American chain established in 1990 and owned by Limited Brands.
Bath & Body Works originally sold reasonably priced store-brand fragrances and bath & body products; in 2003/2004, the stores began carrying a wide variety of niche brands, and many stores were redesigned with a more upscale atmosphere. According to Women’s Wear Daily, the change “…reinvented BBW from an affordable purveyor of scented lotions and bath gels to a beauty apothecary that aimed to go head-to-head with Sephora to procure emerging brands”.1 By late 2008, the stores still carried some outside brands but the company was retreating from this strategy to some extent.
There are currently over 1500 stores in the US. Proprietary lines include CO Bigelow and Slatkin & Co.
See reviews for Midnight Pomegranate Body Lotion & Shower Gel, Aromatherapy Black Currant Vanilla line, Warm Vanilla Sugar.
Recent fragrance releases
2007: Ile de Tahiti Coconut Vanille, Midnight Pomegranate, Ile de Tahiti Tiare Flower & Fei Banana, Wild Honeysuckle, Moonlight Path & Sweet Pea, Sparkling Peach, Fresh Pineapple, Sea Island Cotton, Freshwater Cucumber & Dancing Waters, Irresistible Apple, Blackberry Amber, Velvet Tuberose, Japanese Cherry Blossom Eau de Parfum, Chocolate Amber.
2008: Enchanted Orchid, Hello Sugar!, Blushing Cherry Blossom, Rainkissed Leaves, Black Amethyst, Vanilla Noir.
2009: Sheer Japanese Cherry Blossom, Butterfly Flower, White Citrus, PS I Love You, Twilight Woods.
2010: PS I Love You Spring Fling, Moonlight Magic, Sweet Pea Forever, Orange Sapphire, Noir, Citron, Oak and Ocean, Forever Sunshine, Twilight Woods for Men, Dark Kiss, Secret Wonderland
2011: Carried Away, Country Chic, Into The Wild, Paris Amour, Charmed Life, Classic Men, Be Enchanted
2012: Pink Chiffon
Website
Further reading
See all articles on Now Smell This tagged Bath & Body Works.
1. Women’s Wear Daily, 11/30/2007
