Beauty

[Socom]

Let me start by saying that Josie's body butters have been my holy grail body moisturizers for a few years.    Unfortunately, the last shipment in June def had a different feel to the formulation.   This Oct I ordered/received the vanilla bean and it has no fragrance and the formulation is sticky and goes on the skin much less smoothly.  Beyond that, I checked the ingredients list and THERE IS NO VANILLA BEAN IN THE VANILLA BEAN SCENT!   What?!?!?   It's in the caramel apple though.   Furthermore, I heard a few times the host and Addrienne ( the lady that is the guest when Josie isn't there) say that this is the first time vanilla bean is in the 19 oz.   Not so....I checked my order history and I received it last October.  To sum it up, something doesn't feel or smell right here ( pun intended) and it's upsetting because I've always loved her body butters.  I've read similar reviews and really hope that Josie pays attention to our pleas to go BACK to the original formulation.   

[ChazzyLady]

I dearly hope that the formula has not been changed. My skin is incredibly dry, sensitive, and prone to breakouts of eczema so when I find a product that works in moisturizing my skin without any bad reactions it means a lot to me. I really like Josie's body products, not just the body butter, but also the balms, body oils, sugar scrub, etc.

Several years ago, she had the best body product collection TSV called Escape to Morocco. There was a large and travel size of body scrub, body butter, and hand cream, along with a full sized body oil. The scent was Vanilla Pear I believe and the smell was delicious. She has not offered a collection for the body like that one since.

I think that what a lot of beauty product manufacturers do is quietly replace the tried and true with cheaper, less effective substitutes and then cross their fingers and hope their customer base is so loyal they won't notice. I was waiting for a decent deal on her body products, especially the body butters, but she will definitely lose me as a customer if she has changed the formulation.

[SahmIam]

My family also uses her body butter (unscented) as it works for all of us unlike any other product. I hope the formula has not changed..we'll know if it has in the event it doesn't work any longer.

True story:

Companies rarely inform their sale staff of changed in formulation OR they word it in such a way (hello lawyers) that is SOUNDS as if the product is the same but it has been changed (gotta love that creative writing technique). I know because a family recently retired from Estee Lauder and what we learned...wow.

On with my story: Some years back, Bobbi Brown begun reformulating her products. Her sales staff swore up and down that the SHADES would not alter in any and that the product would be BETTER than before. Not true as I found out when I went to repurchase one of her concealers, corrector and a lipstick....ALL were different shades. I knew the moment I used them. I called the counter and the SA told me no, no change and it was probably my lighting. Nope. I could see instantly that the shades were different AND no longer worked for me. I still had my old products and there was just enough to dig out some of the product; swatched them all side by side and took a picture; the difference was OBVIOUS. Long story short, enough customers complained that BB DID admit to changing the shades by saying SOME colors MAY be affected by the upgrade in formula and to have an artist REMATCH you.

In this case (and with Trish McEvoy), the company NEVER told their work staff that any changes were made. According to my cousin (the EL retiree), this is the NORM not the exception. I'm willing to bet Josie is only told what the company wants her to say on air to get sales and nothing more.

[Harpa]

@SahmIam

Thanks for sharing your story!

Same thing is happening in the food industry!

Consumers know the difference/s!

[RipleyGirl]

That's interesting. I just looked at the ingredient list loaded to QVC and there's no vanilla noted there. I wonder if it's mixed in with the Parfum, although you mentioned you can't even smell vanilla anyway. It's listed in the Vanilla Almond as well.

Maybe a bad batch that should be returned?

[TY]

@SahmIam

Well that's a cautionary tale when small brands sell out and the former owner no longer has control of their company. It was pretty obvious that Bobbi Brown was pushed out of her namesake cosmetic line last year after 20 some years after selling her company to Estee Lauder back in the 1990s. Now her line is all about shimmer and glitter and not her original philosophy of your own look enhanced.

With the downsizing of department stores like the closure of many Macy's in the U.S. and the impending demise of Sears Canada, there are a lot less department stores to carry any EL branded makeup and skin care. I'm seeing tons of EL brands like Bobbi Brown, Marc Jacobs, Smashbox, Estee Lauder, and Clinique showing up at Winners in Canada and I wouldn't be surprised if it's the same at TJ Maxx and Marshall's in the U.S.

[alucky13]

I have noticed a diffeence too! The body butters feel much more sticky and less absorbent than they have in the past. I think many companies are looking for ways to cut expenses, and buy less expensive (and possibly lower quality) ingredients. Perhaps, that is what happens in the larger tubs of the body butters. How can they lower the price so much without lowering the quality?

[Caffeina]

Whipped Argan Oil Body Butter in Vanilla Bean INGREDIENTS: Aqua (Water) (and) Aloe Barbadensis (Aloe Vera) Leaf Juice, Argania Spinosa (Argan) Kernel Oil, Helianthus Annuus (Sunflower) Seed Oil, Glycerin, Coco-Caprylate/Caprate, Caprylic/Capric Triglyceride, Glyceryl Stearate, Butyrospermum Parkii (Shea Butter) Fruit, Butyrospermum Parkii (Shea Butter), Hydroxyethyl Acrylate/Sodium Acryloyl Dimethyl Taurate Copolymer, Parfum (Fragrance), Beta Carotene, Squalane, Polysorbate-60, Decyl Glucoside, Ethylhexylglycerin, Helianthus Annuus (Hybrid Sunflower) Oil, Tocopherol, Symphytum Officinale (Comfrey) Leaf Extract, Matcha Tea Extract, Camellia Sinensis (White Tea) Leaf Extract, Allantoin, Panthenol, Helianthus Annuus (Sunflower) Seed Extract

From the FDA, Fragrances in Cosmetics, https://www.fda.gov/cosmetics/productsingredients/ingredients/ucm388821.htm:

"Labeling of Fragrance Ingredients

If a cosmetic is marketed on a retail basis to consumers, such as in stores, on the Internet, or person-to-person, it must have a list of ingredients. In most cases, each ingredient must be listed individually. But under U.S. regulations, fragrance and flavor ingredients can be listed simply as “Fragrance” or “Flavor.”

Here’s why: FDA requires the list of ingredients under the Fair Packaging and Labeling Act (FPLA). This law is not allowed to be used to force a company to tell “trade secrets.” Fragrance and flavor formulas are complex mixtures of many different natural and synthetic chemical ingredients, and they are the kinds of cosmetic components that are most likely to be “trade secrets.” To learn more, see the regulation on cosmetic ingredient labeling and the Federal Register notice for this regulation, which addresses “trade secrets” and the FPLA."

[mistyada]

The price of vanilla has skyrocketed in the last few months. That may be reasons for formula changes.

[Harpa]

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@mistyada wrote:

The price of vanilla has skyrocketed in the last few months. That may be reasons for formula changes.

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Yes, in the regular grocery stores it has. I get all my Madagasgar vanilla pods from a local farmer's market - $2.50 a pod.

There's no reason to use synthetic vanilla, if that's the  case w/ "fragrance" (let alone in baking!)

Anyway, think of how much vanilla you use for a whole cake. They could use a tiny bit of real vanilla in a vat full of argan body butter.

Josie is always saying how much of a natural lady she is. Why not post on her facebook about the change in the vanilla scented body butter? Or, hopefully, she will see your concern here.