Downtown Apothecary

Came in after seeing this last time I was at the Saturday Farmers Market buying my usual handmade soap. I couldn’t believe Riverside has a shop like this! I had no idea. It’s hard for me to make it to the farmers market just to get soap, if I miss it then I have to wait a week. I came in here and got the summer special– buy 4 soap bars and get 1 free. The young lady working was very sweet and helpful and easy to talk to. I can’t really speak for the quality of the soaps just yet as I JUST used one for the first time but as of right now my skin is soft and still smells great. I used the Summer Zucchini bar first which smells so clean and heavenly!
As far and price, it’s a little steep BUT I don’t mind paying $ 8 for a bar of soap because it’s locally made (in house), simple and nice ingredients and it’s a small business. Plus it just makes your shower more enjoyable having a nice product like this!

I’m super excited about this place. Went with my friend about a week ago and got the forest fig bar and the black bar for my friend. The forest fig is so great my bathroom is filled with this scent well after I shower, which helps when others are trying to use my bar without asking. The soap is gentle and doesn’t make my skin feel dry, the scent even stays in my hair and I love it.
The store and staff both amazing. The lady who helped me (sorry forgot your name) was so helpful and genuine. She wasn’t pushy to make us buy anything and even gave me info on party bars, I can’t wait to go again and I already have people wanting more soap that are coming with me.

Love this place! So cute and great products. I love their bath bombs and their oil perfumes.

Absolutely beautiful soap shop! I’m really interested in a men’s soap and shave kit. The customer service could be a little better, but I’m may purchase in the future if the salesmanship is better next time I decide to visit.

I am a big fan of Downtown Apothecary their products are very good especially their Rose Luffa bar. The scent of the soaps last a long time and provide a great cleaning experience with extra exfoliation. I would recommend even trying their coffee bar of soap. The only downside is that sometimes it is a bit cost prohibitive since they tend to be on the pricey side. I do believe this is due to the overhead of their location being so close to the Mission Inn. I do though still highly recommend their products.

What a great place! From the moment you walk in. it all smells sensational! The owner, Tonya was there & she was super friendly. She told us all about how she makes her own products, bath bombs, soaps, even nail polish!
Love that she was so knowledgeable and spent lots of time talking to my youngest daughter, who also makes her own soaps and bath scrubs.
The soaps are gorgeous. tons of ones to choose from. Stone, Fig Forest, Hedonic were my favorites.
The swirled soaps are beautiful.
Very reasonable prices for handmade items. Soaps are about $ 8, but a nice good size. Bath bombs were about 4 for $ 10.

I walked in this store a month ago, obsessed with everything I saw. But, I was with a group of people who didn’t want to stay and linger as long as I did! So, I came back today and WOW! The girl behind the counter greeted us as soon as we walked in! My boyfriend and I smelled all the different kinds and after a five minutes of us smelling everything (pretty much freaking out over how wonderful each bar smelt) the girl behind the counter approached us asking if we had any questions, I said «no, thank you» and she helped the other group who walked in. I ended up buying three bars of unique soap scents & 4 bath bombs (4 for $ 10 which is way better than lush!) Upon check out the girl behind the counter and I made a small connection which was very nice. I’ve been working in customer service for almost four years and she was great, made me feel comfortable! I WILL be going back for me! I might even take their soap making class :) I’ve been very interested in soap making :) Can’t wait to run out and go buy more!

This place is so cool!!! Everything is so cute and smells great and fresh. I got the charcoal soap w/​tea tree and coconut oil, a strawberry bath fizz, and a face brush. Can’t wait to try them out. The worker, Oriana, was really helpful as well. Will be back soon!

Love this store and love it’s downtown. Really adds to the downtown atmosphere. They have tons of scents to choose from with specialty ones as well! Give it a go.

First time shopper! Went in, in search of a nice bday gift for a friend. Being a guy, I had no idea what to buy, so I had asked the store associate (I think her name was Oriana? She was cute) for some input. She was very helpful and was able to assist me by picking out two soaps and a couple large bath bombs.
The store is cute, with a pleasant and welcoming aroma lots of unique gifts for your bathing and pampering needs.

This place rocks. The variety is vast meaning something for everyone. I love going there.

My fiancé and I love this store. My fiancé has ordered from here many gifts soaps for all three of our boys’ teachers and tonya is very accommodating. We have different types of bar soaps for women and men and love using them ourselves. Tanya has always went out of her way to make sure we got what we wanted.

This store is really a great addition to the downtown area. I really appreciate that it is locally owned. But the greatest part is that all the products are hand made right on site. There are so many interesting different types of soaps it’s hard to choose. I like to go in and buy gifts. Always fun to match the different types of soaps to the person I have in mind to gift.

This store is a great asset to downtown Riverside. I shop here all the time now. The store is absolutely gorgeous inside and smells amazing. All the soaps and products are made by hand in the store. I personally have enjoyed using a variety of their sugar scrubs, fig forest was my favorite. I also love the loofah soaps, and the bath bombs have made perfect teenager gifts. The employees are very knowledgeable about the products and have helped me pick out great gifts for my friends as well as products for myself. The owner has put a lot of time and effort into her custom creations and it shows. She even does custom orders if you want your business logo or sports team.
I have recommended this store to all my family and friends. I feel amazing walking out of this store with my little white bag filled with yummy goodness!

Yes, the store is beautiful and has great selections of soaps but dealing with their employees is another thing.
First time I went I was curious and amazed at all the selections and varieties of bath products they had. I wanted to look and smell everything, but the whole time I had three woman staring at me from all corners of the store. Not helpful enough to ask me if I needed something. Just staring… Then I saw the Halloween section and I asked if it was discounted (this was Christmas time) Store owner was grumpy and said No! She said the product is the same. Yes, so let me give my friends a Christmas gift covered in skulls and Ouija boards. But whatever, I spent my 100 bucks on other soaps and left.
Second time, hoping for a better experience. I wanted to try some scrubs I didn’t get last time. I was at checkout (again spending about 100 bucks) and the cashier was making samples of
soaps, I asked, «what are those?» (knowing they were samples) she said, «samples.». We stood there awkwardly in silence. expecting her to offer me one. but she didn’t. At this point I was irritated already so I flat out asked for one. She grabbed the first one with attitude and threw it in my bag.
In my mind I’m thinking, I’m not window shopping, I’m actually buying things to help grow and support your business. You do not value me or my business, so I will not value you.

Please note– this review is NOT a review of this shop’s products, only my experience in browsing, purchasing & returning an item.
First off, I’ve visited this shop 3 separate times. The shop itself is well kept & they have a wide variety of soaps & other bath products which seem awesome (and I wanted to try before my last experience with them).
My first stop at this shop was just to browse with my partner and we were both intrigued by the wide variety of handmade soaps.
My 2^nd stop at this shop was about a week later, right before Christmas & I stopped in to look for a gift for my partner. I conversed with the clerk, Savannah, for quite some time asking her questions about the products. I ended up choosing a soap stack (bundle of 3 soaps with different scents) to purchase for my partner. I told her my partner is very particular and I wasn’t sure that she would like what I got her, so I asked if I’d be able to return if she didn’t like them. She said she completely understood that & there would be no problem at all if I needed to return them. I said great, purchased them & went on my way.
Well, Christmas came & my partner didn’t care for the soaps so I went into the shop yesterday to try to return them. The soaps were in the same packaging as purchased, in the same bag provided by the store & I had my original sales receipt.
I walked into the store & there was a middle-​aged blonde haired woman helping some customers & she greeted me. I walked up to the counter & she asked how she could help me. I told her I was there for a return & just as soon as the words left my mouth, her entire demeanor changed. I told her that I bought them for my partner & she just didn’t care for them. The woman told me «we normally don’t do returns on any soaps.» This confused me as practically the entire store is soaps. I proceeded to tell her that Savannah, who performed my transaction, assured me that I would be able to return the soaps if the recipient didn’t like them. She stated to me, «I don’t know why any of my associates would say that because they all know we don’t do returns on soaps or bath items. We can do store credit though.» Again, this is a soap and bath store, so you’re telling me you don’t do ANY returns? Side note: there’s NO return policy anywhere on the receipt or stated ANYWHERE in the store. I maintained that her associate told me that I could return. She took my receipt and told me she needed to look into her computer and it would take a minute. After about 5 minutes of awkward silence, her cash drawer pops open and she states «I’ll just give you cash.» I replied «ok.» She handed me the money and said, «just for the future, we don’t do ANY returns.» I replied «I will not be back» and left the store.
So, this woman, whom I’m assuming is the owner from her statement about «her associates» changes her statement about the return policy several times — first saying no returns on soaps, then she said no returns on soap or bath items and finally finished with no returns at all. I didn’t opt to do an exchange because by the time I learned that was an option, I no longer wanted to give this establishment my business. Some of the worst customer service I’ve ever had. Fighting with a customer over a $ 10 sale? Well, she lost big time because I’ll NEVER be back, never recommend this place to anyone & now you have a nice, long crappy review to warn everyone about your terrible customer service & ridiculous return policy! Good luck with your business.
In response to your comment Tonya: wow, can’t even address the situation properly or be sincere. Even your response is lackluster and lacks empathy. If you read the review, you would understand that the whole issue was NOT the return itself but how it was HANDLED and the AWFUL customer service I received and the fact that I was initially sold the product & told by YOUR EMPLOYEE that if I needed to return the item, I’d have no problem doing so. Also, if that is your return policy then it needs to be stated on the receipt so the consumer is aware of your store policy.. I’m assuming you must be the person I dealt with at the store during the return because your attitude and carelessness clearly comes through in this correspondence. Good luck with that arrogance.

Love this place! Soaps are always fresh and they always have new products! Soaps last awhile and truly keep their scent! I stop in at least a couple times a month!

Gorgeous store and wonderful addition to the downtown area. I love the calendula– rose misting spray I bought for my face. So excited to be able to support local.

Love this place! They have a ton of variety and always have new scents every time I come. I have been here three times since they opened and I have never once been disappointed. Can’t wait for the Christmas scents to be ready!

Love my soaps! Nice variety, adorable décor and super nice employees. I’ll be back!