Shalva

I went in and I thought he was going to give me something as he said, but it was all a lie. He put on a show, but I was onto him and I made up my mind I wasn’t going to buy anything. He got very rude with me, but I am trying to be more Christian and not always respond in a negative way.
I am glad I wasted his time because little did he know I was waiting for a show to start so it was a benefit to me to sit and rest for a while.

DON‘T STOP AT THIS SHOP! I‘m a mature person and never thaught that a shop in the village could have these practicies. All the comments are very true… I wish I had read before getting caught by the agressive salesman in this shop. I couldn‘t confirm in Internet any of the prices of the products I purchased. Tey show you some astronomic prices in Internet to demonstrate the good deal they are are offering you, but arriving home I discovered that most of the links are closed. And the prices of these products on Amazon are ridiculous less expensive!

Didn’t buy anything, but the salesman is a dick. He asked me where I was from, and before I could answer, he continued, «Thai?» «I’m from here!» «Yeah, but from where?» «Fucking here!»
Dude, you’re a salesman in NYC with tons of Asian Americans and Asian populations. Learn some basic social skills.

AVOID! DON’T EVEN WALK BY! The man at the front stuck out his hand to give me a sample and then GRABBED me and dragged me all around the store! Literally I tried to leave 6 times and he kept taking my hand and holding onto me even after I tried to excuse myself MULTIPLE times. Once I started to become more direct he got very hostile with me. I will be reporting this establishment to the city because I’ve never been more harassed by a salesperson in my life. Very rude, very uncomfortable, and very upset that their store is getting business by poor women who are being targeted and harassed.

I had a very similar experience– TWICE. Both times, with my 5 year old daughter. I got out without buying anything, but the pressure and tactics they use here are ridiculous. Do not take a sample, do NOT go in there. They will show you all their products and tell you each is like, $ 450 and then tell you, «But, shhhh… don’t tell anyone else, we’ll give you a discount.» I wasn’t born yesterday dude.

Run. These people are so full of shit. First they harass people walking in front of the store. They are rude when you ask them to stop. They get you to come in by offering free samples and then you leave having spent hundreds of dollars. This has happened to people I know. I wish I could contact the headquarters but they don’t appear to have any.

AVOID AT ALL COSTS!
a truly awful establishment. i was pressured into spending a ton of money (and i’m usually pretty good about not being suckered into things like this) and the products are crap. as strong as you think you may be you will end up spending too much money here as a result of their high pressure sales tactics and you will end up regretting it later. NO REFUNDS AND ABSOLUTELY ZERO CUSTOMER SERVICE ONCE YOU HAVE MADE THE PURCHASE. i wish i had never set foot in this establishment and i feel sorry for every person that will after me. at the end of the day it’s a huge scam

WARNING: The people who work at this store are Soap Nazis. I feel vindicated by other reviewers who are also appalled by how they treat passersby. After being asked for the 150^th time late last year, «Do you want to try our soap?» and «Can I ask you a question?,» when I walked by this store, I politely requested that they not ask me these questions every time I pass by. I explained that I lived in the neighborhood and found it irritating to be asked it so frequently – so much so that I often crossed the street to avoid their questions. I totally get how important it is to get people in one’s store and using one’s products, but suggested they might stop approaching pedestrians this way as I was probably not the only person who found it annoying. Well, that led to them telling me to mind my own business and asking me if I even had a job. I didn’t complain to the city or write a review at that time (because I have a demanding job), but I can’t remain silent after what I just witnessed. Two workers were outside the store yelling at an older woman who I heard saying, «All I’m asking is that you not ask me if you can ask me a question every time I walk by.» I also heard them say to her, «Do you even have a job?» I’m not kidding. She seemed so exasperated that I went up to her and told her that I felt the same way. She told me that she was so relieved because she was starting to think she was crazy and often crossed the street to avoid walking by this store. These people are clearly harassing the public and diminishing the hood’s quality of life for residents. They were closed for months recently with the Christmas and Hanukah decorations in the window till April, so maybe the city did shut them down for a time. If that was the case, they’re back and behaving badly again. I will now call 3−1−1 to complain. Too bad because it’s nice to have nice-​looking stores on Christopher Street. BTW, I tried one of their products right after they opened and found it to be super greasy.
PS: 3−1−1 told me that I need to report them to the 6^th police precinct, call my Community Board and/​or lodge a complaint with the BBB.

Location: 68 Spring street
Young Sales lady dragged me inside when I stopped by to receive their samples. She was over exaggerating about the products through her body gestures and face expression. She asked me to do hi five in the store even though I wasn’t moved by her conversation. She asked where I live immediately after conversation started. I thought that to be a little weird. She might try to figure out if I am a tourist or local person. I thought she might change her selling style. After letting me try their scrub and body butter cream, she led me to a computer on a cashier’s counter. She brought both products with her and she gives me special promotion from her which is a soap bar. she put those products on the cashier counter and seemed to be waiting for me to buy them. The scrub jar costs $ 50. The scrub is used with mineral oil which is not natural ingredients. The plastic jar looks cost-​cut outfit. She explained one tea spoon per use for body, so it will last for long time. I didn’t believe only one teaspoon covers entire body. Its NOT worth it!

I was walking down the street on a beautiful Spring day feeling happy, relaxed – my guard down. A pushy woman offered me a sample of cream, which I accepted. The next thing I know, I am led into the store for a demo of their Dead Sea scrub. Upon rinsing, the water appears black. I exclaimed, «What’s that?» I knew my hands were clean before, but was told that this was the power of the scrub to get deep into the skin. I now believe that they somehow add charcoal during the demo to fool you. I tried the scrub on three people when I got home and there was no «dead skin» or «dirt» removal like that. Furthermore, my friend reported that she had the same experience in the store with the black water residue. Somehow against by better judgment, I was persuaded to make the purchase. I felt not right about it, but tried to rationalize it.
As if that wasn’t bad enough, I was hoodwinked with the eye serum as I was trying to leave a few minutes later. I was aggressively persuaded to try the serum, even though I didn’t really want to. I was then given the same hook about a special deal because I had lived in Israel. It all happened so fast. The sales woman preyed on vulnerabilities. «Oh, my goodness your eyes are depleted of collagen. The rest of your skin in gorgeous. I promise this will fix it.» Her sales pitch was elaborate and rapid fire.
At the end she makes you feel special and tells you she likes you so much that she’ll give you the cream free, if you buy the serum. The price was shocking. I don’t even really use beauty products! Somehow I was persuaded to purchase this as well???
Honestly, I like to think of myself as savvy, but in this case I was FOOLISH. I left the store feeling sort of shell shocked and stunned, like what just happened? How did I just get conned into opening my wallet and purchasing this stuff I don’t need. I has such a bad feeling about it that I googled the products and discovered you get them for ¹⁄₅ of the price online.
I will be contacting the better business bureau.

Shalva in Hebrew means calm, tranquil nothing about this place is that. BIGGEST SCAM ever. These stores are everywhere they bamboozle you and try to guilt you in to buying products that are not necessarily great for your skin. They lie and say models buy from us all the time. I’m a model my friends are models we buy real products from real department stores. The products should sell them selves if they are as magical and amazing as they claim they are. So glad I did not fall for this BS Trap. Please tourists and fellow New Yorkers do not be SCAMMED by these people.

I was walking home with my child and got dragged it. Was aggressively sold an eye cream which cost $ 250! I managed to escape but on getting home my eye was itching and swollen! I called the store and there was no apology I was just asked «really oh» I told them I just wanted them to know It wasn’t suitable for sensitive skin which I had told them I had. If you don’t want to get hard sold– don’t take the free sample! If you have sensitive skin best to avoid.

Zero stars! High pressure sales tactics. They mark-​up products and pretend to mark it down, but the same product is 60−80% overpriced from list price. That $ 350 that they say is so great??! It sell for $ 22 in
! They will sell it for like $ 200. JUST SAY NO NO NO to everything. They pressure you to buy and DO NOT DISCLOSE that the product CANNOT BE RETURNED!!! Stay away from this SCAM! This place should be SHUT DOWN ASAP!

If I could give less than 1 star I would. Lured in because I had time to waste, I was attacked by the vultures that are sales people. They listed everything that was wrong with my skin from head to toe and provided me with over $ 500 worth of products to fix all my ailments. The one vulture that was slapping lotion on my skin had the audacity to invite every other free agent over to evaluate my face and tell me how wonderful one side looked compared to the others. Yeah, I’m looking in the same mirror as you and don’t see a darn difference. You can take your cream and shove it. And thanks for making me feel like I have to worst skin in the world.
Total scam!

NO. I’m glad i can say no to people. PUSHY RUDE OVERPRICED
Go on amazon and get this shit for half the price.

Why is this shady mall kiosk type place in the West Village? Unbelievable. If you get fooled by these goons, you probably wont be seeing your precious money for much longer – someone in this city will take it from you.

Stopped into Shalva for a quick Christmas gift for friends. Can’t speak to the other products, but the soaps are fantastic! Bought some for my friends and for myself. Scents were delicious and really unique, and were so much fun to use! As good as Lush if not better. They hand cut the soaps in the store using something that looks like a big elaborate cheese slicer, lol. Very interesting to watch.
I have also noticed the salespeople standing outside offering samples, as I am always on Christopher. Usually I just keep walking and wave a ‘no thanks,’ so I’m not too flustered. This time when I stopped in for the soaps, I found the salesgirl to be extremely helpful and friendly. She answered all my questions, and wrapped my gifts exactly to my instructions, using extra tissue paper around each soap, as I didn’t want the scents to inter-​mingle, then going back and forth between a box and a bag for the presentation, because I couldn’t decide. I kind of gave her a hard time with the wrapping, but she wasn’t fazed!

SCAM Alert!!! This place is a total scam. Everything in the store sells for ¹⁄₅ the price on Amazon. Please complain about this place to the Department of Consumer Affairs and the Better Business Bureau. They actually lie to you about various things in the products from them being all organic and no chemicals to SPF being included in various products when there is nothing on the product to indicate that. So many people walk by thinking this is another great cosmetic store because it’s located in Soho and the store looks clean. The lesson here for anyone who ever bought anything here is to check the prices online. I have never seen such a huge price differential between retail and online prices ever. This is such a scam.
Complain to the DCA of NYC.
Complain to the BBB.
Complain to Premier, the company that allows this business to have a «license» to sell this stuff. Manager said Premier sells the Swisa, Gratiae, and Premier line of products.
Complain to the govt agencies about false advertisement and the use of SPF which I believe is actually regulated.
Someone alert the local news station bc this is a good story to watch on TV.
This is one of the the salt scrubs being sold for $ 50 and Amazon has it for $ 12 without taxes or shipping/​handling:

I was walking on Christopher street and this saleslady ambushed me; well, I accepted a sample of hand lotion, and then she led me inside the store where she looked at my hands, clucked at how abused they looked, and proceeded to sell me $ 100 worth of scrubs and lotions.
I have mixed feelings about the whole transaction, which left me feeling a little dazed afterward, like «What just happened here?» I truthfully don’t know if the salt scrub she sold me is worth the money, but it felt great on my hands and visibly improved them in the short scrub I tried on them in the store. The ingredients are all pure and quality stuff – «dead sea salts from Israel,» she said (which may just be plain table salt, legally speaking) and almond and avocado oils. Used once a week, this is a year’s supply, and if I bought a jar, I got a jar of scrub «free.» (Sort of, considering you have to buy something.)
I have to admit I’m always impressed by a great sales pitch, even though I know if it weren’t illegal this woman would have pulled me into the store with a hook the way they did in the 19^th century. Nothing she told me was false, but my gut was telling me the whole time I was in the store to get the hell out of there.
I think the experience might just lead me back to Soapology, whose products I like better, and which they say up front are all vegan and natural. If the scrub truly improves my hands by exfoliating dead skin, it will be worth the money, but honestly I know I overpaid.
[ETA: I filed a report on them with the Better Business Bureau, and anyone here who’s been screwed by this store should, too.]

I’m often in that neighborhood, and I started to litteraly cross the street to avoid any contact with those salespersons who stand outside their door to give samples! It was nice the first weeks, months, but now… it sounds obsessing!
In fact, the first month I was curious and I walked in: they washed my hands with their sea salt product, it was nice… But when they told me the price (130 $!!) I decided that I could have made it by myself with johnson’s oil, salt and some nice essence (like the other reviewer suggest!).
So, I didn’t buy anything and after that, any time I passed by, they were pressing telling me to try some other thing!
So, I changed my way.