0 CommentsPrice Check is here to help you navigate our local drugstores and grocery stores for the best prices on everything from body wash to toothpaste.
Welcome back to Price Check, my series where I visit popular neighborhood grocery stores and drugstores near campus to find the best prices for college students’ favorite products! This week, I’ll be centering around bath and body products to find the best prices on body wash, lotion, deodorant, and more!
I traveled to Morton Williams, Duane Reade, and CVS (with one bonus trip to H-Mart) to compare the prices for Suave Essentials Body Wash, Dove Body Wash, Aveeno Daily Moisturizing Lotion, Secret Clear Gel Deodorant, Old Spice Classic Deodorant, Crest Pro-Health Toothpaste, and Neutrogena Pink Grapefruit Facial Cleanser. Below, I’ve listed my findings and come to some conclusions about each of these stores. Let’s start!
Suave Essentials Body Wash (15 oz)
CVS: $2.69
Duane Reade: $2.79
Morton Williams: $3.49
Best price: CVS
This is as cheap as body wash gets, so pretty uniform low prices across the board. I wouldn’t personally recommend this stuff, but if you’re going to buy it, don’t buy it from Morton Williams.
Dove Body Wash (22 oz)
CVS: $7.34 (on sale)
Duane Reade: $9.49
H-Mart: $15.99
Morton Williams: $14.49
Best price: CVS sale price
Dove Body Wash showed the most variation in price across all of the items I price checked overall. While CVS was selling it at 30% off for $7.34, Morton Williams and H-Mart were offering the exact same product for around $15. Yikes.
Aveeno Daily Moisturizing Lotion (12 oz)
CVS: $10.29
Duane Reade: $9.99
Morton Williams: $12.99
Best price: Duane Reade
Not too much variation, but again, we’re seeing two trends. 1) CVS and Duane Reade are neck and neck for the best prices, and 2) Morton Williams is not your friend for toiletries.
Secret Clear Gel Deodorant (2.6 oz)
CVS: $8.29
Duane Reade: $8.49
Morton Williams: Missing price
Best price: CVS
Again, very little price variation, while featuring a classic Morton Williams “missing the price sticker” moment.
Old Spice Classic (3.25 oz)
CVS: $6.49
Duane Reade: $5.49
Morton Williams: $8.49
Best price: Duane Reade
I’ve been a long-time fan of Duane Reade’s deodorant aisle, and these findings affirm my opinions.
Crest Pro-Health Toothpaste
CVS: Missing price
Duane Reade: $5.49
Morton Williams: $6.99
Best price: Duane Reade
This time CVS was missing the price sticker—Morton Williams vibes.
Neutrogena Pink Grapefruit Facial Cleanser
CVS: Out of stock
Duane Reade: $9.49
Morton Williams: $10.99
Best price: Duane Reade
This stuff was my jam in 8th grade. But yeah, anyway, you get the deal—CVS and Duane Reade good, Morton Williams bad.
Miscellaneous observations
Before we wrap up, here are my parting thoughts about the personal care aisles at our neighborhood grocery stores and drugstores.
CVS: CVS was one of the top contenders in this Price Check edition, taking the ‘Best Price’ title for 3/7 items. One thing I’ll note about CVS is that it’s a much more chaotic experience than Duane Reade. The store can be kinda disorganized, and a lot of things end up being out of stock, unlike Duane Reade. However, this is also the store where you’re going to get lucky on sale items that could decrease the cost of an item by a couple of bucks, like the Dove Body Wash. So less consistent selection, but generally pretty good prices.
Duane Reade: I had the best overall experience at Duane Reade—at points, I kinda forgot I was writing this article, and just started ogling all of the skincare. The selection was great, everything was properly labeled, and the organization was great. Absolutely no complaints, and it had the best price for the majority of the items (4/7) that I tested.
H-Mart: I only found one of these items at H-Mart since its bath products tend to include more Asian products and the price for American bath products can be very steep. $16 for body wash is just atrocious. (Side Note: I did appreciate their selection of Dr. Bronner’s products!)
Morton Williams: This store was a consistent miss across the board. In my last Price Check article, Morton Williams actually ended up winning the “Best Priced Snacks” title, so I’m pretty disappointed by the store’s performance this time around. If you come to Morton Williams, expect a downgraded selection and far higher prices compared to the rest of the neighborhood.
Based on my bath product price check experience, I would rank the Morningside Heights grocery stores / drug stores as follows:
Best Priced Bath and Body Items In Morningside Heights
- Duane Reade
- CVS
- Morton Williams
- H-Mart
Feel free to tell me I’m wrong in the comments, or if you find this series helpful, suggest future topics so I can price check other college student essentials in our neighborhood!
Duane Reade via Gothamist
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