A TikToker has gained thousands of followers for her reviews of luxury bathrooms.
Abbey Whalen started her account under the username @abbeywwwww back in March of this year. Although she has a full-time job as an aesthetic nurse, she’s received more than 200,000 followers from her side hustle of reviewing fancy bathrooms.
She begins every TikTok by saying, “Come take a s*** with me,” followed by the same giggle every time.
What makes Whalen different from other bathroom influencers is that she specifically targets more high-end stores, such as Cartier and Louis Vuitton. Her theory is that the bathroom should be as nice as the expensive items people are likely buying from these stores.
Whalen launched her account with a report of the restroom at The French Laundry, a Michelin-star restaurant in Yountville, California. She told Insider she was inspired after watching other bathroom reviews with her boyfriend and feeling like "something was missing."
To review a bathroom, Whalen gives the place a score of one to five. No place as of yet has scored a five. She has a list of criteria that goes into calculating a score. For starters, she looks at the quality of the toilet paper and paper towels in the restroom.
“You have your staples, like two-ply — Charmin has the toilet paper game locked down," she said toInsider, adding that "thick paper or cloth towels to dry your hands" also reign supreme.
She also told the outlet her other qualifiers that factor into their score. “There’s also purse hooks, automatic flushing toilets, bidets, soaps — bonus points if they invest in AESOP, Diptyque, Le Labo, etc. And privacy is a big one — I think everyone prefers their own space." She said a bathroom would get bonus points if it has a separate table to put things on, like purses.
The TikToker has also thrown in other random benchmarks like the symmetry of flushes, the density of doors, and the brand, colour, and shape of the toilets themselves.
"The score is an art I’m still learning myself and my followers are quick to point out when I overrated something," Whalen told Insider. She said her favourite restrooms so far include Tiffany & Co.’s Landmark in Los Angeles, YSL on Rodeo Drive, and the ritzy Miami restaurant Sexy Fish, whose latrine entrance she described in a TikTok was like "stepping into a mermaid’s vagina."
However, she did rate Montcler’s bathroom a 4.7 out of five in a TikTok posted on 19 July.
She talked highly of what a nice looking and well-functioning bathroom can give to a person. “Any place that takes the time to make the bathroom experience unique or thoughtful is really thinking about the human experience," she told Insider.
When the string of videos first started, Whalen said she meant it as more of a joke and not for people who routinely struggle with irritable bowel syndrome or other conditions, but she now gets many comments from these people.
"I get so many comments from IBS gals and guys or poop-shy people that really appreciate my videos," Whalen said. "My goal with the channel is honestly to just have fun. It’s been the best time ever going around to stores and restaurants with my boyfriend to review these bathrooms."
The Independent has contacted Whalen for comment.
