This unassuming Soap shop is phenomenal. We have walked past for years, and recently decided to check out Abbey Brown. This is an amazing place to look for soaps, candles, lotions, and diffusers. If you are looking for nontoxic scents for your home. Salim is the most wonderful employee, always so kind and helpful. We look forward to seeing her on our soap re-up days. There are so many great scents to try and even make items of your own. read more

Hi, my name is Rosa J., and one of my addictions is buying handmade soaps and beauty products made with natural ingredients! I've been an advocate for shopping local, and I wanted to do so for my friends' Christmas presents. Since I was already in West Town/Noble Square area, I walked to "Abbey Brown Soap Artisan" and was immediately greeted by the owner, Deborah, and her beautiful and sweet dog, Madison. I was amazed by their "Chicago-themed" soap bars, candles, and lip balms, which they would make great stocking stuffers. I also saw shampoo balls (for both oily and normal hair), nourishing creams, body butters, facial cleansers, body oils, and some other deliciously-smelling items that I would love to fill up my bathroom with. Many of their products have already been nicely wrapped or packaged, so they are ready to "gift." Oh man, I was like a kid in a candy store. I was touching and sniffing those heavenly scents! "Abbey Brown Soap Artisan" isn't too awfully far from the CTA Grand Blue Line station, about 15 to 20 minute walking distance. Otherwise, it's accessible via #65 (Grand) bus and the nearest stop is Racine. read more

Abbey Brown Soap Artisan - $60 worth of delicious smells - Cosmetics & Beauty Supply Near Me - Chicago, Illinois

Went during their business hours posted on their website and they weren't open. There's a sign in there window that basically says sometimes they are there and sometimes they aren't during business hours. read more

Cute place, I would expect this homemade soap and bath salts shop to be on Division or Roscoe, but it resides right here on a stretch of Grand Ave., among the Italian Deli's and restaurants. They make all their soaps and salts in-house, with all natural ingredients and the quality shows. The Orange Blossom and clove soap was my first choice, but I'm really curious about their higher-priced line, where I espied a soap made with clay soil. The salts can get expensive, but you can buy a one-bath sample for $6.50. Large sizes are ~$21. Also offering soap-making classes, I do expect to take a class soon so I can make some of my own unique gifting favorites. Abbey Brown also has cards, journals, and the like, and the store help is friendly as can be! read more

I was looking online for a soap and Candle Company and came across Abbey Brown. I called and found that they had the perfect men's area with men's scents and grooming products. Upon talking to them they've hosted events for men... the Chicago Bulls and beer events. This is not a boutique just for women.... it is for men and they have products for children and aromatherapy for pets. I found the perfect men's gift .... because I had been searching for a coffee soap and they had it! If she would have had all the products she would have made a coffee candle. They customize products for the customer. Gift wrapping is an additional dollar. Such a wonderful find. Thank you to the owner and her staff. read more

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Fancy soaps and bath products for the fanciest of ladies. I had to stop and smell every Chicago-themed candle. There's a candle for every CTA line. I don't know that the red line really smells like that, but Abbey Brown's soaps have me convinced. It was impossible for me to choose a favorite. I almost bought a vat of chamomile butter, but my arsenal of body products is full right now. My friend bought rose and patchouli-scented bath salts. I don't like patchouli at all, but the scent was a little more delicate in this product. Everything in this shop smells lovely. Walking in here, I automatically felt a little relaxed compared to the hustle and bustle of Grand Avenue. I'm not big on taking baths, but I would recommend this shop to ladies who love baths or just simply appreciate soaps with all natural ingredients. Of course this place is a bit more spendy than a Bath & Body Works, but the two don't even compare. The products here are still very affordable, most in the less than $20 range. read more

I live pretty much right next to this place, and it gives me a thrill to be buying TRULY LOCALLY: the soap is made on location, and all their gifty things are created by local artists and crafty folk. I wish the art that they sell was better, a little less cutesy would be good.... and some of the handicrafts are startlingly expensive, but all in all it's a great place to buy gifts, and it smells nice to boot. There need to be more places like this in the area -- and in saying this I'm aware I'm probably sounding all gung-ho for gentrification, but honestly, if your manufacturing is done locally, and you're employing local artists, it can't be that detrimental, can it? The lemongrass soap is top notch. I smell good now. read more

I received some gifts (rose scented olive bar and bath salts) from here and was about to to run out from using them so much. I came by to stock up on more items and see what else the store had. First off, the store smells heavenly. It wasn't very overwhelming like most spa/skin speciality/aromatherapy type stores can be. In fact, it made the store seem so warm and cozy, and I probably lingered around longer than I should have been. If that makes any sense...As much as I loved rose scented anything, I picked up a couple other scented olive oil soap and shea balm items: pear up and peppermint. I don't like to admit this, but the winter season is brutal to my poor dry feet. I'm quite excited to try out this shea balm for my feet and other dry patches caused by bitter winters. Damn you winter! In addition to the all the great bath and candle stuff, the store also carries a lot of artwork, clothing, jewelry, greeting cards, and bags all made by local artists, which is awesome. Prices are reasonable (about $6-10 for most). I'm going to keep this store in mind for future gift giving and of course, retail therapy for me. I have my eye on a messenger bag displayed up front. Oh, and it's easily accessible by the Grand bus and walking distance from the blue line. read more

I absolutely adore this shop! The soaps, soaks, and lip balms are amazing! I bought a few soaps and soaks for friends this Christmas and they all loved it. It is a bit pricey but they use high quality and natural ingredients and they make everything in the store. Just knowing that makes me forget about the prices. I can't wait to take one of their soap making classes. Every time I try to sign up it is already booked. Hopefully next month I will be able to finally take one class. The staff is also extremely friendly and I love to support local businesses! read more

I love supporting independent shops or boutiques! This one was no different. Abbey Brown carries a plethora of scented goodness and it took me quite awhile to decide on what to buy. Had it been a little closer to Christmas, I would have picked up some of the Chicago themed soaps and candles. I was thinking they'd make a cute basket item for a Chicago-themed basket. I ended up leaving with just some bath salts since my bath collection is already way overstocked. If in the area, I highly recommend coming in and saying hello. The ladies working the shop were friendly as well. read more

Like previous posts have mentioned, this place is great because they make all their soap ON the premises. They have a very wide selection of scents and herb combinations and will cut you whatever size you are looking for. Also some cute gifts and jewelry, also by local artists. Stop on by! read more

Who do you think you are giving me super soft skin and having me smell uber-delish with your Honey and Oatmeal soaps? Making my skin next to perfect and exfoiliating and moisturizing like no one's business? Just who do you think you are being super convenient having a location near my home and in Navy Pier? Shame on you for being awesome, you make all the other soaps sad. :-) But really, I had a chemical peel for my face and alternated between the mud purifying soap at night and the honey oatmeal soap in the morning and my esthetician said my skin recovered better than almost anyone she had ever seen. I also use the honey oatmeal soap all over my body and the scent makes my hubby swoon. I will never use another soap and I am VERY picky. Love at first lather, trust me. read more

I love the Citus Shea Butter. It is the perfect travel size for carry on luggage and a little goes a long way.

I visited the shop located in the French Market and was highly impressed with the quality of the products. The products are made using natural ingredients and smell delicious. There are several options at all price points. I can see these products as great gifts for the holidays. I also enjoyed how they had soaps creatively named after local things like a soap for the Chicago French Market. They also have soaps named after the train lines. I ended up buying a citrus shea lip balm for $4, which I love. I'm thinking of getting the body butter since I love the smell so much. The woman working at the shop on Saturday afternoon was super friendly and helpful. I definitely will come back here again! read more

My son brought me these soaps as a gift from a business trip to Chicago. I have tried many artisan soaps before, none compare to Abbey Brown's quality soaps. They lather nicely and smell divine. No chemicals!!! I live in Los Angeles and order them on a regular basis. The price is comparable to anything in L.A., but there is nothing that is comparable to there quality. read more

I have purchased many of the products at a local store in Geneva. I have recently been ordering products online for convenience. The products always arrive safely. A wonderful bonus is that your mailbox smells amazing when you have items shipped via usps. I use the soaps and air fresheners! My favorite fragrance is All That Jazz. read more

Great little store - they have many wonderful handmade artists creations - as well as their own products - I really love the Abbey Brown line of soaps and oils - but the one item I especially love was the collection of Lavender Wands that are new to the store - besides being beautiful their scent is magical. Kudos to Abbey Brown Soap Artisan! read more

Pricey soaps, but they clean well and smell great! I love the herbal scents and am using In The Woods in my bathroom now. Not girly or cleaning-product-smelly at all, but still fresh and mature smelling. I found them at the Logan Square farmer's market. read more

Very cute shop! I enjoyed wandering and smelling all the oils, candles, and soaps. As I was about to check out, I realized that this shop was the same shop that sold me a bar of Gardenia soap in Daley Plaza that I'm OBSESSED with. The owner threw in a few slivers of new soaps with my purchase (Rosebud-scented bar soap). I'll definitely come back! read more

These are the ONLY soaps I use, mainly because I know they use pure ingredients. I took a soap-making class there and they use TONS of olive oil, which is not cheap, and zero sulfates. These soaps clean without drying my skin, so sometimes I can skip a moisturizer. I've also tried their body butters, which are also great, very few ingredients. I took off one star because I felt that $60 was very steep for the soap-making class. Yes, we got ONE free bar of soap, but it was basically watching the owner make huge batches of soap. Not worth such a high price. read more

A great place to get gifts. My wife and I were in the neighborhood and we found Abbey Brown just walking by. With five or more teachers to buy presents at my son's school, ABSA was the perfect place to get them a little something. It's a bit expensive, but considering what you are paying for its totally worth it. They make all their own soap and other items. The store is a fun place to shop and smells amazing!!! It's great to see a locally owned retailer making it. read more

for years i'd bemoaned the fact that the guy who owned our building never leased out to girlie tenants. i mean, this neighborhood is so lacking in the 'pretty', it's ridiculous. (but i still love it.) so what a great relief when abbey brown arrived. pretty, handmade, artisanal soaps. yes, the vibe is a little...crafty. but the stuff ain't bad! i had the shea butter lip balm and it's so soft and nice - and all natural! i've also used the lavender scented room deoderizer (you know, the one with the wicker sticks that dispense the fragrance...) and i have it next to my bed and it relaxes me when i sleep. (not to mention it makes the room smell very good.) she also carries stationery, art, bags, jewelry and some crafty things from local artists. support our locals! i'd much rather shop here for work/friend/family gifts then schlepping all the way over to some other 'hood. Note: i think she's going to start teaching classes. read more

I absolutely love the soap from this store! It's made of pure olive oil and it so luxuriously silky. I also love the lip gloss sold here and the body butter. Actually, I love everything here. The shop also sells at the Lincoln Park farmer's market every saturday, even in the winter! That way you have choices on where to go. read more

Best bar of soap $5.00 can buy, once you get some you will be hooked. Mostly a gifty type of place with a lot of variety from aromatherapy to crafts and books. Seriously the place made me reconsider what I was doing to my skin all these years. read more

This really is a cute place to go for soap gifts and with christmas coming up I will probably be back soon. For $6 each they have an awesome selection of soaps packaged in little brown bags that are adorable - tons of different kinds like mango, lemongrass, poppy and basil. They also have cards and baby gifts and a lot of other things that would make nice presents. It's nice to buy local products and these are high quality soaps. read more

This is a nice independent store carrying handmade soap, essential oils, tea, candles and a small selection of cards. The main attraction here is the soap. It all smelled very good, but I didn't walk away with anything other than some of their All that Jazz black tea for a friend. It's definitely good that places like this are still popping up in my neck of the woods. Personally though, for soap, I have been buying my favorite soap (cranberry pomegranate) for the last couple of years from Luv a Dub Dub Soap Co. so this place just doesn't do it for me, but for other people. I'm sure it hits the hippie meets yuppie spot! read more

What a cute little shop! Everything smells great and a helpful staff will answer questions for you, since, after all, they make the soap there!! There are great little gifts for anyone from friends to really cute local things like soaps named after our CTA lines! I liked the citrus line including a great salt soak! I'm definitely heading here for my Mothers Day gifts this year!! read more

Really nice gift and soap shop. I haven't tried the soaps yet (which are all made at the store), but I have purchased numerous other gifts. She carries a good assortment of items from various artists - selection changes as she gets new inventory. I am looking forward to seeing what she gets in the future. read more

FABULOUS soaps! local and luxurious! what more could you ask for? 58% olive oil in the soaps one for a gift...two for me...two for gifts...four for me.. you smell great and your skin's soft...you've got to try her products! they're all over the city/burbs, so hurry and visit! i particularly like the french market location. also, deborah, the sweet shop owner, has a fantastic memory! read more

I'm reviewing the French Market location. After seeing their gift sets on the web site, I decided to get my Christmas gifts for colleagues there. However, when I asked the sales girl about them, she had no clue what I was talking about. I asked her for recommendations to put a few items together to re-create the gift box, she still had very little idea of how to help me (she started with lip balm when I was holding the bath salts and staring at the bath items). The only thing she was able to tell me was about the smells (since they are open for me to smell, that part didn't really help). The interaction ended with her not having bags for me (and my 4 boxes). She offered an old ikea bag, but ended up asking a neighbor for some plastic bags. Don't get me wrong, it wasn't poor service, I think she really did want to help - she just didn't know the product or how to sell. I recommend you do your own homework before going. read more

Not only are their people soaps divine as other reviews mention. But now they have dog shampoo!! Comes in bar form; which is easier to apply then normal liquid; just scrub dog with the bar. Suds up well for good cleaning, but also rinses super easy and with no residue. Conditions fur and skin without artificial moisturizers. And I am bathing a German Shepherd and a Pit Bull here, so we are talking serious fur and lots of it!! If you bathe your own dog, you must try this shampoo!! Or bring some to your groomer as a present!! Also, a perfect place to go if you need a gift for someone and have no idea what to get them. I have bought my Mom's Xmas presents 2 years running and both have been a hit!! (Seatbelt buckle purse and handmade bird house) read more

I found Abbey Brown online when I was looking for Chicago-themed wedding favors. When I perused the site, I found wonderful ideas. Since we had a very small wedding, I spent more on each favor. I also didn't want to give favors that had no purpose. I ordered matching soap/candle pairs ($15) for each couple and put them in a decorative mesh bag. I also reused the brown paper shreds from the box. It is difficult to get the scent you want when ordering online, but none of the frangrances were bad! I did visit the beautiful store to purchase more, and the employee was very nice. If you are looking for Chicago-themed gifts, check out Abbey Brown-you will not be disappointed! She makes lots of other fragrant items also. I just enjoyed the wrapping with names and pictures of iconic Chicago locations. When I recieved my order in the mail (in a very timely and well-packed manner) the woman who packed the box wrote a lovely message wishing me well on my wedding. I didn't notice immediately, but the card was a picture of the storefront. What great idea! Thank you staff at Abbey Brown! And FYI, Abbey Brown is the name of a color-not the name of the store owner! read more

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I needed a 'thank you for hosting us' gift to send to some friends in Miami. I was excited to check out the store and buy something not only Chicago local, but neighborhood local as a gift (I only live one block from the store). I walked into the store and was BARELY greeted by a girl in the back with an unexciting hello. I looked around at the goods for several minutes and the girl did not even come over and say 'how are you' or 'what can i help you find'. She even came to the front of the store to put some items on a shelf and didn't even converse with me. Customer service is everything to me! I simply won't support a store, a neighborhood SOAP store nonetheless, that doesn't have friendly service. I walked out empty handed. There were actually a few items I would have liked to purchase. Visited 8/19. read more

One of the best looking stores I've ever been to!! I want to own a store like this one day!!!

I am normally very practical and would never spend over five dollars for a bar of fancy soap when I could get a huge pack of French milled soap from Costco for ten bucks or fancy soap from Marshall's, but Abbey Brown is worth the extra money. My sister-in-law bought some that I used during my visit to Chicago (In the Woods ... a divine herby one) and I fell in love with its smooth lather and scent. I made a special stop at the store to stock up on soaps for me and gifts for friends. The store is fun to browse in, with lots of different types of soaps to choose from, and other crafty gifts as well. Highly recommend! read more

I expected better service from a boutique shop such as this. We were basically ignored until we wanted to pay as the manager/owner was too busy ordering her interns around. It was our first time in the shop and we came to purchase Mother's Day gifts so a greeting, offer to help, or asking if we had questions would have really improved the experience. Instead we were left to wander around on our own wondering what our mom's would like and what exactly was in this stuff. You might have upsold me, Abbey Brown, had you simply asked if I needed help. I like that the products are all natural, made on-site and I love supporting local businesses, but my mom really like's Terry's Toffee and the employees there talk to me AND there's free samples! I'll update the review if there are rave reviews from mom... read more

I have never actually been to the store so this review is just for the product. I was at the one of a kind show three years ago and picked some soap up for my mom for Christmas. She could not stop talking about it so now I have to make the hike every year to stock her up every Christmas. Soaps all smell good and are made from pure fresh ingredients. I wanted to take a soap making class at the store but they are a bit pricey at $60 a person. read more

This place is amazing. Both my son and I have incredibly sensitive skin and I try not to switch or try new products for a fear of a reaction and never use anything that does not pass the sniff test. Everything is handmade and amazing. It should be a must go to whenever someone comes to the city! read more

Great even though a little pricey, but not really. They have samples for almost everything and you're more than welcomed to try all. Friendly lady, and they don't rush you. Wander as long as it want. Quite wide range of products and smell. Really good shop in general. Just quite hard to find a place to park, but no big deal. Highly recommended! read more

I love the diffuser that I purchased last week. I bought the Ginger scent and it gives off such a great fragrance. We took a sample of the Rose soap and LOVE that too. We will be back for more soap in the very near future!!! read more