The Body Bar Reviews

About a month ago, our Megan challenged me to write about my dislike of bar soaps.  I took this as the opportunity to try even more bar soaps and determine if there really is no bar out there that will make me happy.  I had already collected a few to try, but I figured a few more wouldn’t hurt.

LUSH Sea VegetableSoap:  

Price: $6.66, but you can ask for as much or as little as you want.

The scent of this lovely LUSH soap is supposed to be lime, lavender and seaweed.  The lime is definitely there and it’s not overpowering citrusy.  It is also well-balanced by a marine fragrance (for those who associate seaweed with the smell of fish, this soap does not have a remotely fishy smell).  I didn’t get the lavender, but it is better when it’s subtle anyway.  This would be a good fragrance for men or women.

As with most of the bar soaps I tried, LUSH’s Sea Vegetable Soap felt like it dragged across my skin (instead of gliding – I love the gliding).  I tried using it on a mesh sponge, but couldn’t get enough lather unless I reapplied it a few times.   It did leave my skin soft, but since I have combination skin and live in a humid climate, this is probably not the right soap for someone with dry skin. 

I will use this again as hand soap because I love the fragrance, the way it looks and the exfoliating salt.

Given the wide variety of solid soaps you can get from LUSH, don’t be put off by this review – if you want a solid soap, there is a good chance you’ll find one you like there in a really wonderful fragrance.

Philosophy PurityMade Simple Cleansing Bar: 

Price: $20, but I got it for a little over $12 at TJ Maxx.

I found this at my local TJ Maxx for about eight dollars off the average price and I really wanted to love it.  Purity has a nice, clean, soapy smell and a creamy texture.  It lathers exceptionally well, even if you don’t use a mesh sponge or loofah, and that creaminess glides over skin without feeling oily.  I liked it so much at first that I used it on both my face and body (it’s meant for both).  But after a week and a half, it was drying out the skin on my forehead to the point of peeling.  My skin is combo instead of oily these days and it is sensitive, so this might still be a great face soap for someone with oily and/or younger skin.

I will travel with this as a body soap, but take along a separate face cleanser.

Scottish Fine Soaps HoneyB Bath Soap: 

Price: $10, but prices vary depending on where you buy.

Made with honey, vitamin E and shea butter, I had high hopes for this soap.  The first thing I noticed was the scent.  Honey can be a subtle fragrance or a sticky sweet one.  Scottish Fine Soaps definitely got the balance right on this one – a blend of honey, milk, vanilla and sweet amber, according to the brand’s site.  I also love the packaging, but as cute as it looks sitting on my shelf, I have to like how it works.

This soap lathered very well and retained that great, subtle smell, but after two uses made my skin itch.  This could have been a reaction to some random ingredient that won’t bug anybody’s skin but mine, but sometimes it’s a question of how much fragrance is added (the more fragrance, the faster skin gets irritated).  Because of the skin irritation, I can’t even use it as hand soap.

I will shave off pieces of this into a bowl and put it in my closet so that everything smells like it.

Canus Goat’s MilkSoap (in Apple):

Price: $2.29 only at Whole Foods Market in this scent.

The last bar soap I bought for this experiment caught my eye at Whole Foods Market.  There was an endcap display of these beautiful Canus bulk soaps in a variety of scents and colors.  When I saw the great price, I considered it, but it was the goat’s milk part that made me buy it – because it reminded me of Michelle’s goats on Goat Berries (if you don't follow this site yet – Pasqualina just gave birth and you must see the adorable pictures of her fluffy twins on the Goat Berries Facebook page, then LIKE the page just for giving you that moment of cuteness).

This soap has a nice, light, crisp scent.  But I honestly don’t know if I did get the apple one – I can’t say for sure because all of the Canus soaps are described as “fresh, light and grassy,” so…all I know is it’s light green and smells good. 

This soap lathers well, though there is a bit of drag, and it kept my skin hydrated.  It doesn’t sound very exciting, but this is the only soap I kept in my shower and continued to use. 

Just until something else catches my eye.

Other Soaps I’ve Known…

In addition to the bar soaps I purchased to try this year, here is the rundown of the ones I tried to like before.

Dove Sensitive Skin Bar:  Too much drag, which in this case may be because it was too moisturizing for my skin.  It did not leave me feeling clean.  That said, the Dove bar soaps are a huge hit among my friends.  Of the people I spoke with who prefer bar soaps, almost all of them stated that they use Dove.  Our Megan prefers the Dove Exfoliating Bar (see her comment on the yesterday’s post), which I have not yet tried.

LUSH Queen of Hearts:  (http://lush.com/shop/products/bath-shower/soap/sea-vegetable-) seemed like a good option, since I could use it on my face and my body, but I didn’t love the smell (didn’t mind it, either) and it didn’t foam that well.  In the end, just didn’t measure up enough to buy it again, but I did use up the whole bar.

Kiss My Face Olive & Aloe Bar Soap: http://www.kissmyface.com/product/item/18  Wanted to like this because it is SLS free (among many other things) and has a light fragrance that I liked, but it didn’t lather well and it melted into my bar soap holder overnight, making it nearly impossible to remove the next day.

Next time on The Thinnest Skin:  Solid beauty products you’ll love to travel with…