Maven

I am in love with this store! It’s locally owned and they have amazing candles. Every thing smells wonderful. I will be shopping here

Darling store. Fabulous for gifts. That is why I went! Love shopping local & handmade. :) The store presentation is just so cute. Great merchandising! Can’t wait to try some of their products. Will definitely be back for more gift giving. The staff is also so nice & very helpful. Great STL find.

Yay, local business! I’ve been a bath product afficianado for years and I loved finding a shop where bath and body products and lovely candles, etc are all made right here in St. Louis. I have not had the opportunity to try the bar soaps yet, but the lotions and solid perfumes are awesome, and they have a great selection of original scents that you don’t find in your every day shop that sells bath products. I particularly like that they have a line specifically geared for men. These scents are great and like all «perfumes,» unisex after all. I really enjoy the solid perfumes and have tried several. I’ll definitely be back to try others. They are reasonably priced and quite good quality. The one complaint I have is the natural deodorant they make at Maven defied me within an hour or so. That’s…embarrassing. It was also VERY creamy and seemed more like an armpit moisturizer than a deodorant. So I’ll stick to Lush for that, haha. Other than that, I will definitely be back to sample various products.
I took off one star for the customer service, which is non existent. Whenever I’ve been in there have been usually about 2 or 3 women hanging out in the back. They don’t approach or answer questions with any actual information. They just kind of let you browse, so you’re taking your chances when you buy anything. They take their time getting up and coming around to the register when you’re ready to check out as well. One time an employee did peek her head out the little «window» area between the back room and the cash register and ask if I was «doing ok.» Yeah… I’m fine. This is St. Louis. Good service is so rare it might as well not exist. So I’ll let it slide for the sake of enjoying their products. Haha.

I was at a nearby coffee shop and had to check this place out! I love it! They have natural, local lotions, body scrub, deodorant, lip balm, and many other things. I picked up a jar of body scrub, the salty breeze variety.
The shop is well organized, and has many, many items. If you are a man who takes your shaving seriously, you really need to check them out! They had so many shaving associated items, brushes, after shave items, and things I did not recognize.
The owner was very nice and courteous. I see a return visit in my near future!

My boyfriend and I are huge Lush fans so we were excited to check out a local shop. We walked in last Saturday afternoon right as some other customers were walking out.
We started walking around, smelling, reading labels, asking questions out loud to each other wondering about the products. We were excited to explore something new.
There were 3 associates in the back yet no one said hello. At one point one associate came out from the back and went behind the counter for a second yet still no «hello!» or «can I help you?» or «any questions?». Didn’t even look at us.
Finally, after making our way around most of the small store we looked at each other with puzzled faces and decided to leave. I put back the merchandise I was thinking of purchasing and we left with a big feeling of disappointment.
Gave it two stars for the cute store and nice smells.

I feel so hip when I go to this part of Maplewood. (Is «hip» still hip?)
On the stretch of Manchester between Sutton Blvd. and Southwest Ave., you’ll find a veritable cornucopia of shoppes and eateries that includes Great Harvest Bread, The Book House, Penzeys Spices, and Kakao Chocolate.
Then there’s Maven, purveyor of cosmetics, candles, and bath & body products. My review is only for their bars of soap.
On my first visit to Maven, I was greeted by a display of stunningly beautiful multicolored soaps in about a dozen different scents. Just look at my pictures! They’re totally gorgeous!
I’ve tried five different scents so far. Here they are in order of aromatic preference:
1. My Boyfriend’s T-​Shirt
In the words of Big Boi and André 3000, «Ain’t nobody dope as me; I’m just so fresh, so clean.»
This is, by far, my favorite scent. As others have said, it smells like fresh laundry. I feel squeaky clean when I use this soap, and I must say I’ve never had a boyfriend with a shirt that smells this good. (Sorry, Daniel W. ;))
2. Little Black Dress
This soap has a super-​sexy scent. Seriously. That’s the only way I can describe it. It smells similar to other scents I’ve sniffed that have been labeled as «sexy» or «sensual.»
3. Lavender
I love the smell of lavender in the morning. Actually, I suppose I prefer it at night. If you’re into aromatherapy, lavender can be soothing at the end of a long, stressful day. Some lavender scents can be a bit overwhelming, but this one isn’t too strong.
4. Fresh as F*@!
In the store, I thought this smelled very similar to My Boyfriend’s T-​Shirt. In use, it smelled much different. It was a clean scent, and I believe I detected a bit of citrus. I’m not a huge fan of citrus, but it was nice nonetheless.
5. Smoked Coconut
This one gets last place because I would have liked it to smell more like coconut. There just wasn’t much of a coconut aroma. I was hoping to leave the shower smelling of Hawaii. ;)
Now, let’s move on to some cons and pros. (Typically phrased as «pros and cons,» but I like to end on a high note.)
The Bad:
–Some of the soaps that contain darker colors tend to stain my washcloths. This is particularly true with colors like dark pink or black. It’s not awful, and it doesn’t really bother me because I’ve had my washcloths for 10 years. I’m not trying to impress anyone with the contents of my linen closet anyway. True friends do not judge you on the condition of your washcloths, but you might lose friends if you stink.
–This soap is expensive: $ 9 per bar. Ouch! However, they currently have a buy-​three-​get-​one-​free deal. I’d suggest buying one bar to see if you like the soap. If you do, the buy-​three-​get-​one deal is the way to go. As long as they still offer it. ;)
–When they are out of a scent, it might be a week or two before it’s back in stock. On one of my visits, they were out of My Boyfriend’s T-​Shirt. The employee said they were working on another batch, but it wouldn’t be ready for a couple of weeks.
The Good:
–The soap is sold by bar, not by weight. The bars are fairly equivalent in size, right around 6.5 ounces according to the label. However, if you want to get the most bang for your buck, look for a bar that seems to be a bit on the heavy side.
–The soap might be pricy, but this soap is like art. Again, check out my pictures! :)
–According to the label, the soap does not contain animal fat. I’m not vegan or even vegetarian. I’m a conflicted omnivore. I’m okay with eating animal products, but there’s something about rubbing animal fat on myself that just gives me the willies.
–I certainly cannot recommend this soap for everyone with sensitive skin. Everyone is different. However, I have incredibly sensitive skin and have not experienced any kind of reaction while using their soap. Again, that’s just me.
—
Summary:
If I had to choose between skipping a meal or two and buying a bar of My Boyfriend’s T-​Shirt, I’d. .. Who am I kidding? I don’t skip meals. :P
Seriously, though. I just can’t afford to buy a ton of soap from Maven, but their soaps certainly are a nice treat. :)

All the scents are great — favorite is a toss-​up between «Fresh as F@$k» and «Smoked Coconut». Their solid body lotion is to die for. The accessories, t shirts and notions are unique and make great gifts. A great neighborhood business!

I am a bona fide bath and body aficionado and particularly love local, small businesses where you find unique scents and quality homemade products. Maven fits the bill on all accounts and is in fact, my new favorite shop for bath and body products!
I visited the cute shop recently with my sister and I spent a good 20 minutes just on the one side of the store. There offer a large variety of scents and they have basic products that can come in most, if not all, scents. The types of products they offer are candles, body lotion, body scrub, solid lotion, bath bombs, and soap.
My fav scents at the moment are Sookie (sweet magnolia blossoms and gardenia) and Salty Sea Air (Fresh saltwater, sea kelp and ozone). I bought a soap and lotion as well as a gift (Don Draper is perfect for the Mad Men fans!). The soap was a whopping $ 9, so I don’t know if that will be my stop for soap, but the rest of the prices are reasonable for what you get (read: good quality). I really wanted a candle, but wanted to pace myself; plus, that will give me another reason to visit again soon :-)
They also offer some eclectic products like greeting cards, funny and thoughtful quotes on magnets and stickers, and even repurposed razors.
I hope they have seasonal scents or new scents regularly as I’d love to see more of what they come up with. My request: more products and more scents. I’m addicted!

I love everything about Maven. The shop is adorable and well organized, the products are handmade and smell frickin amazing, and the prices aren’t bad for the quality you are getting. Good luck picking out your favorite scent because they are all wonderful. They also have products for men. You must stop in! I will be making many more trips back to Maven.

This store. Kicks so much ass!
I had this bookmarked ever since reading Aimee K’s review! It sounded to me like LUSH only local as well as handmade, which I can dig. I wandered in and a friendly lady greeted me from the back of the shop and told me to holler if I had any questions.
I walked around the shop, poking, and sniffing as I went. After a good 45 mins of doing so, I finally decided I’d purchase an Oat and Milk bath bomb, the oat milk sugar scrub, some coconut lemongrass solid perfume (present for my dad, because holy shit, who wouldn’t wanna smell like a Thai curry?!), a Mountain Top candle (smells like pine trees!), and a lip balm in the Desert Sky color. All of this stuff looks and smells wonderful. What I paid seemed kind of a lot all together but then again, LUSH is pretty much expensive too… but you get what you pay for. High quality goods made with love. I can’t wait to indulge in all of these.
The lady behind the counter was really nice too and I told her how much I positively adore the shop and the lovely jewelry they had for sale as well. I reeeallly wanted this totally badass pendant under the counter (it looks sort of Mayan-​y for lack of a better word, with an idol looking dude inside of it with a feather in a gold capsule.) Reminded me of some temple relic from Indiana Jones. I wanted it so badly but it was $ 42 and I had already spent a good $ 65 on my soaps and whatnot. But that pendant is on my wishlist… so nobody buy it, dammit! (Unless you’re buying it for me, rofl!)
I will definitely come back here. I love the custom scents. Will definitely be on my hit-​list for Xmas shopping this year. :3 Oh and I want one of those light up star thingies! too cute!

I will be coming back if I’m in Saint Louis. The jewelry is super unique. When I was there, the jewelry was the bones of small animals. Which was odd and awesome. I am a candle fiend, and this was the first place that the candle smell EXACTLY like they say. Definitely worth stopping in.

I’ve just showered with a glycerin soap from Maven and «I feel pretty, oh, so pretty, I feel pretty, witty and bright». I will admit, I have always used two soaps when showering. I use a deodorant soap for the manly areas and a Dove for Men product for the rest of my body. After this shower, I am flipping that bird off and replacing it with the locally made soap from Maven.
The scent I bought on my first visit was, «my boyfriends t-​shirt». I can assure you it does not smell like the t-​shirts of the Sharks and Jets after they have been dancing on the rooftops and streets of New York City. In stead it smells like fresh clean laundry that has dried in a fresh summer breeze. The fragrance was so soothing that I also bought it in a Wood Wick Soy Candle and Solid Perfume.
I can tell you now, I will be a repeat customer at Maven. I may even have to start considering myself to be a metro sexual, which I have not in the past.

Maven is BY FAR my favorite place to buy gifts in the city. The services is friendly and the products are unique and fun.
Although there is a multiple array of gifts, I would say this is the place to go for gifts primarily for women.
I particularly like to go here for baby shower gifts. It’s the perfect «get-​something-​for-​the-​baby-​get-​something-​for-​the-​mama» gift. They have these great baby onesies, jewelry, candles.
The only downside to making this my 1# gift shop is that I ALWAYS and I mean always want to keep the gift. Luckily I can contain myself.

I love candles and soap! Maven has a large selection of both which made me smile upon entering the store! I must have spent about 20 minutes going through each candle scent; which was quite an experience! I had a few favorites, but of course, the last one I smelled was the winner! Blue Agave. It is the perfect clean scent! So I bought it-​the plan was for me to give it as a gift to a friend, but I ended up burning it the next day which means I’ll have to go back and purchase another one!
I love shopping in Maplewood and I love Maven. I think they have a unique selection of items including magnets, bath bombs, purse brushes, and of course jewelry from the Scarlet Garnet located on Cherokee Street. I was happy to see they also support other local shops!
The service was fast and friendly once I got to the register. They were very personable and made sure I had everything I needed. Which I did.
Thank you Maven for being such a great store! I know you are small, but you have a large selection of items and I can’t wait to go back for another shopping experience!

I walked into this shop and immediately fell in love with it. They have wonderful smelling things and adorable cards and adorably crafty things that are shockingly useful!
They specialize in home made smells which is wonderful! They have candles, lip balm, lip stain, solid perfume, solid lotion, soap, and bath fizzes. Unfortunately for me, I was looking for sandalwood and ginger scented things. No go. Then I found a lavender lotion and asked if they had other lavender things… nope. The people behind the counter were really nice and kept on apologizing for not having what i was hoping to find. On the bright side, since it’s a LOCAL place, I’m sure they will if enough people request it!
In the end, I browsed though the candles and found a pine scented one that i loved so i bought it for myself. Two days later, I came back and got a blue agave scented candle for the bf’s dad and wife.
This is such a great place for gifts! I’m totally coming back here again… maybe next time they’ll have the scents I want! :)

Yup yup yup! This is a cute little shop on Manchester in downtown Maplewood that I discovered the week I started working nearby over 4 years ago. I love to come by here to find adorable, one-​of-​a-​kind gifts! I credit this place for introducing me to the umbrella for 2 (SERIOUSLY, Why is this news?), Earl Grey perfume (smells heavenly), and made-​in-​store soaps, bath bombs, and bathroom accessories! Usually the owner and others are mixing up new soap concoctions while you browse the store. They also have cute jewelry, some clothing, and various little knick knacks that make thoughtful presents!
Adorbs.

Maven is awesome! I love perfume, and Maven is a local small business with high quality reasonably priced fragrance (which is perfect for a broke grad student like me!). Another plus, they not only sell their housemade perfume, soaps, room fragrances and candles, but also feature other local artists and have earrings, necklaces, etc., in a variety of price ranges. They also knick-​knacks and misc. around the house items — eye masks, aprons, stuff like that.
I also like that their products are not the typical bath and body works type scents (although there’s nothing wrong with their stuff). They have scents like garden tomato. I had a friend who wanted someone to hand make her hair care products, and Maven made it special for her.
Seriously, the solid fragrance sticks are the best. Whether you like clean, minimalistic scents, or want to smell like a giant bouquet, there is something for you or your house here.

I’m in sheer holiday heaven right now and it’s all thanks to Maven.
Like a bunch of Christmas elves, a group of Unilocalers and I walked through streets of Maplewood during tonight’s Christmas Walk… we tried wines, had booze @ Schlafly, got intoxicated from the spices at Penzey’s… but nothing was near as great as what I picked up at Maven.
1) The Perfect Pumpkin soy candle. As soon as I smelled it I knew I needed to take it home, and my entire bedroom now smells pumpkin-​y (new word) and full of cinnamon and spice. They have a HUGE selection of unique candles (hell-​o grapefruit and tomato vines!) and I’m going to be getting all of mine from here, from now on.
2) Gingerbread handmade vegan lip gloss. Until today I was 1) unaware that some lip glosses are not, indeed, already vegan, and 2) living a sad life without the thrilling addition of gingerbread flavor and shine on my lips. It’s a HUGE chap-​stick style gloss that’s going to be impossible to lose in my giant purse, too.
The bath bombs are so cute and make perfect gifts («little black dress» and «lacy panties» are among my favorites) and if you’re looking for a spot to shop local for any of your girlfriends, Maven is the place to go. The staff is so sweet and I just can’t get over the bath and body gems they have to offer.
Seriously, I’m going to sleep now in a room that smells like I stuck my head inside of a pumpkin — if you know anything about me at all, you know that I’m in heaven.

This is a cute little boutique bath and body store on Manchester in the heart of Maplewood.
My favorite two products so far are the Sea Salt candles (they make me happy every time I smell them burning) and the mini size solid perfume in the «Little Black Dress» scent. Perfect for my purse!
Everything is handmade and fresh!

I had to go back and see if the «Little Black Dress» scent came in anything else besides soap — and it does! Not a perfume, but that’s OK since I don’t normally wear perfume (my sniffer is just too sensitive for that stuff).
Instead, they have a solid lotion that does the trick. It looks like a small stick of deodorant that you twist open. I really wouldn’t use this all over my body, like regular lotion, since the scent is concentrated. What I do instead is put it on the pressure points. This is also nice for traveling since the airports are sticklers on liquids in your bag.
Will let you know if my new scent attracts any compliments ;)