Bliss Soaps

Tragically, Bliss is now closed for good, and what a loss for the Hill.
This was my favorite small store, not only for the quality of the products but for the feel that owners gave to their customers.
How come BP is still going, and Bliss Soaps is gone? There is no justice in the world…

I was bummed to see Bliss was closed this last weekend when I visited Seattle. Especially bummed because while their store rocks in person, they had a lot of issues getting their online orders out.
Despite those hassles, I am a loyal customer. I just made a point to stock up whenever in town, because their stuff is too cool, and Phil is a riot.
I still have my stockpile. I really hope they re-​open before I run out …

One of the best places in Seattle to take care of your skincare needs, in my opinion. Like a previous review (Liz?), you never know how much you’re going to spend (usually under $ 10) because of Phil’s mental calculus regarding the «buy one, get XXXXX free»… he’s awesome. From the buckets at the door to the crazy displays — and I say crazy in a good way — Bliss Soaps is an awesome place!
Though it blows that he had to close up shop because of a bank’s publicly admitted error, I really do look forward to seeing his next shop open soon… at least, I *hope* this happens, anyway. :)

I always had a great experience when I went into Bliss Soaps. I really loved their butter soap– so cute it was packaged like a stick of real butter.
I hope they open again.

Well, I’ve been using Unilocal heavily for the past year since I moved to Seattle and thought it was about time I gave back, so Bliss is the lucky recipient of my first-​ever review.
I’ve gone to Bliss four or five times now and it’s always been loads of fun. It’s best to take a laid-​back attitude to Bliss. The hours can be unpredictable, although I’ve never had this problem. The shop reminds me of treasure-​hunting in your grandma’s attic, but with better lighting. I usually loop the store three or four times (can be difficult when it’s busy) just to make sure I haven’t missed something awesome.
It’s impossible to predict what your total will be, because even when the items have prices on them, Phil often does some crazy math and/​or sends you off to pick up 5 more bath bombs that are free with your purchase. I don’t think I’ve ever spent more than $ 25 at Bliss and I had a huge bag of stuff.
Yes, the products do tend to crumble easily, but I think that’s due to the organic nature of Bliss’ products and our soap lasted a reasonable amount of time. My sister loves the bath bombs and mom loves the massage bars. We went to Lush once before learning about Bliss, and while Lush’s product lasted longer, it was also quite a bit more money – almost $ 40 for two items. Additionally, their «attentive» sales staff were borderline overbearing and the experience wasn’t much fun. Phil is friendly and helpful without being pushy, generous, and a lot of fun to talk to.

I’ve lived in the neighborhood for a while and go to school down the street, so I walk past Bliss on a daily basis… and yet I’ve never gone inside. WHAT WAS I THINKING?!
This place is magical. As the seasons change, so do the window displays. And they’re always enticing and fun. but I’m always in a half-​awake rush to make it to my first class. So after work tonight, I made it a point to go in there. Like a grown up woman baby being let loose in a toy store, I just grabbed at all I could find. My little fingers grasped at all the bath bombs and hurried them to my nose to capture the sweet, sweet, sweeeeeet scent of what they have to offer.
Needless to say, I got some good stuff. And then I ran home and took the best bath I’ve ever taken in my tiny Capitol Hill apartment.
I think I’ll embrace this whole «being relaxed» thing from now on. I’ve got a great neighbor in Bliss.

I love dropping by this place and grabbing gifts. And filling our home with lovely smells from soaps that were «manufactured» a block away. Custom scents for lotions and such are nice, but too often they are out of stock of the base materials.
Hours are definitely a problem.

Something’s «amiss at Bliss». True, Bliss is cheaper than their counterpart (Lush). And for those on tight budgets, I suppose they suffice. The problem I have with Bliss is with the way the business is run. Horribly & arrogantly. I can only assume by all the 5 star reviews, that the owner has to give away lots of free stuff to cover the poor quality controlled products. So there is a silver lining.
Apart from finding a pubic hair {yes, a black pubic hair –I’m blonde} in one of their orange-​clove bath-​fizz bombs some years ago, and them not doing anything about it except telling me to basically f*ck off, I stopped buying Bliss products altogether for several reasons. Mainly, how I cannot connect with their unprofessional persona. Starting off small by creating bath products in your garage is fine, but the dirty hippie image is way off when manufacturing something that’s suppose to keep you clean and relaxed. I want hygiene, not peace and love dude.
Firstly, the products themselves are not nearly as quality-​made as Lush products. They tend to crumble easily and they don’t offer the abundance of different products that Lush does. While I admire someone who tries to compete against the big guys (like Lush), the truth is, Lush started out small too. Yet does so much better of a job connecting with their customers on every level. With Bliss, they don’t seem to give a crap about their customers. In fact, the entire look of the packaging appears the owner doesn’t care much about his products, himself, and certainly not about his customers either. While they are cheaper than Lush, they look it. The whole experience compared to Lush is like buying reject products from Lush’s retarded, unhygienic, little brother.
Apart from the uncreative and scrappily marketed products, the branding is just awful. Labels and logo look as though they were designed by a 1970s stoned high schooler; not too mention the logo of an old bald-​headed hairy guy in a bathtub doesn’t really say, «relax», «clean» or «soothing» to me. It says «Call the police! There’s an old pervert in my bathtub!»
In the end, I went back to Lush years ago because I prefer the way the company cares about it’s outward reputation: Professional. Clean. Pretty. Quality. Bliss’ point of purchase elements are unsophisticated and evoke ‘dirty hippie moments’, not ‘relaxing luxury moments’ to me.

For those who enjoy soaking long hours in the tub and turning oneself into a giant human raisin, such as myself. Then you MUST give Bliss soaps a walk thru.
Ambiance is warm and smelling of good aromas, then you meet the owners who are truly gracious and genuine. While sniffing out different soaps I was taken in by the interesting conversations.
The giant buttery bath balms are what got me along with anything containing shea butters n’ creams.
Doughnut soaps, mini cupcake bars and Hershey kiss soaps were so cute! For all the time my parents threatened to wash my mouth our with soap I certainly wouldn’t have minded if it had been some of these soaps.
My props go to these guys for being a small local biz who really put their work and creativity into it.

Seattle Rain Soap! MM Got one fo rme and one for sis.
Eucalyptus soap. Me or other sis?
Lemn grass. A present.
I restrained myself.
I love the Dragonfire soap.
The delights of soap and bathsalts which look like desserts. I am so glad I asked what they were. they look good enough to eat. A lovely gift idea for one who has much and you want to spice things up for fun!
I love my soaps. I am NOT typing this from the tub. but I shall be there soon. The manager is very warm and nice to all. The soaps get hand wrapped — maybe they will hire me to wrap soap.

This is my favorite shopping experience in Capitol Hill. While I love picking up a $ 5 bunch of flowers at the Farmer’s Market, perusing the racks at Gruv for ½ off Sopranos seasons, or looking for a cute ensemble at Crossroads, I feel like I’m really investing in a good thing when I buy from Bliss.
This is how service is done; you are not rushed, you are intrigued, and naturally wander around the beautifully-​decorated store (this is the décor I try to emulate at my Cap Hill apt), whilst smelling the wonderful natural aromas that God intended.
Last night I stocked up on a bunch of stuff for stocking stuffers, as well as a couple new soaps to try out at home. I was enamoured of the new pumpkin soap… delicious! I cried to Phil, «oh no, there’s no cherry»…(my favorite). As I was plopping more mini bath bombs into my paper bag, he comes up to me with a freshly-made…you guessed it… CHERRY soap mixture!!! I’m sorry, but that just made my day. That’s true service, my friend.
I will never buy soap anywhere else, ever again. And did I mention if you’re a first timer, or just curious, Phil’s more than happy to send you home with lots of samples?

Right after dinner at Rom Mai Thai we walked three businesses over to Bliss. To my surprise the «CLOSED» sign was up. I had totally forgotten it’s closed on Tuesdays. The lights were on so out of curiosity I peeked in to look at what was new. As I was doing so Phil waves for us (myself, fiancé & friend) to come in.
Yay!
So my fiancé and I went in there knowing what we were getting but once we saw all the new stuff we were clueless and couldn’t make up our minds. After about an hour of looking we just grabbed everything we wanted to stock up on and had Phil rang us out. My friend did the same. Don’t know what her total came to but when Phil was ringing us up I expected well over $ 60. He then said, «Your total is $ 35.55.» Ummm, what?! I said, «No, charge me for these» and pointed out to several things. He refused. I felt like I was taking advantage of him. I’ve been there enough times to know he’s extremely generous but as an honest person, I want to pay for what has a price tag on it, you know. There was no winning with him, lol.
I got the following: 12 mini bath bombs (assorted scents), 2 Dr. Bliss bath bombs, 1 large Goat Milk bath melt, 1 large Milk Honey Oats bath bomb, 3 soaps (assorted scents), 4 pack of cupcake bath melts/​bombs, 1 large cupcake bath melt/​bomb, 1 large essential oil melt, 1 large bath bomb (mystery scent) and a mini dessert bath melt.
I love this place. I can’t get enough but I’ve been limited to go there once a month as I will go wild and buy the whole store! Lol. I also got to meet Chuck (finally!) and omg, he’s a sweetheart. Just as nice as Phil!
These guys definitely DO NOT take their customers for granted. They love, appreciate and go out of their way for their customers. I GREATLY appreciate their existence and thank them soooooo much for helping me pamper myself, my fiancé and my mum (sent her stuff and loves it!).
If you’re still shopping at Lush, YOU my friend are getting ripped off. They will empty your wallets faster than you can say «Honey I Washed the Kids» or whatever that soap is called. So skip Lush, just once and try out Bliss. Ask for a sample, I doubt Phil or Chuck will say no. I promise you won’t be going back to Lush.

Things that are great about this store:
1. Everything is handmade by the proprietor;
2. Almost everything is vegan (except for the goat milk products — but the goats live happy lives and the proprietor actually milks them himself);
3. There is a serious amount of artistry involved in making the amazingly realistic looking soap-​bubble bath sundaes and donuts and cupcakes and fruit and …;
4. There are daily specials (for example, on Mondays, if you spend $ 20, you get *12* free bath bombs!);
5. The owner is a sweetheart and lets your dog sniff around the shop.
Not so great?
1. I’ve run out of reasons to go, because now my bathroom is stocked with products from the shop and I’ve already gifted all my friends;
2. I feel guilty when the owner gives me free samples and discounts.
So — you should go, unless you’ve got residual Catholic school guilt, like I do.

I seriously love this place! They always have such an awesome variety of fun soaps. Doughnuts, Sundaes, etc. They make great and unique gifts, and I enjoy sending them across the country to friends and family.
Not to mention the guy who is always working (I have apparently forgotten his name) is always extremely friendly and makes you want to come back and visit again.
Decent prices, great products, friendly service. Go get yourself some soap!

Heard of LUSH? Well. Bliss is better! First of all, it’s a locally owned shop and secondly I like the products even better than Bliss. I’m trying to recall prices and I think they’re comparable but I would of course rather support local business than shop at a store you see in every city. Additionally it’s in a good location (walkable from my apt) and Lush is way downtown where you’d have to pay for parking.
I love the smell of the place when you walk in too! And each time I’ve been there I’ve been offered help or answers to questions immediately. Very good spot to get a gift for someone special.

Just when I think I can’t love Bliss Soaps more, Phil imposes something new on me to try. He has upgraded me to «Oprah status» in his store. I think that means I’m like god or something.
Anyway, I finally tried the Bubble bath, and it went something like this: BUBBLEBATH. HOLY F’IN SH’T. Yeah, I said that. I relaxed so hard, there was profanity involved.
I dissolved a little glob of the chocolate bubble bath under the faucet, all the while thinking: «MUST…RESIST…LICKING…FINGERS.»
It looks and smells like whipped chocolate frosting. The bubbles were big and plentiful. My cat investigated… she was baffled. The exchange went something like this: «Mom, you’ve taken baths before… what’s this fluffy stuff?»
«Lola, these are bubbles. It’s a bubble bath. I’ve taken them before, too. You’ve seen it.»
«I’VE NEVER SEEN SO MANY BUBBLES BEFORE EVER IN MY LITTLE CAT LIFE I MUST JUMP UP AND MAKE NOISE AND INVESTIGATE!»
True story.

Wow.

It’s said that the test of a purchase isn’t in the product, whether that be in a restaurant, a new shirt, an oil change, or in this case, soap. The test of a purchase, then, is in the experience. We all want to have a pleasurable experience when making our purchases. That is why, then, Bliss gets Cinco Estrellas!
Phil, co-​owner, couldn’t me nicer. He answered all my questions, gave me several samples to go with my purchases, and you know he loves his profession.
I made several purchases here: several bars of soap, a shampoo bar and several bath bombs. I tried the shampoo bar out tonight and I’m a fan! (tea tree) As someone who has had dry scalp problems forever, I’ve been looking for something that’s effective in cleaning my hair but also gentle enough that it doesn’t burn my scalp. After using the bar, I could tell right away that there aren’t any chemicals used in the making of Bliss’s products. It left my hair (after conditioner) feeling silky smooth, ahhhh, and didn’t burn my eyes or scalp.
Needless to say (but I’m saying it anyway), Bliss has a new customer. With prices that are competitive with stuff you’ll get elsewhere, product quality (cruelty free, without the use of chemicals), and top-​notch service, folks, we have a winner!

If you are in need of a high quality soap, Bliss is the place to check out. The products are great quality and at some freat prices. They have a fantastic sale on Saturdays (if memory serves me right) and a great selection.
The owner offers some great suggestions if you mention what you are in the mood for. Mind you everything is good, so I’m sure you won’t be disappointed with anything. Just follow your nose!
Btw…the Bath Bombs are fantastic to use if you are in the need of a bubble bath!

Do not try to eat the cupcakes in here.
I mean it.
No matter how good they look.
They are made of soap.