**REVIEW** Piping Rock (Oils, Herbs & Supplements)

UPDATE 3/8/20

I ordered something from Piping Rock the other day. I had not been back over there in a while due to a lack of good customer service and standing behind their products. It's very hit and miss. I had that one really bad experience, then I had an okay experience, but I'm still not trusting their customer service. You just never know...

I peruse the site every now and then, but... Anyway, I noticed that the shipping on this latest order is by FedEx - not USPS - and it looks like it's going to take a while. I ordered on March 3rd and didn't get tracking info until the 7th. The package is estimated to arrive on the 13th (which is a day earlier than the first notice I got) - as far as I know, because at the time I am typing this, FedEx's tracking is temporarily down. I hate to say this but I really dread seeing that FedEx is the shipper when I order something. They are slow and careless. There is a problem almost every time I get a package from them.

Piping Rock often has cheaper prices than elsewhere but sometimes the quality reflects that.

I will let you know how this latest order turns out.



NOTE: I actually wrote this review a while back and it didn't publish for some reason. I have updated it a bit and am sharing it with you all now. My oops.

Piping Rock is a recent discovery for me. I needed a place to get some oils, moisturizing butters, and other hair and skin products at prices more affordable than those offered at my usual shopping sites. The thing is,  I want affordable prices,  not cheap quality. So far, I have been 90% pleased with Piping Rock. I will tell you later about that other 10%. For now, let me tell you about my overall experience with the items I've ordered.

Since I found this site back sometime during the deep of winter, I ordered some of the oils I use to moisturize my skin and hair. Among my most pleasant experience, I've ordered Pumpkin Seed, Watermelon, and Abyssinian oils along with some lip balms. The Iowa winter kicked my butt!!

The packaging was amazing. Everything was sealed and very well-cushioned to prevent any breakage or spillage. The only thing that was a bit frustrating to me was that it seemed to take forever to receive my order. I ordered the items on 4/11 and received them on 4/17. On the other hand, I have to stop being so critical because the shipping costs were very reasonable, and there was that awesome packing job they did. As far as the shipping time, I think it's just that Amazon Prime has me spoiled.

This is the packing material my items were protected by:

Thick cushioning!

Also, let's talk about how much I love the Pumpkin Seed and Abyssinian oils. I have used Pumpkin Seed oil before so I know what to expect from a good quality item. This one was wonderful and came in a larger bottle than I can usually afford when I order elsewhere. The Abyssinian oil is something new in my hair and skin care regime so I had to do a lot of reading up on the benefits before I tried it. After having used this for about 2 months, I can tell you that my skin adores this oil. It's touted to add shine and hydrate the scalp without clogging pores. It lived up to the hype for moisturizing, but I have to say that it did a better job of adding shine once I cut my hair and got rid of all those dead, split ends,

I have told you all more than once I believe Pumpkin Seed oil is like a miracle for dry skin and hair. I love having this larger bottle to refill my dropper bottle from time to time. I go through this oil like crazy. I got a 16-ounce bottle from Piping rock for less than what a 4-ounce bottle of the other brand was costing me.

Piping Rock is always having sales so unless I am totally out of and in dire need of an oil or supplement, I wait for one of the major price drops.

For the most part, P.R. has good products and prices, careful packaging, and reasonable shipping and handling costs. So, you might ask me what's not to love? Well...

The first (and so far, the only) bad experience I've had so far with a product's quality was with a Tonka Bean oil. Tonka Bean oil is best known for a lovely aroma that I describe as "warm and spicy vanilla".  It can put you in the mind of a decadent dessert or a type of perfume. As a matter of fact, Guerlain (which makes my beloved Shalimar) has a fragrance called Tonka Imperiale. Someone in my family needs to gift me some of that in a full-size!

When I ordered a bottle of Tonka Bean oil from Piping Rock, I couldn't wait to try it out as a personal fragrance and to add it to my oil warmer. What a huge disappointment! This oil smelled nothing like Tonka Bean and was actually a bit unpleasant. I wondered if I'd had gotten part of a bad batch. When I complained, Piping Rock responded that they checked and the batch was fine. They did tell me that I could return the bottle (at my own expense). Well, boo-hiss to them.

Where I had started out rating Piping Rock at 5 stars for products and prices, I had to drop them down a half star for the Tonka Bean oil and a half star for the nonchalant customer service. I will still order my usual oils from them, but I won't trust them with the more exotic things. By the way, I am still in search of some reasonably priced Tonka oil. The sellers on Amazon are too expensive or non-Prime.

In summary, if it's standard oils and supplements you want, Piping Rock is worth checking out. For the quirky stuff - like Tonka - maybe look elsewhere.

By the way, for those of you who hunt online for these types of ingredients to use in making your own concoctions (like I do), make sure to also check out MakingCosmetics. I've used them in the past and have reviewed them here before.

Peace
--Free

**REVIEW** Tonka Bean Oil from Piping Rock

I am SO disappointed in the Tonka Bean Oil that I just got. It has none of the vanilla scent that it's famous for and it wasn't even very moisturizing.

pay attention, please, to that label

Of course, I contacted Piping Rock immediately because, based on their product details, either I got something different than what was described or I got a bad bottle. This is the site's description of their Tonka Bean fragrance oil:

The rich, creamy aroma of our Tonka Bean Fragrance Oil brings together the warmth of amber, the subtle sweetness of vanilla and sophisticated notes of bergamot and lily.  (my bold/italics)

Uh, no, sir. Not my bottle they are talking about there. And, because I wanted to be sure that it wasn't just my nose being funny from this latest cold, I had a neighbor give the bottle a sniff. Nothing. She then tapped out some oil on the back of her hand and took another deep sniff. Her response? "I think I smell a little something, but not anything like vanilla or amber. Maye a hint of Bergamot." And she didn't sound too sure about that.

Now, I can't be super upset about the oil. For one thing, it's the first time that I have tried Tonka Bean oil, so maybe this is how it's supposed to smell (or not smell) like. I dunno. For another thing, Piping Rock has never disappointed me with the quality of the other products I've received from them. But I sure am upset at the response I received when I contacted them via the site's Chat function.

This is a copy of how I started the Chat:

"I recently ordered the Tonka Bean oil. I've never used any before now, but this one has almost none of the "sweetness of vanilla and sophisticated notes of bergamot and lily". There is actually almost no fragrance. Is that normal? I used perfumes that have Tonka Bean as a base or main note, but I don't know if the oil is so mild. I love everything else I have ordered and plan to be a repeat customer, but since I don't know Tonka Bean oil, was just wondering about this bottle."

His initial response was to parrot the site's description:

The fragrance contains - Rich, sweet, warm fragrance, with notes of vanilla and amber (my underline)

Ohhh-kay.

Notice that he uses that word "fragrance" the same as the product description and the bottle's label. Not just an oil but a fragrance oil...

 He then went on to assure me of the guarantee that's in place for one year from date of purchase (nice) so that I could return the unused portion (huh?)  with a short explanation (wait, what?) for a refund or "recreation" of the product.

Uh, here's the thing. I paid $4.99 for the little bottle. It would probably cost me that much plus a few pennies to ship this back. Also, why should I have to write any kind of an explanation? Maybe that's would be okay because maybe they want to make improvements, but why should I bother doing any of that for a $4.99 refund?

What I wanted was not a refund, but an explanation (short or otherwise) of why I wasn't getting any of the described fragrance from the bottle I purchased. Or maybe for the agent to tell me that the oil is not as strong as I expected.

At any rate, I am not happy with this oil and I'm trying not to let this bottle ruin all Tonka Bean oils for me. Or maybe all Tonka Bean oils smell exactly like this one. I don't know. All I know is that most of my favorite perfumes include Tonka as the base or main note and this is not what I expected. I mean, "fragrance" is all over the description and labeling so ... ~sigh~

I have to tell you all, if I weren't so happy with everything else I've gotten from Piping Rock, I'd be done with them at this point. As a matter of fact, if this had been the first thing I'd ordered, I'd have never ordered from them again.

Right now, I'm hoping to find another brand of Tonka Bean oil to compare with this one. You all know that I'm fair when it comes to writing reviews. I will tell the good, bad, and ugly when it comes to a product or brand. I'm in love with Piping Rock for the prices, the packaging, and (except for this oil) the quality of the products I've ordered.

I would love to hear from anyone who has tried Tonka Bean oil and can tell me if I'm expecting too much or not.

Peace
--Free