Product Specs:
Handmade Soap
Coconut oil, Olive Oil, Palm Oil, Turmeric, Honey, Glycerin
Retail Cost: $330
Herbal Body Lotion
Extra Virgin Coconut OIl, Shea Butter, Aloe Vera, Bees Wax, Crabwood Oil, Vitamin E, Turmeric, Fragrance
Retail Cost: $840
Both Products are available at: Bounty Supermarkets, Guyana Marketing Association (Robb Street) & Denyse Grant at 592-668-0639
Product
D’s Body Therapy has been my go to for locally made soap for the past three years. I first came across her soaps in 2017 after having a really bad reaction to another brand of locally made soap. Initially i was cautious, but I was pleasantly surprised by the quality of this brand. What is particularly great about these soaps is that there is such a wide range, including: Oats and Honey, Coffee and Honey, Papaya and Honey, Blacksoap, Aloe Vera and Lemon and Honey— all of which target specific problem areas you may have with your skin. I found the soaps to be moisturizing, they lathered up really well, they were scented beautifully— not overpowering but still strong enough to be evident— and none were irritating to my sensitive skin. I am particularly fond of the oatmeal and honey bar— which is a fantastic gentle exfoliant, and the turmeric and honey really helps with any acne i may have popping up on my face.
The true star of this review, however, is the Golden Cashmere Moisturizing body lotion— it has grown to be one of my absolute favourites. It is everything i love in a moisturiser, lightweight, easily absorbable, beautifully scented, natural ingredients and affordable.
I love that the product is so consistent. Everytime i have bought it it has had the same smell, texture, colour, weight. The scent is really warm and musky, if there were imagery to describe this scent think of a sunset overlooking a creek with your favourite person— very corny imagery, but im telling when you smell this lotion, it is extremely accurate.
Branding and Packaging
When it comes to the branding and packaging overall I feel like it is underwhelming. In comparison to the quality of the product, the first impression just does not mirror it. On the plus side it is very consistent, the logo, the fonts, the colours are the same regardless of the product— but there is also way too much too much going on such a small item.
I stand by my belief that a brand needs to use two, maximum three fonts on any one piece of branded content— four and five fonts gets confusing to the human eye. So the first thing i would do is pare down the number of fonts used— and just go for a cleaner aesthetic on the printed media.
Now for the packaging— I really dislike the use of plastic wrap for packaging, so I would love to see the company move toward a more biodegradable and eco-friendly packaging option for their soaps in particular. Of course I understand that there are other variables to take into consideration— the heat, shelf life and storage of the products; but a middle ground can be found.
The packaging for the lotion is good, it comes in a 4 oz plastic pump or spray bottle. What i would love to see with the lotion is the option of a larger bottle— as the current size can easily be considered a travel size.
Overall in terms of quality these are fantastic products— I would recommend them time and again. They are very good quality, but more importantly consistently good quality. I think in terms of price they are very reasonable— nothing that is handmade is going to be dirt cheap— premium ingredients are also used which immediately affects the price, but we buy into them being better for our skin. I would really love to see them transform their branding and packaging to heighten the user experience— i feel like there is a disconnect when it comes to the quality of the product versus the quality of the packaging and the experience needs to be seamless.
So i absolutely encourage you to try D’s Body Therapy’ products, #Made in Guyana has secured a discount code for readers, for a 5% discount on your next purchase using the code #MadeinGuyanaSN. As always if you try it please let me know what your experience is like— and if there are any products you think i should review let me know via my website www.buildingbrooke.com.
