Howling Pig Smelly Soap- Sandalwood

I had this soap reviewed weeks ago, I swear! Then I left my camera at my parents' house 20 miles away and didn't get it back until lunchtime today and felt I couldn't post a post without the pics :(

This was, yet again, a Seattle soap I got as a present back in November. Despite being called Smelly Soap, it wasn't stinking out my underwear drawer when I stumbled upon it, so I'd pretty much forgotten about it.

Price- $5.00 for 4.5oz which is about £2.80 for 130gr. You can buy it from the Howling Pig website.

First Look- the bar was a shimmering rusty copper colour, which reminded me a lot of a metallic crayon I used to have. It was packaged in plastic with a paper label while the bar itself was embossed with the company's pig logo. Now, I'm not big on pigs. They're alright. I think I'm still a bit traumatised from my gap year when I raised and butchered one. Pig PTSD.

Dry Feel- surprisingly heavy, but melted in my hand and was fairly easy to dent.

Smell- dry the smell was underwhelming, I expected it to stink. The sandlewood was layered over a soapy base and while it avoided smelling too hippy-ish (despite the patchouli), I felt it was a very masculine scent that wasn't really relaxing or invigorating. It clung to me for a fairly long time after my shower.

As a body soap- as I thought it would, it melted fairly easily, producing a light silky foam which made it very difficult to keep hold of! The foam built up over time on bare skin, and afterwards my skin felt fairly balanced if a little dry.

As a hand soap- this is what I'm using it as full time now. I didn't really get on with the scent, but I like it as a bathroom hand soap and feel it would be good in the kitchen too.

As a face soap- fairly drying, felt a little harsh.

Overall- I'd like to try this soap in other scents (the ginger lilly sounds like it was made for me), because in general I liked this soap, just not the scent. The soap base itself felt very cleansing after a workout and I think would work great as a summer soap to shed off the sweat and city pollution at the end of the day. However, this sandalwood scent was just not right for me; it felt too masculine. It's welcome to stay in my bathroom and look after my hands.

Earthly Delights- Black Amber & Lavender Soap

Okay, so here's the deal. If you notice any typos or grammatical errors in this post, I am sorry. I am beyond exhausted right now from making stupid stuff in that stupid studio, coming home and painting junk, trying to keep up some semblance of a social life and learning how to cartwheel properly. The bags under my eyes could probably hold a couple of chihuahuas each (but that would make me pretty ill because I'm allergic to dogs). So, before I hit the keyboard with my head and fall asleep, here is your soap review for the week.

This was one of the soaps my guest brought with him back in November, and I've been avoiding it ever since. See, I sort of have a prejudice against lavender. It makes me think of old ladies and horrible sachet things shaped like rag dolls that make your clothes smell like old ladies and next thing you know you've changed your name to Murial and you're running a church fête. But I like amber. I don't know about black amber (according to wikipedia, it's actually a type of jet), but amber is my favourite gemstone (despite being old tree and not really a stone).

Price- $6 for 5oz so about £3.80 for 140gr. It is available to buy somewhere in Seattle (most likely Pike Place market) and through the Earthly Delights Etsy Store.

First Look- all the packaging on this bar was paper. Me gusta. Underneath was an unassuming, unmarked cream bar. Modest soap indeed.

Dry Feel- strong and hard, it felt substantial and weighty. The surface wasn't oily but melted with some friction.

Apologies for the abominable snowman on a ski slope style pic.

Smell- the scent was rich a multi-layered, starting with a floral lavender sweep and then melting away into a sophisticated musk. There was no cheap soap smell, but instead a creamy base (I guess that was the goat milk) that bound the whole scent together and made it very soothing. The smell also clung to my skin pretty thick afterwards.

As a body soap- I have to say, this soap produced the best lather I have ever seen on bare skin. It was literally like a gentle coating of cappuccino foam. It didn't melt away too fast or feel greasy and left my skin feeling nourished and looked after. Gorgeous on sore muscles after a workout.

As a hand soap- would make a great bathroom hand soap, and the strong scent could help to remove onion odours in the kitchen (but this soap is waaay too nice to keep by the kitchen sink!)

As a face soap- very balanced. Even on my cheeks my skin felt fine. It did burn a little around my nose, but that's because it's sore because of the cold so everything's been making it burn anyway.

Overall- this soap was incredibly soothing for a tired, frazzled student. Not the soap to choose if you need to be up and out of the door. No, this is a soap for lazy romantic Sundays, for long bedtime baths, kids who need a little help calming down before bedtime, insomniacs, and those who just need some post workout bliss. Gorgeous.

Naturaleigh- Eve's Moon

It was a panicked morning again today, because I keep forgetting to buy soap. The university week goes so fast that Saturday ambushed me. Luckily, back on October 30th, on my way to watch Royal Windsor Rollergirls do their thing, I stopped in at a hippy shop just off High Wycombe high street to sniff the patchouli and ended up buying this little bar.

Naturaleigh hand make their soap using traditional techniques in Devon. Not only that, but they care enough to skip on the parabens, artificial colours and other assorted nasties that most commercial soap makers throw in. I have to say, I was a little bit sceptical of this soap and did worry that I might end up smelling like some hippy dippy fruitcake, while somehow not getting clean and magically sprouting dreadlocks, but I needn't have worried.

Price- £3.95 for 100g direct from their site. I opted for the 50g bar for £1.95.

First look- the bar is about the colour of uncooked biscuit dough. The surface looked very similar to the Hempline soap I first reviewed, matt with a slight sparkle. 

Dry Feel- melts easily on contact with fingers, but felt strong. Didn't dent easily or crumble.

Smell- the scent was strong enough to pick up through the packet. I don't know quite how to describe it; feminine without being sickly, sweet or girly. I thought it was very uplifting, almost floral and at the same time felt clean and soapy. Something about it smelt luxurious or at least somehow... fancy. The smell didn't cling very strongly to the skin, so you could easily layer perfume over it.

As a body soap- surprisingly, for a handmade soap, it took a while to get a lather off this soap on bare skin (it's sodium lauryl sulphate free). It was a controlled melt, unlike some soaps which feel like washing with butter. For more bubbles, you could try one of those pouffle things. It left my skin, even on my shins, feeling like it had been treated and was lovely and supple.

As a hand soap- great for a bathrooms. It feels like it should belong in someone's fancy guest loo. The scent is probably good enough to cover some cooking odours, but I'm out of food right now so I can't go test it's garlic slaying powers.

As a face soap- left my cheeks less tight than most other soaps I've tried. If you were in a real hurry, it would be fine to use this on your face.

Overall- I like this soap, but for some reason it just feels so fancy to me that I'm not sure if I feel comfortable using it daily. I'm starting to thing I must have had some weird childhood encounter with ylang-ylang in an aunt's bathroom or something. Coincidentally, the 50g bars would make fantastic guest bars if you're the kind of person who has people come and stay in their guest suite and gifts them soap at the beginning of their stay (if you are, CALL ME). 

There's just something about this soap. It's a womanly soap. The kind of soap you lather up with before slipping on a little black dress and going out to dinner with the kind of man you know you can have. A magical hippy love bar, if you will...