When I was a kid, my parents had a strawberry patch in their backyard. Each year, we’d try our best to get to the fruits before the ants did. (They beat us sometimes. Those little buggers!)
As much as I love eating strawberries, I find that sometimes the scent gets lost in translation when incorporated into beauty products.
Most times, I don’t like the artificial strawberry scent. There have only been a handful of occasions when I did. (Talk to Mr. Nose. He’s a total snob. Sometimes he wears dark sunglasses and does the whole diva bit.) 😉
Although I wanted it to wow Mr. Nose, unfortunately, the Bath & Body Works Fresh Picked Strawberries Anti-Bacterial Gentle Foaming Hand Soap was a huge miss. I won’t be repurchasing this.
Bath & Body Works Fresh Picked Strawberries Anti-Bacterial Gentle Foaming Hand Soap Pictures
Just looking at this makes me crave strawberries! Well done, marketing team. The packaging gets an A+!
As I was photographing the bottle, I couldn’t resist snapping a photo with me wearing China Glaze Gaga For Green because it complemented it well…hehe! 😉
Claims: TRUSTED, but Product: BUSTED
√ Smells of strawberries, mango nectar & peach blossom
√ Anti-bacterial, lightweight foam washes away dirt & germs
Key Notes
- Name: Bath & Body Works Fresh Picked Strawberries Anti-Bacterial Gentle Foaming Hand Soap
- Amount: 259 mL (875 fl. oz.)
- What I Paid: 7 for $20 USD (Bought during online sale promotion.)
- Where to Buy: Bath & Body Works stores & Bath & Body Works website
Bath & Body Works Fresh Picked Strawberries Anti-Bacterial Gentle Foaming Hand Soap Review
Fragrance
Seems like everyone is in love with this, but…the Fresh Picked Strawberries soap by Bath & Body Works doesn’t smell pleasant to me at all.
I can smell artificial strawberries, but it’s the integration with mango and the peach blossom, I think, that warps the resulting fragrance.
When I used it the first time, I was disgusted. (I’m not exaggerating. Mr. Nose crinkled up.) Perhaps it’s just me (I hope so), but it reminded me exactly like a nasty cough syrup that I used to take when I was a child. The scent is tied so deeply with memories of being sick that when I smell this, I feel like I’m about to get ill.
For those who didn’t take that cough syrup and who actually like an artificial strawberry scent with that twang of mango and peach blossom, perhaps you’ll enjoy this.
Hmm…and for those of you who have tried this scent, does it smell differently in another soap form, like the deep-cleansing one?
Efficacy
Despite the smell turning me off, I still used it because I don’t like to waste things.
In terms of efficacy, I can say that the Bath & Body Works Fresh Picked Strawberries foaming hand soap worked very well and left my hands feeling clean.
Seasonal Availability
The Fresh Picked Strawberries scent is available now and will probably be around through summer. It’s a recurring scent since last year..although maybe it’s been around longer. I’m not sure because I’m relatively new to getting bit by the Bath & Body Works bug. 😉 Vampires have nothing on Bath & Body Works…hehe!
Price
One of the great things about Bath & Body Works soaps is that they often go on sale, so you can try a bunch of scents for a reasonable price. (I’ve never paid full price for anything from Bath & Body Works. They have sales all the time! Smart marketing!)
Pros
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Cons
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Final Verdict: 4/10
Even though the soap itself gets the job done and leaves my hands feeling clean, I can’t get over the putrid scent. Remembering being sick as a child is not a memory that I love to replay every single time I wash my hands.
Have you ever grown your own strawberries? Can you taste the difference between organic and regular strawberries? What other “Fresh Picked” scents from Bath & Body Works have you tried?
I bought the hand sanitizer cause my friends suggested it but when I tried it, it smelled like cough syrup or something sickingly sweet. I ended up giving it to my friend and she really liked it.
Hey maddy!
Okay, so I’m not the only one who thinks it’s like cough syrup! There’s something that doesn’t sit well about it…maybe it’s because it’s not fully a strawberry scent.
Have you tried any of the other Freshly Picked scents? I’m wondering if the cherry one is better or if it has the same problem.
I don’t have the foam soap, but I have the deep cleansing soap (with the little beads) and I love love love the smell! I think it might even be my favorite fragrance of all the B&BW products! I guess fragrances are very personal, so of course everyone would react differently. Too bad you don’t like it, better luck next time!
It’s almost weekend, Mary! I’m so excited! 😀
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Hey Jennifer!
I’m glad that you like the smell, but maybe the deep-cleansing one has a different scent than the foaming kind. I hope so! Because the foaming one makes me nauseous.
Do you have some fun plans this weekend?
Actually, I’m just going to study since I have an exam on Monday. 🙁
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Oh! Well, good luck on your exam! Hope you ace it.
Thanks for posting something else I want to eat 😛 This is tempting but I have to stay away from BBW…I stock up way too much. Like 18 bottles of body wash stock up…
I’m totally kidding myself here, I’ll probably end up with this too.
Frosso recently posted: Delon Salon Formula Strawberry
Hey Frosso!
Oh my gosh, I’m the same way. I have TONS of back-up bottles of the Vanilla Bean Noel body wash! (I use it daily because I love it – it’s like showering with caramel and vanilla. How could you not love that?) 😉
Wow, this review surprised me. I haven’t bought it yet but was really excited about trying it! My fav fragrance ever is the strawberry from The Body Shop, so I was hoping this was similar. Do you like The Body Shop’s strawberry? Maybe I can tell if our noses are similar! 🙂
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Hey Ashley!
I haven’t smelled The Body Shop’s strawberry, but in general, I usually don’t like artificial-strawberry scents. But I think it’s mainly because most strawberry scents remind me of the cough syrup I took as a kid. I can’t shake the memory.
I was just going to say that I really enjoyed the Strawberry line from The Body Shop but Ashley beat me to it. Lol! (Let’s just say great minds think alike and leave it at that.) It really is such a yummy strawberry smell that it’s all I can do from guzzling the shower gel! Now I’m curious to see how they stack up. My money’s on the Body Shop version. 😉
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I’ll need to head to the store and smell that one since both of you really like it. I’m curious how Mr. Nose will react.
Yeah, that’s exactly why I tend to have a problem with strawberry or cherry scented products as well. If the fragrance isn’t done the right way it can really remind me of medicine. I love strawberry ice cream and desserts though! 😀 And nothing beats fresh strawberries in the summer!
Hey Jessica!
I also think that this same ‘medicine’ problem also applies to peppermint scents. If there isn’t some vanilla blended in, peppermint can remind me of toothpaste or medicine.
*waves* hey mary! thanks for the nice email, you are so sweet to check up on little ol me 🙂 I will definitely let you know once I’m free!
As for the review, I’ve never seen you post the verdict on the front page *gasp* it must be really that bad huh! It’s odd that strawberry would smell like cough syrup… talk about a subjective scent haha. I’ve never tried this one, and now I’m curious to smell it myself. It can’t be all that awful…*prepares for the smell with a jar of pumpkin spice candle on hand*
Hey Vivian!
*Waves* Of course! You were missed! 😀
Well, it was really bad to me because I don’t like being reminded of the cough syrup I took as a kid every time I wash my hands. I like to think of happy thoughts…haha! Actually, most strawberry fragrances don’t agree with my nose. It’s such a tricky scent to create and make it smell authentic.
Some people love this scent, so maybe you won’t need that pumpkin-spice candle to save your nose. 😛
Okay, one- I totally recognized Gaga For Green before I even read the caption. Idk if that’s good or bad (I’m gonna go with good!) but it’s worth noting. 🙂 And two- I actually liked this scent!! haha. I guess my nose had different tastes from your nose even though my fingernails have quite the exact taste as your nails. I don’t know that it smells exactly like strawberries but I thought it had a nice smell, although a little on the sweet side for my liking.
I don’t remember if I’ve seen a review for the apple scented wash (maybe it’s called market apple… something like that) on your site or not but have you tried that one? I LOVE it so I even tried their body spray in that scent and… D: It was nasty. Smelled like a stripper that’s been in an apple orchard. Better than a usual stripper smell but still not my style. 🙁 It’s funny how different products of the same line/scent can smell so differently.
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Hey Nicole M!
Hehe, that’s when you know that you’re a true nailphile…when you can correctly identify polishes by their colours even without the bottle in hand. 😀 I think it’s a good thing!
No, I’ve never tried the Market Apple body wash, but I’ve tried the scent in a hand-sanitizer form. I remember it being very crisp and strong.
Hahahaha…”a stripper that’s been in an apple orchard”! You’re hilarious!
Would never even try this because I don’t like fruity scents, but I just love the picture with your nails matching the packaging!
Hey Barbara!
For this particular product, it’s just as well if you skip it. You’re not missing much.
Glad you like the photo with the nails. 🙂 I couldn’t resist!
From the first photo I assumed this would take me straight into summertime and strawberry picking… but I appreciate your honesty in saying that the “fresh” berry scent was not really there… I remember feeling dissappointed with the “fresh apple” scent a few years back… it didn’t have much of an apple scent at all 🙁
Love the photo with your green nails 😀 ps. I also just noticed your green nails on your blog-header 😀
That is soo Mary and I love it! xxx
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Hey Marta!
I smelled an apple scent from them before and thought it had a perfume-y quality. When I go for apple scents, I love it to smell like the fresh fruit and very natural. (There was a green-apple-scented shampoo by Life that I used to love when I was in grade 7. It smelled divine – like you were just biting into a green apple. So fresh and crisp!)
Hehe, I’m glad that you liked the green-manicure detail. 😉 It’s supposed to be me, so of course she has to wear green polish…hehehhe!