Another year, another Soap Crazy post :) Since the last post, I set a goal to use up all the leftover soaps purchased from Etsy years ago. Not because I don't like them anymore but because, well, they're getting old. We've been moving around and each move put a space of 1-2 years to these soaps, so no more. I was determined to get through them all.
First up are several remaining bars from Fresh & Clean. I have a (bad?) habit of saving the best for last, and of all the soaps I bought from Etsy, I liked those from Fresh & Clean best.
- Cherry Almondine Shea Butter Sugar Scrub Soap: Despite the name, this particular bar had no cherry or almondine. Instead, it had a lovely and warm milk and oatmeal scent. The sugar scrub didn't work at all as it just melted along each use, leaving no scrubbing effect. Then again, the bar was meant for the shower and not hand-washing so we didn't use it as intended anyway. Unfortunately, half way through the soap turned in a pile of goo. Hubby got so disgusted he threw it out :(
First up are several remaining bars from Fresh & Clean. I have a (bad?) habit of saving the best for last, and of all the soaps I bought from Etsy, I liked those from Fresh & Clean best.
- Cherry Almondine Shea Butter Sugar Scrub Soap: Despite the name, this particular bar had no cherry or almondine. Instead, it had a lovely and warm milk and oatmeal scent. The sugar scrub didn't work at all as it just melted along each use, leaving no scrubbing effect. Then again, the bar was meant for the shower and not hand-washing so we didn't use it as intended anyway. Unfortunately, half way through the soap turned in a pile of goo. Hubby got so disgusted he threw it out :(
- Cranberry Peach Vanilla Goats Milk Soap: my favorite bar so far! It smelled heavenly, though mostly of peach and vanilla with no discernible cranberry. And it didn't turn into goo with frequent hand-washing!
- Oatmeal Milk & Honey Goats Milk Soap: this one smelled like sweet and warm milk. It worked well until the last 1/5 of the bar that turned into goo and I had to throw it out. I guess it had something to do with the goats milk soap base, but many of my goats milk bars from Etsy had the same fate and turned into goo after a while.
- Peaches & Honey Olive Oil Soap: smelled neither of peaches nor honey. Instead, it had a pleasant fruity scent. This bar lasted until the very end when it broke into crumbs. May be I should stay away from goats milk and buy olive oil soaps instead.
- Vanilla Sugar Shea Butter Sugar Scrub Soap: smelled prominently of vanilla. Again we didn't use this in the shower as intended. It was our hand soap. Yup, you guessed it, it turned into goo and we had to throw it out :(
Meanwhile, hubby and I still go through quite a few bars of L'Occitane soaps, though most were repeats of the below fragrances. We love the Milk scent but it gets boring after a while so now I only buy when they release fun scents we haven't tried before.
- Lemon Bonne Mere Soap 100g: a tart lemon scent that was refreshing, nothing like the Honey & Lemon scent from some older creams and hand creams that was cloying (and hubby outright hated them ^.^").
- Peach Bonne Mere Soap 100g: faintly sweet and fruity fragrance, nothing reminiscent of peach. Still, this bar was fun and different.
- Rosemary Bonne Mere Soap 100g: this one was my favorite, only it smelled nothing like rosemary ^.^" Instead, it had a masculine men's cologne-like fragrance with a touch of herbal. I actually have a couple of backups for this bar because I like it that much.
- Origins Gloomaway Grapefruit Bath Bar 200g/7oz: I picked up this bar because I was so impressed with the Gloomaway Grapefruit Souffle and was hoping the soap would have the same fragrance as the body cream. It did, but with the bitter peel came out stronger even though the soap is milder scented than the body cream. Either way hubby and I loved it! It had a really creamy lather and was mild on the skin. Will definitely try other Origins soaps in the future.
- Priya Goats Milk Soap 100g: got this from an Aussie gal pal ages ago and totally forgot about it because it was at the very bottom of my soap basket. It smelled nice, like generic Dove soap. Washed well and interestingly enough didn't turn into a puddle of goo like the many goats milk bars from Etsy. In fact, hubby and I were able to use it until it became a paper-thin sliver.
See my previous posts:
I used to be obsessed with Etsy and got over it a while ago, but now I want to order that peach vanilla soap lol
ReplyDeleteHey Julia!
ReplyDeleteMe too! I was totally obsessed with Etsy for several few years, hence the large supply of soap that took us a decade to use up ^.^" I actually stopped from soaps from Etsy because the vast majority of them kept melting and turning into goo after a while. Not sure if it was because the base they use or because we used those soaps to wash hands instead of in the shower as intended.
Still, the soaps they list on Etsy are super tempting...
How are you?
Cheers,
D.
Hi! Thank you so much for the package I received last night!! You shouldn't have!
ReplyDeleteI just ordered your tea from Hanamizuki's online store together with some stuff I wanted as well that they don't have in their physical store, and it's supposed to arrive next weekend, so I'll send it to you once I have it! Please think of other things you want from Japan in the meantime. (Candy?)
I'm mostly good, thank you! Just got back from Germany again (the office closed over New Year so I went to see my grandma in the hospital - luckily she seems to be doing better now that she's receiving proper care) and ate too much food lol. How about you??
I haven't ordered from Etsy in ages, and when I did it was mostly accessories (I actually considered getting my engagement or wedding ring from there), but now I want to get fancy soaps even though I mostly use liquid body soaps... ^^;
Hey Julia!
ReplyDeleteOh no! So sorry to hear your grandma is in the hospital. Is she ok? How's work going for you? So glad you got some holidays to spend her. Please send her my get well wishes.
Glad you got the package :) THANK YOU for buying me more tea. I LOVE that Hakutou Green Rooibos and have been looking around over here for similar offerings because my little one sips it too believe it or not. I found one tea shop in Michigan that sells a Peach Green Rooibos and while it's not bad, Hanamizuki's version is still better ^.^ I don't know you if you like your herbal tea sweet or tart, but if you like some sweeteners, definitely try the yuzu cha with the Blue Lagoon. SO GOOD. And good for you too.
Ooohh you know what, I finally got around to swatching and taking photos of the lippies you sent me and OMG that Lip the Color is AWESOME (spare the name LOL)! May I please try more color(s) of it (are there other colors even?)?
As for candies, my little one is at an age where he wants everything he sees and we're trying to keep him away from candies and cookies (actually it might hubby who's trying to keep those away from me HAHAHA) :P
Speaking of fancy soaps, how about I send you a couple of bars next time? Handmade by a local teacher! I got several bars as a housewarming gift so I'll send you some a few months down the road, yeah?
Hugs,
D.
Thank you! When I booked my flight, I honestly thought she might die, but she finally received some good treatment (apparently previous doctors hadn't look too hard because she is old) and now she's in a reconvalescence center and going home on Friday. She sounded really chipper on the phone last night and even said she liked the candied vegetables I received as a gift and passed on to her (sugared mushroom??), so we're all relieved.
ReplyDeleteWork is okay, but really tough, because there is a lot to remember and I often have to stand around outside for hours because construction obviously happens outside. So considering all of the above, I think I'll keep my eyes and ears open for work in Europe as well, but we'll see.
You're more than welcome, and thank YOU! I wore the Suqqu to singing class yesterday lol. I tried to look for similar cold brews in Germany last time I went, but I, too, couldn't find anything that looked as good. There's a cold brew green rooibos sweet plum as well that's even sweeter, would you be interested in that?
We tried your tea last night and Kotaro likes tart stuff, so I think despite our large collection of tea (I have to move some clothes and make a tea drawer lol) it won't last too long lol.) I'll try it with some yuzu cha!
I'm glad you liked some of the lippies!! There are two more colors of Lip the Color (I agree, uh lol), I myself use Foggy Rose, which is a blue-toned red/kind of berry color that's much deeper on me than the photos on the site show, and there's a coral as well.
https://jp.rohto.com/lipthecolor/
I'll just get both for you since they're cheap enough. Personally, I prefer the Kiss, but the color range, despite being bigger, doesn't hold any other colors I want.
Your little one sounds like me with the office candy ^^, But I also try to move from sugar to drinkable sweets like tea these days and actually ordered a lot of teas for me as well with my Hanamizuki order. Can you imagine 10,000 yen worth of tea?? Oops lol
Thank you for the offer! We don't have anywhere to put soap in our tiny toilet (we have to hang a liquid one from the wall) and use liquid in bathroom and kitchen for hygiene purposes. (I'm a bit scared of mold as well in Japan.) Thank you, though! <3
My sister is coming over today and I still need to clean a little and run some errands. My poor feet are not getting any rest this week lol.
Have a grest weekend!!
Hugs,
Julia
Hey Julia,
ReplyDeleteWow. That must have been stressful. So glad she's ok now! How was your sister's visit? Was this her first time visiting Japan? Hope she enjoyed her stay.
YAY happy you like the Suqqu lippie. Too bad they discontinued that Bright Ups because I like that formula a lot! THANK YOU SO MUCH and I can't wait to play with those two new colors. The cool-toned berry looks so pretty!
Oooohh yes please! I'd love to try some of that cold brew sweet plum green rooibos! Thank you!!! Actually, good thing I can't get my grubby hands on Hanamizuki anytime soon because I might just go crazy on all their teas as well ^.^" And hooray that you and Kotaro like the Blue Lagoon. My hubby drinks loads of this tea whenever he needs a boost of vitamin C and he likes it tart also. My little one likes it too, so I hoard 1kg of it for the whole family LOL!
Cheers,
D.
She and her partner are still here until Sunday, which is why I haven't had a chance to really rest. They off wherever they want in freaking Shibuya, so herding cats would be easier...
ReplyDeleteTwo more Lip The Color for you then, and Rooibos Sweet Plum. I also pass by a Lupicia store every day and found the Tochiotome flavor you said you liked (I may have stalked some of your tea postings X'D), do you still want that? There's green and black tea, and I bought the green but can totally buy the black on my way home from work and drink the green myself if you prefer black!
LOL Julia, set them free and have them text you when needed (which you could then blissfully ignore *evil laughs* MUAHAHAHA).
ReplyDeleteOMG you spoil me!!! THANK YOU SO MUCH. I'm so blessed to have such generous and kind friends T.T And you're spot on with the Green Tochiotome too, I do much prefer the green over the black. THANK YOU THANK YOU! Don't buy anymore things, ok? I'm so spoiled rotten!! xD
Big hugs,
D.
Believe me, after some of the comments I received on Tuesday, I was considering that. I resolved to not see them after work (where I'm on my feet all day and usually exhausted) and just meet on Saturday.
ReplyDeleteI'm so glad I remember that! And you're the one who spoils me with all those nice lipsticks!
Hugs back,
Julia
Hi Julia,
ReplyDeleteWell, ok, we'll just continue to spoil each other then xD That's what friends are for, right? ^.^
Cheers,
D.