Bath & Body Works stores — a '90s favorite — have reportedly been experiencing exponential
growth and continues to be, according to L Brands, "home to America's Favorite Fragrances."
As you get ready to head over to your local store, there are some things you should know
before spending your hard-earned money.
If you were to get a whiff of your old faithful Bath & Body Works scent, you'd probably feel
as if you were instantly transported back in time.
As a professor of neurology and health psychology at the University of Florida, told NBC News,
"When you smell things you remember your emotions."
Nostalgia is also part of what goes into making Bath & Body Works' iconic fragrances.
So, even if you never smelled a particular scent from the retailer, you might still get
that warm, fuzzy feeling.
In an interview with HelloGiggles, Patricia Bilodeau, the vice president and senior perfumer
of the Scent and Care Division North America who works with Bath & Body Works, said her
love of music, cooking, and baking has provided inspiration for different fragrances.
Bilodeau was actually one of the brains behind one of the retailer's first scents, Twisted
Peppermint.
The expert reflected,
"To me, this scent captures the nostalgic spirit of the holidays and I think that's
what people love about it."
And who wouldn't want their very own bottle of nostalgia?
It's strange, but when you walk into Bath & Body Works, you'll often feel like you're
at home despite being in a shopping mall.
That's not all due to the nostalgic scents, though.
It's how the store is designed.
According to Forbes, Bath & Body Works products were first sold in Express, which was at one
time owned by L Brands.
When developing Bath & Body works stores, the company decided to change up the brand
to create a, quote, "down-home style entity" and even came up with a fictional founder
named "Kate."
And Kate is a big part of the retailer's cozy feel.
Forbes reported,
"Each store is modeled like Kate's house and customers are treated as her guests.
Inside the store, an employee clad in a plaid apron greets the customer and explains the
weekly promotional offers."
That's why shopping at Bath & Body Works never quite feels like shopping.
Not every store could pull off this vibe, of course, and many would have a hard time
smelling as good.
As of 2017, Japanese Cherry Blossom is still Bath and Body Works' bestselling fragrance
throughout the United States, but it isn't the only fragrance from the early 2000s to
live on.
In January 2019, Bath & Body Works brought back dozens of fragrances from the '90s and
2000s, including Pink Cashmere and, yes, Twilight Woods.
But 2019 isn't the only year they've done this.
Every year, the company brings back a variety of retired fragrances, according to a spokesperson
for the brand, who told NBC's Today,
"We love to give the assortment a seasonal twist and bring back some new surprises for
our customers."
Some of those surprises include customers', quote, "beloved fragrances."
As of June 2019, you could snatch up a bunch of retired favorites like Oahu Coconut Sunset,
Love & Sunshine, Wild Honeysuckle, Mad About You, and even Plumeria.
There's no telling how long these scents will be available — and there's no way to tell
if they'll come again or not — so no one will blame you if you feel compelled to, you
know, buy them all.
If older scents aren't your jam, there are a ridiculous amount of other fragrances to
choose from.
On any given day, Bath & Body Works has between 300 and 400 unique scents in their stores,
brand representatives confirmed to Bustle.
The number of scents the retailer carries can even reach 500 during the holiday season.
Bath & Body Works frequently rotates their fragrances, but that's not to say there are
never any new scents.
About once per month, the retailer explained to PopSugar, Bath & Body Works releases a
brand new fragrance collection, which includes products like hand soap and lotion.
The company also launches about 200 unique scents every year.
In April 2019, for example, the brand launched a spring collection with the new scent Gingham.
Firmenich master perfumer Honorine Blanc explained the scent in a press release, saying,
"Each fragrance I create for Bath & Body Works has a story and a strong identity — for
Gingham, I wanted to capture a fragrance that connects with the consumer, connects with
nature and is the happiest fragrance ever."
According to the retailer's site, the scent combines "notes of blue freesia, sweet clementine,
[and] soft violet petals."
Part of Bath & Body Works' appeal is its price point.
Sure, you could spend $105 on a 1.7-ounce bottle of Chanel Number.
5.
But you could choose to purchase a larger 2.5-ounce bottle of Gingham perfume from Bath
& Body Works for $49.50.
A digital marketing expert and principal at A.T.
Kearney, a global management and strategy consulting firm, explained it this way when
speaking to Racked:
"Their target is what we call the mastige segment.
It's not prestige and it's not mass — it's really about figuring out this niche of very
American-centric shoppers that wants a notch above drugstore brands, but are still quite
conscious."
And thankfully for Bath & Body Works, there aren't many competitors in the "mastige" market,
according to the expert.
Bath & Body Works also offers many inexpensive products, with some retailing as low as $3.50.
Of course, this means many shoppers can afford to purchase more than one product at a time.
Bath & Body Works' vice president of brand development told the publication that many
customers own multiple fragrances and use them as, quote, "a way to accessorize their
style."
Twice a year, Bath & Body Works runs a gigantic sale.
According to the brand's site, one sale begins right after Christmas and the other "kicks
off during the summer months."
Unlike many store sales that run for a set amount of time, Bath & Body Works' semi-annual
sales end when the products are gone.
The retailer promises savings up to 75 percent on pretty much everything in-store and online,
including aromatherapy and body care products.
Most of the items that go on sale during this time are indeed deeply discounted — usually
by at least 50 percent.
For those who like to buy their body care products in bulk or like to give them away
as gifts, these sales provide an opportunity to do so while saving a whole lot of money.
Although the retailer offers other sales and deals throughout the rest of the year, the
brand recommends getting, quote, "your best haul" during one of their two semi-annual
sales.
If you've never tried Bath & Body Works products — or if it's been some time since you have
— you're not obligated to buy the product before you get a chance to use it.
The stores were actually set up with sampling in mind.
And that doesn't just apply to lotions and body sprays.
The Bath & Body Works team confirmed to PopSugar that every store has a sink for their customers
to use while sampling products.
This means guests can even try out hand soaps, scrubs, shower gels, and plenty of other products
before they make a commitment to buy.
But what happens if you sample and purchase a fragrance only to later realize you're not
into it anymore?
That's no biggie, according to the brand's return policy.
Bath & Body Works' site reveals,
"We just want you to love it!
Return anything, anytime for any reason.
100% Guaranteed."
Part of why Bath & Body Works is thriving while other brick-and-mortar stores owned
by L Brands — like Victoria's Secret — are failing is partly because the fragrance retailer
doesn't sell clothing.
The executive vice president of thought leadership and marketing at WD Partners explained to
Retail Dive,
"Apparel is more difficult than ever."
Of course, that's not the only reason the brand is doing well.
He explained,
"It's more that it's not apparel, but it is also execution — they've got things down
to a science.
But when it's just bottles of stuff and not clothes, it's not as complicated.
It's also the kind of thing you've got to smell it to check it out, so you're less threatened
by it online."
Nevertheless, Forbes reported in 2019 that even Bath & Body Works' revenue from online
sales have been increasing.
It may seem daunting to pick out a fragrance online, but Bath & Body Works combats that
with their "Find A Fragrance" tool, where consumers can search through easily defined
categories of scents — like citrus, fruit, and floral.
And, apparently, it's working.
Bath & Body Works isn't just a home to, well, bath and body works.
The retailer also sells candles.
In fact, they revealed in a press release that they produce candles in more fragrances
than any other candle maker.
That's pretty amazing considering some may not even realize that Bath & Body Works is,
indeed, a candle maker.
The company has also been hosting an Annual Candle Day since 2013, with huge discounts
on their 3-Wick candles — new and old.
One customer told Bustle,
"It is like a holiday.
You can feel it in the air.
I got to my store right before it opened and there was another woman there who was waiting
for them to lift the gate and she had a dozen donuts for the [sales associates] in one hand,
and a stack of coupons and a list of what candles she wanted in the other.
It was on."
Another candle fan told the publication she purchased 66 candles on the special day.
In an interview with PopSugar in 2017, Bath & Body Works revealed that about 740,000 women
visit a Bath & Body Works store each and every day.
Needless to say, the retailer's main audience is women.
But that's not to say men don't shop at the stores.
The brand actually has its own Men's Body Care line with colognes, body washes, body
lotions, body sprays, and — for the guys who don't want a ton of products — the two-in-one
Hair and Body Wash.
According to the company's site,
"Bath & Body Works body care for men combines intoxicating fragrances with the world's finest
ingredients to offer a variety of formulas that conveniently fit into any routine."
"This is like I'm in Paris, France, like hanging out with Kanye West."
Bath & Body Works also offers shaving creams that produce a, quote, "creamy, softening
lather that protects all skin types while it cools and leaves skin with a refreshing
fragrance."
Despite your love for Bath & Body Works in the 2000s, you probably don't hold a candle
to modern-day stans.
One shopper told Bustle that she stops into her local Bath & Body Works at least once
a week.
By 2018, she'd amassed a Bath & Body Works collection of over 250 body care products
and 180 candles.
The founder of a Bath & Body Works fan account on Instagram and an employee at one of the
brand's Canadian locations told Bustle that their store has, quote, "quite a few regulars."
Of those regulars, some travel up to five hours to get to the store.
The employee added,
"Some of them are [in] every month or so and they'll stock up and buy a cart full of candles.
We have a few people who will borrow a cart from Walmart and fill up about four or five
candle crates when they do their trips.
Each crate can hold six candles."
If you don't own any Bath & Body Works products, it's about time to see what the fuss is all
about.
Check out one of our newest videos right here!
Plus, even more List videos about your favorite stuff are coming soon.
Subscribe to our YouTube channel and hit the bell so you don't miss a single one.