Karen’s Body Beautiful

I had a wonderful time at Karen’s as usual. My rush-​free mani and pedi was well worth the commute from queens and the staff was friendly and helpful. I love the relaxing atmosphere — no talking on the cell phone policy mixed with soft jazz in the background, perfect. I’ll be back soon to try the hair products.
Update: I never posted this review but even though the store is closed they still sell their awesome hair products at Target worldwide!!!

I joined Unilocal just to write this review, that’s how outraged I am! I made an appointment online for a $ 39 ‘sweetish’ massage deal that they were having. It was to be 30 minutes long. Unfortunately, it ended up being 0 minutes long. I got there 15 minutes late and was told at the front desk that because I was late, they could give me the «remainder of my massage» (15 minutes). However, I would still have to pay the full price for only half of the service! That in itself is quite ridiculous — most places have a 15 if not a 30 minute grace period. What makes it even more ridiculous is the fact that I was a new customer and potentially a regular client.
But anyway, I offered to reschedule and was told that if I did reschedule, they would still charge me $ 39 for the original service, and then an additional $ 39 for the new service. So I would be charged twice for one service — for being 15 minutes late! Needless to say, I left and will not be doing business with people who have such an absurd customer service policy.

I had been a longtime customer of KBB — almost 4 years of solid patronage. I would go in and pick up body butters, sugar scrubs, lotions — you name it, I think I tried about all of the body products. I should’ve known what was up once she started to rebrand and adding the hair products. Many times I’ve gone in and whole sections of scents would be missing and everyone, including Karen herself, seemed put out when I ask when the scent would be back in.
The last time I went in was the Saturday after my bridal shower, when a friend had given me $ 100 gift card because I loved the products so much. There was a moving truck outside, the shelves were semi-​empty and people were looking at me crazily for walking in.
So, Karen tells me that «the store is closed.» Curtly. Quelle horreur! Why didn’t I get an email about the store closing? I subscribe to her list. Ok, will you still carry the products on your site? «Yes, but we discontinued the sugar scrub.»
Automatic disqualification. After trying everything that she has to offer, the scrub was the best thing in that place — BAR NONE. Fine, I would’ve stocked up on body butters. So when I ask about using the gift card online, first the answer was yes, then the answer was no. Apparently the store & the site are different systems and I would have to call and place a phone order.
GTFO. Who in the hell runs a business where the only way you can spend your money with them is over the phone??? I thought this was 2012.
So I give the card back to my friend and when they call to find out if they can get a refund of their money, since the card was UNUSED, the answer was no. Apparently there are NO refunds on gift cards.
Which is complete BS because NO ONE told them that the store was closing when it, in fact, closed a WEEK LATER.
This is why people don’t like shopping at establishments run by «us» because of crap like this. I will NEVER buy from her again, even though I absolutely hate Carol’s Daughter. Hopefully someone will combine great product with great service and not give their longtime customers the shaft.

ooo Ms. Karen you are lucky your products are heaven sent otherwise i wouldn’t put up with the customer service over there.
maybe i misunderstood something on your website but i decided it would be more convenient to buy your products online and pick it up in the store. BAD IDEA. When i mention what i did, one of the associates said i wont be able to get until another time.
From what i read, the products are available for pick up after 5pm same day., She gave me some underhanded patronizing response as to why that’s not true and was ready to go about her way to do whatever she was doing and not help me after. I am at the store already, don’t you think it would’ve been helpful to see what we can work with from there? She really expected me to come ALL they way to the store (you don’t know how far i traveled) and leave empty handed, just because i MIGHT’VE misunderstood something.
Had i not asked if i could replace the order with the in-​store products while i was in the store, she would have let me walked out. She seemed so annoyed for making her do her job… you were only sitting on the couch when i walked in, my request could not have made your life that hard ! if only i got her name.
Luckily someone else at the register was eager to allow me to pick out a product at the store to replace the web order. Ms. Karen, get it together with your employee’s. At they end of the day, it’s your name on these wonderful products and no one should be tarnishing it.

Love their products. Spa’s ok.

I actually got to meet Karen as she mixed up her products in the store! I can appreciate the «small business» aspect of not mass producing products and therefore losing some of the healthier ingredients. I purchased a clarifying shampoo and leave in conditioner. Loved both! So did my mom. I also purchased a bar of soap (as did my friend) and it’s very moisturizing.
The check in deal was to get a free bar with the check in (a $ 6 value)…so check in when you go!

I was looking to try a new natural hair product. My sister mentioned KBB. So when I found myself in the area, I decided to walk in. Well, can I say «walk in» was all I was able to do.
Standing at the entrance, I noticed two workers near the door with mops in their hands. No one greeted me (just stared like: «You better not walk across my freshly mopped floor»). Only after I said «hello» did someone behind the counter reply and ask me what she could do for me.
I said I wanted to see their products, but didn’t realize they were cleaning up.
No reply (I actually thought I heard birds chirping). Okay, so I continue: «Maybe I’ll come back».
She replies, «Okay».
Uhmm, is it me or who cleans a store in the middle of the day, turns customers away without so much as an apology or attempt to act like you care about my business. It wasn’t a small area that was being cleaned, but the majority of the floor was wet (and I’d have to trek across it to actually look at the products).
Humph! First impressions speaks volumes (that’s all I can say).
One star based on:
1. Mopping the floor during store hours when patrons would actually like to shop
2. You didn’t know how far I traveled to the store just to not be greeted properly
3. Being unapologetic, unprofessional: «Sorry for the inconvenience» would have been acceptable
I try not to get too wound up, but don’t mess with my kinky kurls!
(Blowing raspberries) Can you hear me? It’s been one of those days…

Only giving a star because Unilocal makes you. I haven’t even been to this place and glad that I didn’t based on the «real» and «honest» reviews.
I purchased a deal through Living Social and had a difficult time scheduling an appointment because they never seem to have any appts in the evenings or weekends for these vouchers.
I have a day off from work and so I scheduled an appointment — I was really looking forward to it as I’m going away for the weekend. I received a phone call today cancelling my appt because the nail technician wasn’t going to be in. I was told that they didn’t have any other appts that day. I logged in to their online scheduling system as a «regular customer» and there were 3 appts available in the evening. Really?
I called Living Social and they were kind enough to give me a refund. That’s what I get for trying to support a Brooklyn business. I will continue to go to Manhattan and patronize businesses that know how to treat customers.

Bought one of those voucher deals for a Vichy shower… when we got there the 1^st time the shower was not available (we did not receive any notification even though they said one was sent out). The receptionist was really sweet (she gave us some free samples… which i do like) so even though we were annoyed we just rescheduled! OK so we go there on the scheduled date and i made us run late… ughhhh but once again the receptionist was very accommodating! Seeing that it was a session for 2 people i decided to shorten my time so my mother could enjoy her full treatment, however my mother can be a pain so the lady (Carol i think her name is) came out to explain that due to the lateness we will have to shorten a treatment my mother gave her a lil attitude because she was already upset at me for being late! After that Carol’s demeanor was very cold… I cant write what my mom’s experience was but this is my experience from that point on:
I waited in the front of the store because we were going 1 at a time. I was offered something to drink by the receptionist. There were 3 other girls packaging orders for shipment and wow no sense of professionalism they were having their normal conversations like i wasn’t even there… and Carol was in the front for most of the time during all the treatments! One of the times she came out to the front she told 1 of the girls she nearly «got blinded back there» (my mom is a heavyset woman). But yes Carol, if you do read this I did hear you!!! Very disrespectful… but whatever… so now its my turn i go in the back which needs 2 b cleaned up (the pedicure station looked horrible… cleanliness guys) and was lead to this room with the vichy shower… the thing looks like a space shuttle from star wars… lol! But i undress and go inside and Carol turns on the steam and by no means am i a picky/​fussy person but after 10 mins i was ready to get out!!! Carol came back to check on me and i asked her to get out… she turned off the steam and that’s when i realized my whole treatment will be in the space shuttle… without talking she put on some gloves and began giving me a body scrub (the product she used smelled so good tho)…but i could’ve done that at home for myself! Then she turned on the water and asked me a few times if the temp was good… that took a few mins then she closed the space shuttle thing and the water was spurting out of the jets… okkkkk my jacuzzi at home is better than that! No pressure nada! So Carol comes back and dries me off (still not explaining anything) and she lotions me up and I’m done. OK i could’ve done all that at home. I wanted a spa experience but a bath house/​steam room/​my own home would’ve been better than that! I was highly disappointed! I own my own biz 2 and 1 thing i know is the customer is how you pay your bills and put food on your table and Carol ruined my day… i left that place with a headache! I still left her a tip out of respect (I’ll b honest not much…$ 24 for 2 people). But the machine did most of the work and her attitude sucked!

I came here with a groupon, I am super thankful that I did not pay full price for the services rendered.
My day started with the Salon running about 20– minutes behind our scheduled appointment which was overally frustrating since thy require you to show up 15 minutes ahead of schedule
Afterwards, I started my first service with a weird steam bath that required me to put on a paper bikini and get into this enclosed bathtub that looked like it was straight out of the movie Cocoon. I guess I should have researched this further in my mind I was thinking it was a steam room service not an enclosed bathtub, so that portion is not really the spa’s fault. However 10 minutes into this service all of the water began draining from the tub and I was left sitting in about 3 inched of Luke warm water with no way to call for help as the tub is on a 3 foot platform and you need a step ladder to get in and out of the tub. When I began calling out for help the girl helping me tried to add more water to the tub and after not being able to she left to return to tell me that since I only had 15 minutes left to the service that I should just sit there. In which I told her there was no way I was going to sit soaking wet in a paper bikini in 3 inches of cold water and asked her to help me out of the tub. She then told me to dry off, get dressed and wait in the room until my boyfriend was done with his massage. Frustrated and sweating I got dressed and opened the door to the room where the owner attempted to help by offering free services. (which in theory was good but I was never provided with the product or service before leaving)
Next up was the massage which was great! Kiesha was awesome and super helpful, skilled and sweet. The room was not great, but I have seen worse. This was by far the best part of my afternoon.
And the mani/​pedi. Oh, the mani/​pedi which also left me very dissatisfied. My boyfriend’s nail technician, never even offered to trip his nails or toe nails and didn’t even bother to clean them out. Considering a male mani pedi does not provide polish the least they could do was offer to clean cut or buff them. My technician was very rough with me even after explaining to her I recently sprained my ankle (which looking back now she barely spoke English which is wear the disconnect might have occurred) The polish job was sloppy and smudged/​chipped, since she never came back to check on me we left after 15 minutes.

I came here with a groupon and was glad I did, because paying full price for these services would have frustrated me to no end. My afternoon started with a massage, which was the «highlight» of the day. The massage was nice enough, but the room was so hot that I started to get uncomfortable about halfway through. The room was also super tiny and had all sorts of weird pipes and fuse boxes on the walls that they attempted to cover with a white curtain, but it felt like being in a basement. There was a fan in there and I asked the masseuse to point it at me, but even that didn’t help with the heat. My next service was this very strange steam bath that required me to put on a paper bikini and get into this spaceship-​looking contraption and sweat for 30 minutes. I suppose it’s not really the spa’s fault that I didn’t enjoy this particular thing, but I’m sure being overheated from the massage didn’t help.
And the mani/​pedi. Oh, the mani/​pedi. I get my nails done often, but I’m not so picky that I have «the» nail salon, etc. But this left me really disappointed and in pain. My nail technician looked exactly like Rihanna, which was fun, but that’s my only positive comment. She didn’t get all the dead skin off of my heels during the pedicure, and during the mani she didn’t ask about nail shape and made my nails square (which I hate). By the time I noticed, she had already done three nails, and she had cut and filed them so short that I couldn’t ask her to go back and round them out. I asked her politely to *not* cut my cuticles but she did anyway… and when I kept saying, «it’s okay, you can just leave them be» she kept cutting! One of my fingers actually bled a bit. The polish job was sloppy and smudged/​chipped within 10 minutes. That may have been my fault but I’d rather just do them again myself than go back to Karen’s.

I don’t usually write reviews, but I’d be remiss if I didn’t recommend Karen’s Body Beautiful.
It’s an oasis in the middle of Brooklyn. A feeling of calm washes over me the minute I walk in to Karen’s Body Beautiful. The store is Soho chic, with none of the neighborhood’s pretension. The staff is always courteous and helpful, offering great advice on product choices for my natural hair.
Lavender Vanilla is my absolute favorite scent, and I love the fact I can buy most of KBB’s hair product line in that fragrance. One of my friends calls it «man catnip» and my husband loves the smell.
Since using the Luscious Locks hair mask, I’ve seen tremendous improvement in the softness and manageability of my hair, and I’ve managed to retain more length in 3 months then I had the previous year. I’m not saying its all KBB, but as my Grandma used to say, «If it ain’t broke…» It’s my holy grail/​hair crack product.
The Spa! What can I say?! It’s a wonderful self-​indulgence, and each treatment is a little piece of heaven. I’m on the other side of 30 (where my 70’s babies at?) and after every facial (Try the Fountain of Youth) my skin looks and feels smoother than a baby’s butt. (Smells a bit better, too ;))
From amazing hair to fabulous skin, Karen’s Body Beautiful is my ultimate beauty secret. And, now I’m passing it on to you. Trust me, you’ll thank me later.

I bought a groupon to test this place out — it’s in my neighborhood, and I was excited to have a chance to try a few different services. Unfortunately, the online booking system tells you to book a «Groupon appointment», and then consistently tells you that there are no evening or weekend spots available in the near future. This was especially frustrating because, if I typed in the individual components of the Groupon, the system seemed to have no problem finding a time when all of them could be completed consecutively. I called, and was told that if I booked the individual components the Groupon would not be honored, that I had to book a «Groupon appointment» — and no, they didn’t have any available in the evening or on a weekend for the following several weeks.
I finally gave up and asked for a refund, mostly because the people I spoke to on the phone *just didn’t seem to care* that I was having trouble getting an appointment time.
The products might be great (who knows? Not me!), but the customer service was non-​existent.

I went to purchase products 2x.
My first trip– i bought the Ambrosia-​Vanilla Latte scent. Absolutely delicious! However, it didn’t seem to do anything different to my hair.
My 2^nd trip — i bought the creamilicious and shea body butter — both Vanilla Latte scent! I looooooooooooooove the scent however, as far as the shea butter is concerned, i dont think it seals the moisture as expected.
The texture is a lil different and it smells great, but it just didnt leave a lasting impression on me.
Creamilicious – used in my hair/​scalp for a lil while, but it haven’t produced any real progress. I have relaxed… bob hair cut so to speak… but i felt i was using it for the scent rather that what it was stated to do… improve hair growth.
I’m not totally blaming KBB for that… and perhaps my scalp requires a diff treatment… or perhaps i was in scent stalker mode b/​c Vanilla latter is the b o m b DOT c o m and i had to have it on my skin… lol…in any event, i wanted to try the products which i did… but I doubt I’ll return to purchase anymore.
the store is nice though and the ladies were helpful and i love the bag the products came in – very creative!
if you wanna give it a shot, i’d say go ahead! i’m ALL for natural good smelling products!!!

Let me start this review off by saying that I feel terrible that I have to share such a bad review with you all on what seems to be such a promising Black owned business! But, I do hope that the management reads this review and addresses these issues with the staff…
So… I went into this store to find two women in black shirts sitting on the couch talking to each other and another woman (i.e. Judy) on the phone talking to a customer. I said «hello» but no one responded. Once in the store, I saw a wall full of black bottles. Since a friend of mine told me to get the shampoo, deep conditioner, hair milk, and leave-​in conditioner; I began to search for these items. But there were so many different products (and names) that I got confused and stood by the register. To my dismay, one of the ladies sitting on the couch got up and asked me if I needed help. Now, this fooled the hell out of me because I’d been in the store for over 5 minutes and up until that point, I would have sworn in the court of law there was only employee in that store– the one on the phone helping the customer.
However, after asking her about 7.5 questions, I finally got her to say that they sell roughly 7 different hair products and they all come in 12 different scents. I swear, by the end of that conversation, I thought I was a dentist and I just finished pulling out all four of her wisdom teeth without pain meds!
During the next 15 minutes, Judy helped me try the butter love (styling cream), creamylicious (light styling crème), sweet ambrosia (the hair milk), and the heavenly jojoba oil. Whenever Judy was busy (she rang up a customer and talked to more on the phone), the other staff purposely ignored me as one of them ate bread sticks in the front of the store, the other put in her earphones and searched for something on her cellphone, and the third employee mixed up the body beautiful concoctions behind Judy and the register. Make no mistake, all of these women saw me waiting for help but they all decided to ignore me– except for Judy.
I ended up buying the ultimate shampoo, complete hair conditioner, the sweet ambrosia, the butter love, the luscious locks hair mask (deep conditioner), and 3 body soaps (my boyfriend likes these) since I walked 20 minutes to get to the place. As a natural hair girl, buying natural hair products, I was also a bit turned off by all of the employees at this store having fake hair and only one of them having curly fake hair– Judy.
Although, my experience here was a mighty fine example of piss poor customer service, I am still excited to try the hair products (prices for my items ranged from $ 12 to $ 25) and I will update this review with my opinion of the products (97% natural). I would even go as far as advocating for shopping online here because they have daily specials. That being said, they don’t let you pick up your merchandise in the store on the same day it’s purchased and, of course, this information is not on the website or on the receipt.

I went here for a natural hair meet up and fell in love with the owner! No, seriously, I wanted to put her in my pocket, take her home and introduce her to all of my friends and family. She’s very nice, open, seems honest and most importantly I did not feel pressured to purchase one of her products.
So because we are now friends (in my mind at least), I decided to buy the sample size of Sweet Ambrosia (formerly Hair Milk) and creamylicious in the vanilla latte scent to test on my almost natural hair (I’m transitioning folks).
L-​O-​V-​E the Sweet Ambrosia!!! No I LLOOOOVVVEEEEE it! It made my hair instantly soft and manageable; it made my detangle session a breeze. I like creamylicious for styling, my twist came out good but I would love it if the cream was just a lil bit heavier; nonetheless it was light, fluffy and does the job good on dry hair (as recommended) as well as damp hair. The cream just melts in your hands, literally. I actually have been using the creamylicious to take out my twist/​braids as well.
The vanilla latte scent — heavenly! I don’t do scents; scents (perfumes, certain lotions, etc) gives me sinus infections! So I was very much pleased that the scent was heavy enough that you can smell it but it was far from being overbearing.
The store is small and depending when you go, you can see the product being whipped up in the kitchen (love the red tile).
So yes, it’s pricey but 1. it’s really handmade and 2. it’s worth it! A little bit of product goes a long way.

I have been wanting to try Karen’s Body Beautiful (KBB) products for quite some time. I am a bit of a product junkie and have a large selection of product I’m trying to get through and have been trying to reduce my number of purchases this year.
After watching a You Tube video about a Natural Hair mixer at KBB and hearing Karen talk about her products, I was intrigued. I’ve also read and watched several positive reviews on her products and decided to take the 1.5 hour trek to Brooklyn.
I ‘m glad I did! Upon arriving at the store, I was greeted by Karen and her sales associate. They were very welcoming and friendly. Prior to going, I researched KBB’s website so I knew exactly what I wanted to purchase. My friend asked me to pick up the travel size sampler set they advertised on the site as only being available online. We placed that order for pick up in the store. Turns out one item wasn’t readily packaged so Karen whipped up some. All products are handmade in the store.
I purchased the Sweet Ambrosia (formerly known as Hair Milk) $ 16 and Butter Love (formerly known as Hair Butter) $ 18 both in the Chamomile Sage scent. All I can say is I AM IN LOVE with this scent. There are 12 other to pick from but this is my favorite.
As soon as I got home I washed my hair just so I could try my new purchases. After washing, I used the Sweet Ambrosia as my leave in conditioner. My hair felt incredibly soft just like the product claims it will do. It also works well to detangle and provide moisture to your hair. I then used the Butter Love on each section of my hair for the braids I created for a braid out. Butter Love is recommended for use on dry hair but I used it on my damp hair. I really love how the butter emulsifies when you rub it between your hands. This is the sign of quality! Oh and the scent!!! I’m in heaven!!!
I will be adding Karen’s Body Beautiful to my hair production rotation as one of my must use products this year! Some may find the price point high, but for the quality, a little will go a long way and is worth it.

My colleague had a bottle of this lotion, and I tried some. I was hooked. My hands were incredibly soft for days, and the scent, which I am not always a fan of, was subtle and nice. It was so wonderful that I immediately purchased several products to try.
I am in love. I don’t want to use anything else. The products are made with all natural ingredients. The lotions and the massage oils have been my favorite. The lotion is incredibly moisturizing, and it makes my skin feel luxurious. The massage oils are the same. I love the way they feel on my skin. I have also been enjoying the facial moisturizer.
I am so glad to have discovered Karen’s Body Beautiful, and I look forward to try more of the products in the future.

I echo Michelle S.‘s sentiments. The soy candles are also wonderful — the scent permeates even when not lit. Of the hair care products, my fave is the Hair Serum… this stuff truly works. I purchased it because I had major thinnning in the front of my head (too much processing) and in a patch in the back of my head — the hair has grown back nicely!
It’s one of the few products out there that promises to promote hair growth and actually does.
Keep up the fantastic work Karen & staff!

*Disclaimer: Excuse my grammar. On my iPhone*
After reading reviews
&
, I paid this Clinton Hill shop a visit. I was greeted by the welcoming staff (all 3 of them). In places that sell niche beauty products, you are usually bombarded & pressured with a sales-​y pitch. Not KBB. I was able to look around, read the product labels and smell at my own leisure.
The only negative thing I can say about the shop–
I asked the sales girl a question about the product ingredients. She basically read me what was on the label. I sensed she was 1. New or 2. Not well informed about the product. That was a lil’ surprising.
Also, I was disappointed that a few scents were unavailable. I believe the Eygptian musk is a best seller. That should be well stocked, in my opinion.
Now for the product:
My staple condtioning products are Organix Coconut Milk & Cantu Shea Butter Leave In. I wanted to try KBB’s hair milk along w/​the Deep Conditioner. I purchased the Lavender Vanilla for both products! The smell is orgasmic! I had a challenging time picking scents. Between, white tea, lavendar vanilla, cranberry and egyptian musk — good luck ! I expected the conditioner & milk to be more creamy. Typically, I prefer creamy textures — makes me feel more conditioned — in comparison to watered down products.
I’m no chemist, but based on texture– you may feel the need to put a more generous amount (esp with the deep conditioner).
After conditioning, I followed with the hair milk — which is AMAZING. The scent was very telling. My guy friend said it is noticable & overpowered my perfume, which made my day. It also helped define my natural curls. After using the milk, I used a little bit of aloe vera gel.
So far so good– Along with the hair milk & conditioner, I purchased a lavender vanilla bar soap. I will be trying it after my Sabon bar.
I recommend KBB.