Common Scents

Huge selection of high quality soaps, lotions, hair care products and goodies like that. They carry a few brands that I haven’t even seen at any other SF stores. For example, the Jessicurl hair care line and Bonny Doon soap.
Awesome local shop!

I love this place — I can only find my Alba products here along with African black soap. I also love the essential oils which I mix myself for a personalized scent. One of my go-​to place in Noe Valley for gifts.

I was looking for a gift for a baby shower and found this place in the heart of Noe Valley. They had a huge selection of lotions, soaps and other nice smelling things in this tiny little store. The woman behind the register, who I imagine is the owner, was incredibly helpful and talked me and my friend through a few different products she suggested for the occasion. She knew a lot about everything in the store and that was comforting since I don’t know anything beyond jergens lotion or dove soap.

Excellent array of great smelling soaps, bath gels, hair products, and all things beauty. Super conscious about what they sell, so you are going to find environmentally-​friendly products here. Extremely nice staff… fun vibe. Get made to order body lotions or sumptuous smelling bath gels. I love it here!!! Get a cute sock monkey too! It is my first stop in SF always! Complete joy going in there!

Always super kind staff, have all my favorite products –a lot of which are cruelty free– and I make it a point to shop here for all my aromatherapy and soaps, etc.
I love and support this small local business!

I Can NOT recommend Common Scents. We received $ 300 worth of so called «Pure Fragrance Oil» from Common Scents to make some products for our client. They claim 100% Pure but they are so heavily diluted in a thick clear substance. I’m guessing DPG. Although DPG is skin safe, it makes creating products like bath bombs, and other items impossible. They just won’t stick. We have make these products for over 10 years, using many other company oils, and have NEVER experienced anything like this. They also COLOR these so called 100% Pure Oils. I will never purchase from this company and have advised our client to not use them as well for production. They are cut and cut hard.

So in love. The ladies who work here always give me free Kiehl’s samples and their products are always quality.

Love this little shop! They have an amazing selection of soaps, lotions and more packed into this modest little shop!

Anything and everything you could possibly ever want in taking a bath.

This is one of those places that has been around since the old days on 24^th St.– and fortunately one of the few that hasn’t been chased out by the swarms of yuppie locusts that have descended on Noe Valley. Awesome store, friendly folk, and great selections of bath and body products.

This place RULES. I was so surprised they carried Kheils, where I only see that brand at major department stores. the lady behind the counter mentioned that they’ve had that brand since the 1970s… cool. Everything else in the store is high quality, a great selection and smells great.

Buying local is quite easy when you walk into a store like this!
Small store packed with lovely little treats. I’m a sucker for a certain lotion which although they didn’t have, it was a no brainer to find a nice little subtle sexy scented oil they package there.
As a former small business owner, I get how hard it is to run a business and am mindful to put my money where my mouth is.
Owner lady (so nice) told me it’s been 40 years… they cleary must be doing something right!

An abundance of gorgeous little things! Perfume, lotion, and soaps. Perfect for stuffing a gift basket or stockings. I’m a huge fan of this lovely little shop. :P

I’ve been shopping here for years, I love this tiny little beauty boutique. The thing I love the most is the smell when you walk in the door. Lavender, Lemon, Verbana, Almond, Jasmine — Lotions, Oils, Candles, Soaps, Incense and Skin Products. Mmmmm, it’s aromatherapy really.
I love to smell good, but not overly perfumed. I often pick natural or botanical products and Common Scents has a lot of quality products. I like the more natural and lightly perfumed scents.
Also, I have sensitive skin, especially irritated by some chemicals in Body Products. They sell JASON products, which has a great Vitamin E oil. Great for super moisturizing and reducing scars or marks.
This is a great store for who love great products.

*opens door.* sweet smelling air captivates me. that scent. I can’t name it, but it sure is potent and alluring!
This specialty store has all your bath and body needs. They have quality products and large a variety of soaps, candles, incense, shampoo, conditioner, lotions, eye masks, hair accessories including boar bristle brushes, cute purses and makeup bags, bath toys, shaving items, facial cleansers, and more. They have plenty of products for men, women, and children and make great gift-​giving items.
THE YAY:
*variety of top notch products: eg. Kiehls, Jessi curl, Shikai, Thymes
*they have their own scented oils and lotions which you can refill and great prices. try mixing and matching to create your own perfume.
*they even do some simple gift wrapping for you– plastic bag and tissue paper with different ribbons to choose from.
*helpful customer service– they will recommend products and tell you what is most popular.
*small business– support them not next door’s Whole Foods!
Word of caution: strong scents ahead!

This place is Tiny, Tiny, Tiny. But you know that saying good things come in small packages? Well this applies to Common Scents. Don’t let the small size fool you, this place has everything a candle loving, incense burning, organic soap using gal could every want. And the most exciting thing about this place besides the great products and friendly staff is that you can bring your empty bottle of Dr Bronner’s soap and have it refilled for about half the price of buying a new bottle. (50 cents an ounce).

What I love about this place:
–Its totally local and unique
–Great selection of quality products
–The sales staff leaves you along to browse, and will never try to «sell» you on anything. They are just really helpful when you need them.

A sweet haven.
A joy to all senses.
An absolute treat.
Such wonderful owners and sales folks.
And some lovely hand-​picked, natural products.
My new fave: Lettuce-​Linden soap… delicious!
One of my favorite places in SF.

No exaggeration, this place is wall-​to-​wall, floor-​to-​ceiling full of quality bath, hair, skin, and beauty products. It’s packed, yet neat and organized. I especially enjoy browsing the shelves of bar soap, which seem like one fourth of the shop.
My most recent visit, I bought a 32 oz. bottle of the store brand shea butter conditioner. The lady who rung me up gave me a discount on it, which I thought was extremely nice (they charge per ounce). You also get a discount when you return your containers to refill.
Places like this reinforce my love of shopping SF local!

This is a dangerous spot for me; I tend to respond very strongly to scent whether good or bad and will make unnecessary purchases based on the way that something makes me feel when I sniff it. I am the girl in the laundry detergent isle who sniffs each detergent, and fabric softener before buying. I won’t buy something if the smell is displeasing to me (ant spray, and shoe polish non-​withstanding) I do not however like to smell like I just stepped out of Sephora and tried on every perfume in the store. I move away from these types on MUNI along with their equally olfactory offending, no-​soap, no shower brethren.
There is a subtly to smelling nice, that in my opinion, requires a less as more approach and quality products. This is why i love Common Scents so much. They carry a Tahitian Gardenia oil (Monoi De Tahiti) that I usually have to beg my Tongan auntie to bring me when she comes to visit from Hawaii. This stuff has so many uses, and the bottle lasts months. I use it sparingly on my split ends, in the bath, and as a body moisturizer. It has a subtle exotic scent that reminds me happy sunny days, and eating tako poke on the beach with my cousins.
The owner of this store is a complete doll, and is somewhat of a Noe Valley historian (you know someone who can remember NV before it was an enclave for the upwardly mobile toddler). They will do special orders for you, and are very knowledgeable about their stock.
With so much turnover on 24^th street, is truly heartening to know that Common Scents will be turning 35 in just a few days.