at this point, there's definitely not the variety and selection that LUSH boasts... and the Target stores seem to carry even less than the website, which again at this time just isn't much.

Most products claim to be at least 99% natural and earth friendly as, for example, the shampoos are solid pucks encased in recyclable cardboard instead of the bulky plastic bottles we have all come to love.  The product categories thus far are soaps, solid shampoos, lotions, body butter, massage bars, bath fizzers, lip balms, bath salts, conditioner bars, and sponges.  Of these, my Targets carry 3 of the soaps, 2 of the shampoos (and 1 conditioner), a handful of the lotions/butters, one massage bar, 3 fizzers, most lip balms, and one conditioner bars.  So, don't start on the website and work from there... the three things I wanted to try most (the pink soap, oatmeal soap, and Sweeten bar) weren't even available for purchase.  Alas.

So, starting with the soaps.. there are six "flavors":

- Just for Me (cream colored, supposed to smell like Oatmeal.  Looks like Lush's "porridge" but not available in Targets yet)

- Blast from the Past (pink colored.  Looks like "rock star".  No clue what it smells like.  Not available in stores yet)

- Peace (reddish colored.  Looks like "karma".  Smells nothing like Karma, though.  I haven't purchased this one yet, but will tell you more when I do.)

- Sweet Honey (pale golden colored.  Looks like "Honey I Washed the Kids" but smells completely different.  Smells less like toffee and more like soapy sugar.  I don't have this one but will tell you more if I get it.)

- Citrus Peel (orange colored.  Looks like "Sexy Peel".  This is actually the only soap I bought, and it actually does have a pretty refreshing citrus smell.. like soap oranges.)

- Extra Virgin (pastel green.  Not sure of any pale green LUSH soaps.  I don't have this one, but it is the most "nature-ish" scented of the soaps.  I may try this one at a later time.)

If you use LUSH soaps, you probably know that most of them don't lather well.  Now, LUSH states that this is due to the use of a natural eco-friendly base, and if I recall correctly they swapped bases from palm oil fairly recently to avoid further depleting the source.  The One Bath and Body soaps, on the other hand, actually do lather, and are more reminiscent of the typical bar soaps we've used through the years.  Whereas the LUSH soaps can tend to be a little "out there" (think "I Should Coco" for example, with its milky white base and it's hot pink coconut shavings), the One soaps are pretty straightforward.  Just as the LUSH soaps all tend to have the same underlying scent, the One soaps have a distinct fragrance as well... however it is one that is both more muted and more "soapy" than LUSH.  With each one I thought "oh, this smells like oranges and dial soap" "this smells like honey and a dove bar"... and in all honesty, that made the product a little less appealing than my LUSH soaps.  

One more piece of info, though... while LUSH soaps typically range from $5.95 to $7.95 per 3.5oz ($1.70-$2.27oz), One soaps are  $6.59 for 5 oz ($1.32/oz).

As far as the lip balms, lotions, and body butters go, I have no real information on those yet.  I've become so accustomed to my LUSH solid lotions (massage bars) I wasn't really interested in bottled lotion.  And, I'm just not a fan of lip balms in little tins that require me to constantly stick in my fingers.  Just seem so unsanitary to me, ya know?

But, solid shampoos... ahhh, I love them.  If you've never used a solid shampoo, it's a bit of a shock at first.  You pull out a little round hockey-puck looking gizmo, wet your hair, and then either rub the bar a few swipes over your hair *or* rub it in wet hands and rub into your hair from your hands.  Very cool concept, and pretty efficient, and these last forever.  I've yet to actually use up a LUSH puck, honestly.

One thing to note, though... One shampoo bars actually do contain sodium laurel/laureth sulfate...  which, depending on your reasoning for choosing a "natural" product, may defeat the purpose.  However, they ARE paraben free (more on parabens later).

Target sells two of these pucks:

- One for OILY hair

- and one for NORMAL hair

 

My store was out of the "oily" version, so I bought the "Hair Biscuit" version.  At $7.69 for 2 oz ($3.85/oz) these are less expensive than the LUSH counterparts which are $9.95 for 1.9 oz ($5.23/oz), plus each comes in its own little storage unit (which are usually sold separately at LUSH unless part of a buy 2 pucks get 1 case free deal).  On the flipside, LUSH has more variety; for example, one for shine, one for dangling, one for keeping blondes blonde, one for itchy scalps, one for fluffy hair, and so on.  I expect, though, One will be expanding at some point ... hopefully.

In terms of the scent of "Hair Biscuit" it is FABULOUS.  Seriously, next time your'e in target, pick one up and take a whiff.  Whereas the soap scents were just "soapy" and somewhat unappealing to me, the shampoo scent completely drew me in from the start.   It has a strong jasmine undertone, and is sweet, fun, and delicious.

In terms of what it does for my hair, it really does make my hair soft and manageable, and the scent lingers for most of the day after the wash.  Granted, if you have dry hair, you'll definitely want to add conditioner, and if you're overly oily, you may consider the "Oily" puck instead.

Personally, I LOVE the Hair Biscuit, and will continue to use this one, in alternation with my favorite LUSH solid conditioner (to be reviewed at a later date).

Since this is getting so long, let me cut it off here and continue with a PART TWO, coming next for those who are interested.  Stand by!...

(FTC disclaimer: I am in no way associated with either LUSH COSMETICS or ONE BATH AND BODY COSMETICS.  Unfortunately, I am not cool enough for anyone to have sent me free products from either, and everything was purchased with my own hard-earned ching.)