Buff City Soap - Daytona Beach - Daytona Beach, Florida

Nikki Ryan

When they first opened I used to go in frequently. There are a select few fragrances (fruity loopy, cherry almond, lemongrass and the queen one) I love because you can actually smell them on the soap, most don't have a fragrance at all anymore when I go in to try something new, I end up leaving with the soap I normally always get. My son and husband have only found one of the men's fragrance that they like because it's the only one they can smell a fragrance in (commando). I used to get the lotion, scrub, whipped soap, bath bombs and shower oil with soap bars but the prices of everything have gone up. It's too much to keep going regularly anymore so we go here and there and can never seem to get anything new because again, though we love the ones we do get, there are only a select few fragrances you can really smell. My kids have never received the customer service I've read in other reviews but there is great customer service usually and the fragrances we love, we do go back for.

Zevon P

I had written a long, detailed review for here, but just now my computer decided to die & the whole thing was erased, so instead, I'll just put it in bullet points:

-The customer service is *fantastic.* They offered my 4-year-old daughter a bath bomb she could paint, which absolutely made my day. I wish I knew the name of the lady that was helping her with that to shout her out, but I don't know. She was great, though. They also gave her little sample soaps. She now asks daily when we can go back to the soap store.

-They can make their detergent ANY scent they carry - which I was super excited about when they told me this, because I wasn't that into the fragrances they had already-made (but, the cotton & the magnolia are really nice, I'd recommend them to anyone that wants nice scents that are more normal for detergent than what I picked.) I got the Fruity Loopy, which smells SO good.

-The detergent is absolutely top-notch. The efficacy of this stuff is crazy. I had been using Tide Pods & had to add laundry booster (like a water softener thing, made by Downy I think, that clear stuff) AND baking soda, & the stuff STILL wasn't getting truly clean, husband's clothes still smelled icky after multiple washes. Then I got this stuff - & I have NEVER seen our laundry water look so nasty, at least not with regular clothes (maybe rugs/outdoor stuff), it was SO grey & brown, just gross. All that was left behind by the Tide & this stuff got it out. Everything looked brighter, cleaner, & smelled like NOTHING, which is kind of what you want clean things to smell like - not armpit. Even my black & white porch rug, the white parts actually look white again (not perfect, but waaaay better), rather than grey like before. I'm very impressed with the performance of the detergent. And this stuff has a grand total of THREE ingredients, plus the fragrance, which is optional too. Tide has like, dozens of ingredients, most of which you'd be hard-pressed to pronounce or recognize.
I do wish more of the scent was left in the clothes, so I could keep smelling that amazing fruity cereal smell while I wear the clothes (& their clean cotton scent definitely can still be smelled after the wash is done), but I may need to get the scent booster for that.
But yeah, now I'm excited to do laundry because it smells great while it's washing AND actually comes out clean for once.

-Their Pink Sugar soap is wonderful. I had previously tried two of the kids' scented soaps (the sour candies one & the fruit-loops one), & they were good, but didn't do anything particular for my skin. Got the Pink Sugar this time, & WOW. It is *so* moisturizing. And my skin's always gotten way, way too dried out if I use soap more than twice a week - which I obviously have to do, so, I'd just have dry skin constantly. This stuff made my skin & my daughter's feel SO dang soft, I've never had soft skin, I couldn't believe it. So, whatever ingredient is in that one that's not in the kids' soaps - they should add it into the kids' versions too, because lots of kids have skin issues & could probably benefit from that. I'm super happy with it. Make sure you have a soap dish though, or you'll have colorful residue on your shower ledge.

So, overall, an *easy* 5 stars for this place. I'm so happy with their customer service - they were so sweet to my daughter, & even kept her entertained, gave her a free half-size bath bomb, the mini soaps, etc., & most of all, a fun experience. She was so happy with her little creation. I couldn't be happier with Buff City. Thanks guys.
(Oh, & they also give you a $1 discount if you bring back & reuse the plastic laundry jug. And I'd be willing to bet, if you're not a fan of using plastic in general, they'd probably be fine with putting your detergent into a glass jar you bring in if you wanted, I'd ask first, but I think they would. I appreciate that they encourage people to re-use the jugs.)

Katie Garred

I visited this store for the first time yesterday after hearing great things from a friend. She shops here often, and her laundry always smells amazing. Intrigued, I asked her to share the custom scent combination she uses, and I decided to make the 30-minute drive to check it out for myself.

When I arrived, I was greeted warmly, and the staff seemed very friendly. I explained why I was there but decided to browse a bit before making my selection. The store smelled wonderful and had a nice aesthetic. However, as I explored, I noticed that many of the hand soaps lacked much fragrance at all, which was surprising given the premium price of the products. While the items are marketed as homemade and artisanal, I felt they were overpriced for what they offered.

When I was ready, I went to the counter and showed one of the staff members the two scents I wanted combined, the same blend my friend uses. She enthusiastically told me, “Oh, that sounds amazing! Let me get started for you.” But then another staff member approached and asked what I was requesting. After I explained, she abruptly said, “Yeah, you can’t do that.” Confused, I asked why, especially since the store prominently advertises the ability to create custom scent combinations from over 30 options. She explained that the scents I had chosen came from different suppliers and couldn’t be mixed.

I showed her the photo my friend sent me, proving that this exact combination had been done at this very location before. Her response? “Well, I don’t know. We used to do it, but now we don’t. You can pick a different scent and make your own instead of copying your friend’s—it might even smell better.”

Excuse me? I didn’t make a special trip and plan to spend a significant amount of money for someone to dismiss my request and suggest I "copying" my friend. I came for a specific product and was willing to pay their very high prices—$22 for 30 loads of laundry soap—because I believed in what they advertised.

Instead, I left disappointed and frustrated, feeling like I had completely wasted my time. My advice? Skip this place and head to your local farmers market. You can find better quality, more affordable products there without the hassle or attitude. It’s soap, not rocket science!

Fallyn Hille

Terrible customer service - on Black Friday I ordered two items and waited until Monday to come in, because my order kept saying it was processing. I found out that my entire order was cancelled because one item was out of stock. Rather than letting me exchange it in store for another item, I was told I could get their current offer of 20% off, compared to the 40/50% off for Black Friday. I reached out to the company on their website and never even heard back

Brenda Trujillo

I went here for the first time and I just wanted to buy the whole store. Everything smells amazing and you can always custom make the laundry soap. I’ve been using it and it works wonderfully! I got some sample soap bars and they smell great and leave my skin feeling nice which I love due to having sensitive skin. Everyone was friendly and helped me!

wanna-be vash

I absolutely love this place and their products! The shower products do wonders for my skin and always smell so so good. The employees are also very sweet and helpful!

Mariah's Music & Arts

I visited after receiving a coupon in the mail. (Free bar of soap coupon had me walking out of there $50 later LOL... so good job on the marketing!!!) ?

What a cool shop! Staff were SUPER friendly and helpful!

It's a little difficult to differentiate the smells of the products because the fragrances are so strong in the shop, but I walked out with lots of GREAT Christmas gifts.. and a little something for me :D! (PS. LOVE the soap sleeves!)

I think if I were running the shop, I might beautifully store all but one bar of each soap so customers could still smell each one and not be overwhelmed... just my humble opinion.... and that's coming from someone who is a scent loving person. ❤ Acrylic boxes maybe? The soaps ARE very colorful and beautiful to display and I LOVE the creative names. I ended up using a home alone meme for the tags, which I thought was fun!

The prices are a little high(especially the laundry soap) imho, but they do have a beautiful retail space they have to pay for... so that costs a ton I'm sure!
All in all, I'll DEFINITELY be back!

Lauri Kortum

I love the products, but one employee in particular is so incredibly rude! How about this? When someone comes into your store how about saying hi and greet them and try smiling