Cleanliness is next to Godmoddiness

I think it's fairly obvious to all that I'm not what you'd call a reliable person. I might be one of the least reliable people on the planet. Back in January I got my first One Hand Washes The Other (hereafter referred to as OHWTO) order, took lots of pictures of the box and was very excited to try them out and promised to review them. Shortly afterwards I got the OHWTO prize I'd won from Grey's wonderful Halloween contest last year - the first one went astray in transit and they both, wonderfully, remade the prizes and sent them again.

My first order also contained a sample of a stock fragrance OHWTO sells called Fresh Snow. I knew I had to smell it the instant I saw the description for it:

This fragrance mimics the feeling of peace and tranquillity after a fresh snowfall. It is a very ozone-y fragrance, reminiscent of clean laundry or fresh cotton. This fragrance has a crisp heliotrope top with supporting notes of sprint water, juniper berry, vetyver and sandalwood.

I have simple, but very specific tastes in fragrance. I hate anything dark/spicy/musky/cloying/green/earthy etc. I like light, sweet, fruity/ozone/aqua/airy/cotton scents. Clean laundry is my favourite smell in the world (diluted bleach is the second, I guess I have issues with things smelling clean). Sometimes I put the dryer on when I'm sad and wash and dry clean things just to have the smell fill the house. I've been known to linger outside the dry cleaners, and when I was little I used to sit outside and play next to the vent the dryer used.

The way some people feel about their signature complex scent, I feel about the smell of fresh laundry. It's warm pyjamas following a hot shower, after you've been stuck outside in the freezing rain for hours. It's clean sheets on the bed when you're exhausted, and the perfect number of pillows. For me, it's all about that feeling of being comfortable and safe where you are and being able to completely relax.

I've never been very interested in conventional perfume, because I've always thought that my clothes smelled better than they did, and lamented not being able to just take a bath in fabric softener. So perhaps you'll understand, then, when I say that the instant I smelled that little sample vial of Fresh Snow, it started something in me.

I had to have it. I had to have everything I could possibly get in it. I had to use them all over me all at once to make sure I smelled entirely of it. In a perfect world, Becca would invent some means of making my entire house smell like this permanently.
I immediately placed a pretty large order, for one of ... almost everything, I think, that Becca makes all in the scent Fresh Snow. I ordered a few other solid perfumes as well, but truth be told as long as I have my Fresh Snow, nothing else gets touched.

When it arrived I didn't pause long enough to photograph anything before I dived right in, and I managed to use almost everything up, so I apologise for having a lack of pictures to show. Out of three orders and one prize-pack, I've only got pictures of two of them due to my slight impatience-problem.

So far, I've bought:
1x Black Magic Soap in a 2oz solid bar
1x Black Magic Soap in a 4oz solid bar
1x Tropical Vacation Gift Set (soap & solid scent)
1x Maple Syrup Gift Set (soap & solid scent)
2x Vegan Bath Bar Soap in Fresh Snow
1x Sugar Creme 4oz in Fresh Snow
2x Lip Balm in Peachy & Bubblegum
3x Solid Scent in Fresh Snow, China Rain & Partridge in a Pear Tree
1x Loofah Soap in Fresh Snow
1x Roll-On Perfume 1/3oz in Fresh Snow
2x Perfume Samples in Fresh Snow & Rain

I was lucky enough to receive as giveaway prizes:
1x Brains Soap in Sugar Skulls
1x Sugar Creme 2oz in Sugar Skulls
1x Whipped Soap 8oz in Sugar Skulls
1x Solid Scent in Sugar Skulls

As free samples in my orders, I received:
1x Sample vial in Bitten
7x Solid sample in Mercantile, Desolation Angel, Jasmine, Orange Crystal, Partridge in a Pear Tree, Citrus Cilantro, & China Rain.

Website

OHWTO used to be on Etsy, but moved permanently to Artfire after the fiasco with Etsy's privacy settings. I know that the owner felt bad that she had encouraged people to create an Etsy account to shop with her, and as a result had their purchases made public because of Etsy's ridiculous determination to try and be Facebook. I know many indie owners are trying to move away from Etsy, as their fees and policies make them a poor long-term solution, but I was impressed that it was the violation of her customers' rights which was the last straw and prompted the move.

The Artfire was recently changed around and looks pretty nice, for an Artfire store. The graphics for the store always reflect the brand beautifully, the fonts match but are readable, the layout and categories are clear. Navigation is simple enough, you can tell what is where and find what you're after quite easily. All of the listings include a good description of the product, an accurate ingredients lists, usually some explanation of the ingredients, and in place of the usual natural-is-fucking-magic bollocks is an honest admission which encourages the customer to do their own research.

Now, you can go ahead and google these skin-loving additives and see for yourself what their benefits are and how people use them (and please- I encourage EVERYONE to do their own research and come to their own educated conclusions)

While the ingredients are listed with some of their believed benefits, the copy is honest in addressing the fact that these are not proven, only widely believed, and all the soap promises to do is make you clean. I can't even express how much I love this approach. Take note, natural purveyors everywhere: THIS IS HOW YOU DO THINGS. Enough with the condescending, preachy, completely baseless claims which just show off your own ignorance. I really wish more companies would follow this example.

Shipping

I remember on my first order I was surprised, the shipping seemed really high. Around $9 I think. The dollar value of my order was low, as I was shopping from a sale, so I was a little leery of the shipping sum. When the box arrived I was surprised to see that Becca had actually undercharged me on shipping by about 30c. Since then, I haven't blinked at the shipping cost at checkout. I know that it will be either dead-on or very close on either side of the actual shipping cost. If it's significantly less when it's mailed, I know Becca will refund the difference to me.

When I placed my large order, I was in communication with Becca about my options, and she was kind enough to tell me the shipping quote with a 4oz jar and also with an 8oz jar, since the extra 4oz pushed the shipping cost quite a lot, so I could make my own decision and understood exactly where my money was going. I have to say I really appreciate that. As an international buyer I get used to paying exorbitant shipping costs, and it makes me really sad when companies try to profit off that or overcharge or don't really care that I have to pay more to get their items. I always get the feeling that Becca genuinely wants to save me money on shipping wherever she can, and I appreciate that effort.

My large order was snagged by customs, and I had to pay fees and had it delayed. Since then I've been placing more smaller orders instead; I can get everything I want in about two or three orders which I know will slide under customs' radar, and I know that I won't be getting screwed on an inflated flat rate shipping charge.

Shipping times vary; I've gotten packages after just a week, and I've also had to wait three to four weeks when they attract customs' attention. This is pretty standard for stuff from the US.

Packaging

This is where OHWTO excel more than any indie I've seen. My parcels arrived stamped or decorated on the outside, usually with the OHWTO key.

Open it up, and my stuff is not only packed securely, but in more little bags, gift bags, with bows and ribbons then I know what to do with. I actually have a drawer for the little bags and ribbons now, which I save to re-use when I send someone something. There's usually a couple of cute stickers hiding under my smellystuff, and OHWTO postcards, business cards and occasionally even fridge magnets. Remember that the shipping quote is always dead-on, so I'm not being charged for the adorable packaging and the personalisation and extras.

One of my favourite parts of any OHWTO package, is the invoice envelope. It's a little brown envelope with my invoice folded up inside and a couple of solid scent samples tucked away in it. It's stamped with a key and sealed with a blob of red glittery vegan faux-wax, with OHWTO stamps.

My bow-drawer also has a lot of those little wax seals. I can't bring myself to throw them away, I love them. I wish I had my own wax seal and ravens to send letters. The invoice inside always has a personal, hand-written note.

I know that Becca hates choosing samples for me, because my scent-taste is weird and I'm extremely picky. She does a great job though, and I like that I get to try a couple of new things each time I order.

Pricing

Stock perfume oil is $8 for a 1/3oz roll-on bottle, which is about 9.5ml. The private stock perfume oils are $9 for 5ml, or $16 for a 1/3oz roll-on bottles. Private stock perfume oils are the custom blends that Becca has created herself, whereas stock perfume oils come straight from the supplier. The stock oils are roughly half the price of the private blended ones, which seems reasonable to me; the oils that make up private stock formulations are usually more expensive than the stock ones, and they require a lot more work. The private stock oils are competitively priced at the low-end of the indie market, they're a little bit more expensive than some (few more cents per ml) and a hell of a lot cheaper than others (fewer dollars per ml). The stock oils are a bargain.

The solid scents are... ridiculous. They're $3.99 for a 0.15oz tube, which is roughly the equivalent of 4.2ml. This makes them cheaper per ml than even the stock perfume oils, and the price applies across the board whether the scent is stock or private. In addition, there's also multipack offers - you can buy 3 for $11 or 13 for $42. That's a lot of perfume, but it makes these even more ridiculous.

I'm told that the price of private stock solid scents will be increasing to reflect the extra cost of the materials and the extra work that goes in to mixing the private stock scents, although that won't be for a while and there will still be bulk savings.

Although not quite as insane, the prices on everything else are really reasonable. They may not be the cheapest on everything, but generally OHWTO are at the lower-end of the indie B&B price bracket.

Perfume

OHWTO has a huge scent library which is accessible on their blog. They have a really wide selection of scents, from simple stock scents to designer dupes and private stock blends. I've had a lot of disappointment ordering from B&B companies before, since my taste is very limited and a bit weird, and I'm a scent-n00b. I don't speak "perfume"; most of the descriptions and top notes and bottom notes and whathaveyou just confuse the hell outta me. I'm pleased then, that the OHWTO ones are relatively easy to understand. They include the usual stuff I have no clue about, but also have a straightforward description of the scent in plain English, which makes me happy. I don't know what vetyver smells like, but I know how clean laundry smells. I'd advise anyone who's thinking of trying any indie B&B company to try samples first, read the scent information and select samples you think you'll like, before committing full-size products, unless you're quite easy to please and enjoy most things.

Product

Black Magic Soap - This is one badass mofo, for your face. It's a solid black bar of facial soap which has a strong medicine-y scent. It isn't dyed or coloured (and usefully the lather is white, not black, so it doesn't ruin your face cloths), that's just the colour/scent that comes naturally from the ingredients being mixed together. When I first smelled this, I really couldn't stand it. It's a strong, cloying, greenish hospital smell to me. I put up with it though, since the smell doesn't linger on the skin at all. The second time I used it, I didn't notice the smell at all. I don't know whether I got used to it or if just unwrapping it and using it once made the scent weaker. Either way, I went from hating the smell to not noticing it within a day. Even if it still bothered me, I would put up with it because this soap is just that awesome. It will get off all but the most stubborn makeup (think, unmovable gel eyeliners or japanese mascara) so it's great for using after you're taken off your eye makeup with remover. It leaves my skin feeling incredibly clean, soft, and fresh, without any residue, stickiness, tightness or patches of foundation or makeup leftover.

I have combination skin with dry flakey places on my cheeks and oily T-zone and chin, this keeps my skin from getting too oily or too dry, calms my blemishes down and I always get considerably fewer when I use it than when I run out. I've tried cleansers and facial washes and makeup wipes from Clinique, Lancome, Estée Lauder, Bliss, The Body Shop, Clarins, MAC, Shiseido and every drugstore brand I could find. Black Magic is, by far my favourite cleanser. The Body Shop's Seaweed Facial Wash comes in second, with Clinique Liquid Facial Soap a close third. Black Magic is better than all of them, and cheaper at $3 for a normal 2oz bar or $5.25 for a 4oz bar. There's also a cream version and a breakaway version for travelling/sharing. It does everything I want a cleanser to do, leaves my skin feeling wonderful and improves its condition to boot. It is, in a word, amazeballs, and is one of my 1337 things.

Solid Perfume - My second favourite thing in the store. The solid perfumes are ridiculously cheap at $3.99 for 0.15oz, which is about 4.2ml in sensible measurements. They come in an oval lip-balm tube, neatly labelled, and are smooth and easy to apply. They're in a wax base with sweet almond oil, grape seed oil, coconut oil and vitamin E, so soft and moisturising and nommie on the skin. They're extremely travel-friendly, as they don't get melty (at least, not in the English sun) and you don't have to dig them out of a pot. I tried the LUSH solid perfumes and found it hard to get it on my skin, since it was in a pot and not at all smooth and silky like OHWTO solid perfumes. My favourite thing about them though, is that they're incredibly long wearing. I tested the perfume oil on one wrist and the solid perfume on the other prior to writing this review, to see which lasted longer. The perfume oil smelled slightly stronger, but the scent vanished after about six hours. The solid scent, however, remained lingering on my skin faintly a full thirty six hours later. Which is kinda nutty.
A lot of people report that they get through the solid perfumes faster than the oil, but since the oils are roughly twice the size, that makes sense. Given the price and the long-wear and versatility, the solid perfumes are definitely my preference over oil.

Loofah Soap - Isn't this an awesome idea? It's a slice of loofah embedded into soap. As you use it, you get the cleaningnicesmellinglather from the soap, with the loofah surface to exfoliate. Once you use up the soap, you still have the loofah. I'm completely crazy about this stuff. I was lacking a good way to exfoliate my legs pre-shaving, since exfoliating helps you get a closer, smoother shave, but I don't like to use scrubs which contain oils because they leave a moisturising residue behind which makes it less effective. Loofah soap is the answer! It's cheap at $4 a bar, versatile, and gives me exfoliation and lather and general cleanness. This is a new bathroom staple for me.

Whipped Soap - I love this stuff. I got an 8oz jar with the goodies I won from Grey's Halloween giveaway, and I couldn't stop poking at it in the jar. Look at it! Don't you want to squish it?
The name is pretty self-explanatory; it's a whipped soap. It's $5.95 for a 4oz jar and it's light and mousse-y and a little bit builds up a wonderful rich lather. Combine it with one of those puffy-shower-things and I have enough foam to resemble a snowman. Or at least, Gandalf. Am I the only one who does that?
It leaves a light scent lingering on the skin, but it's not overpowering and wouldn't clash if you wore a different perfume or wanted to use a different lotion.

Sugar Creme -These are a sugar scrub, similar to Haus of Gloi's emulsifying scrub but a little less scrub and a little more emulsifying. They're $6 for 4oz and the perfect combination with the loofah soap, as they aren't quite as harsh an exfoliant as some other scrubs, and turn into a more moisturising lotion that sinks into your skin and leaves it moisturised for ages. I use this after my loofah soap just to make sure I'm extra-smooth and to let all the oils do their thing and make me soft. My skin usually stays perfectly soft and moisturised until the next bath, so I get to skip body butter/lotion. These leave a lot more of the scent behind than the soaps do, I can smell it on my skin afterwards, so I tend to use it quite liberally. I like to use it on my hands, too, to get rid of any dry patches and keep them soft without messing around with hand cream.

Vegan Bath Bar - This is soap. There isn't much I can say about soap, really. It gets me clean, it smells wonderful, it's a pretty colour, it doesn't make my skin dry or give it that weird rubbery feeling some soaps do, and it doesn't melt and glue itself to my sink, which is a huge plus. All round, generally good soap. It's $4.50 for 4oz. I used up my first bar and ordered a second, and Becca sent me an extra-mammoth sized version because she's lovely and knows I have an endorphin reaction to Fresh Snow.

Perfume Oil - The perfume oil doesn't last as long on my skin as the solid perfume, but it smells stronger while it's there, and is perfect layered over the solid perfume for stronger-smelling longer-lasting goodness. The little roller-ball bottles are quite handy and I haven't had trouble with it leaking. I got through my bottle quite quickly, but that's probably because I'd like to bathe in it. When I first put the scent on, the slightly eye-wateringly-strong top notes smell a lot stronger from the oil than they do from the solid scent. They simmer down in just a few seconds, however, into clean-smelling wonderfulness. If I had to choose, I'd opt for the solid perfume over oil, but since I don't, I get both and layer them for wonderful results.

Lip Butter - While this isn't my absolute favourite lip balm, it is a close second. If you tried Aromaleigh lip balms, these are really similar. The name is appropriate, as they are more butter-in-a-tube than balm. Silky and smooth, they glide on and leave creamy moisturising balm behind, but it isn't stiff or thick. Shea butter lip balms always have a certain feel to them for me, slightly thinner and oily, but not oily in an unpleasant way. I know it sounds unpleasant. More like, they melt against your lips slightly so the balm feels less viscous. I can't seem to stop using gross words. They are nice, though, $3.25 a tube and great for anyone looking for a multitasker replacement for the Aromaleigh balms. The flavours are lovely; I've only tried Bubblegum and Peachy so far but the flavour balance is good, although with Peachy I can taste a little of the balm taste under the peaches. Bubblegum just tastes exactly like bubblegum. There isn't so much flavour that they taste artificial, and they last a while on my lips provided I don't lick it all off.

Overall

The website is clear and honest, lists ingredients and encourages customers to do their own research. The products are fantastic, and their packaging is functional with attractive labels that suit the brand's theme and have all the necessary information. The range of scents is huge and if she doesn't have it, Becca will probably make it, or can find it. Seasonal collections means there's always something new to try, and the range of products you can put your scents in is wide and they all perform brilliantly.
The Black Magic soap is not only a holy-grail, but it's a holy grail skincare item that's $3 a bar. The service is impeccable; I've never had to wait long for an order, Becca is always thoroughly professional and polite when dealing with business enquiries and accommodating when it comes to custom orders, even taking the time to give me multiple options and calculate shipping for each. Prices are excellent, and the shipping is never inflated.

Personalisation simply goes above and beyond, with samples selected based on my preference and order history, a hand-written note on every invoice and a mind-boggling number of little extras and personal touches that make every package exciting to open, and really make me feel special. It doesn't get any better than this. Every aspect of the business is outstanding. My only possible complaint is that I want more product lines, so I can buy more stuff. I know Becca has a lot in the works and I fully expect to see even more awesomeness coming from OHWTO in the future.

Price: Varies, between $3.99 - $9.00 for normal sizes.
Where?: OHWTO Artfire.

Look & Feel: 5/5 - Personalisation is amazing, product packaging functional and stylish, with all the correct information and attractive labels which fit the shop theme.

Quality: 5/5 - One holy-grail and six other products I use daily, and never want to run out of.

Value: 5/5 - Prices vary between competitive and reasonable to ridonkulously cheap.

Overall: 5/5 - Generally an all-round, supreme quality of excellence.

5/5 Internets

One of my 1337 things.

This review was long overdue, and as you can see, I'm delighted with every aspect of the company. I'd like to note that this is my blog, and my review, and that while I will not be censoring comments, if anyone attempts to hijack my review and use my blog to publicise their own personal, baseless, childish vendetta against the company or its owner, I will fucking tear them a new one. I've made my feelings about this perfectly clear in the past and this is no exception.