Nov 15, 2010

The Soapbar and Heirloom Soapworks

If there's one thing that like more than blogging, it is reading blogs! I've been a fan of The Soapbar for sometime now. I admit, I am a lurker, but when I found out that I was just in time for a contest, I had to break the silence. Joanna of the Soapbar blog and Heirloom Soapworks joined forces and sponsored a give-a-way on November 1, 2010. And guess who won? I was picked at random and my lucky number was 35!



I am the owner of these delectable soaps! They look like slices of cake!


One of my hobbies passions is trying out handmade soaps. If any of you know me in real life... well, my obsession for handmade soaps is a little crazy. But there is a reason to all of this madness. During the Fall/Winter, the skin on my hands wage a war against me. I hate to admit that they get dry and cracked. Its really ugly! There were times that the cracks had gotten so severe that my hands would bleed and I would have to put band-aids all over my fingers. For a lack of a better word, I had zombie hands! I approached the problem aggressively by investing in different kinds of moisturizers, but none of them worked. It was only until I switched to handmade soap is when the problem went away! Now I have beautiful hands that look age-appropriate!

What I love about Joanna's blog is that she's a soap enthusiast herself. She creates her own soaps and writes reviews for other soap makers. And if you're lucky to catch them, she sometimes sponsors give-a-ways. What I love best about her blog is what she calls "soap porn". One look at her blog and you'll know what I mean. There are a lot of photos to oogle over.



Here's a closer look at the Heirloom Soaps I won:



Eucalyptus-Mint Natural Soap

This is a really big bar! It is minty fresh and would be a perfect "wake-you-up" soap! I can't wait to try this one.




Sweet Orange & Ylang Ylang soap


This one looked the most like a cake so I couldn't resist this photo opportunity! Isn't it cute? I love all the swirls on this one and the top looks like "frosting". This is the first one I tried so far and I love it! The smell is a very light, tart citrus, blended with earthy floral notes. The lather on this one makes a lot of soft silky bubbles. I can say this about a lot of handmade soaps. They don't leave you with that tight-skinned, dry feeling after you shower. This soap would be nice for an afternoon or evening bath because its a really soothing scent.




Lava Lamp Natural Soap

In my opinion, this is the prettiest bar out of the three that I received. I can't really put my finger on what this one smells like. It has an earthy-herbal scent which makes it a perfect unisex soap. Out of all of the scent categories, I like scents like this one the best. Although I like sweet and foodie scents, sometimes I find them to be cloyingly sweet. I always end up turning to my earthy-herbal soaps with ingredients like sandalwood an patchouli (it makes my inner hippie sing!).

This is a very beautiful bar of soap! It may be the prettiest I've ever owned. You know what? The swirly design of Lava Lamp reminds me of a very famous print:



The Great Wave

This happens to be one of my favorite prints! Do you see the resemblance? Maybe I'm looking into this soap a little too deeply...

I checked out the Heirloom Soapworks shop and they have a really nice selection. The ones I have may not be in the shop right now. That's part of the charm when everything is handmade. The selection may vary but the quality will always be top notch! Check out her store to see what is available. Currently, it looks like there are some Holiday items in stock now. I'm loving the name "Fresh Cut Christmas Tree". Too cute! I also have my eye on the goat's milk and honey bar.

Thank you so much Joanna of the Soapbar blog and Heirloom Soapworks! I really enjoyed the contest!

Check out the fancy fabulous ladies who made this possible:
The Soapbar
Heirloom Soapworks

10 comments:

Unknown said...

i...really want to take a bite out of a lot of those soaps. Namely the lava one. But i've gotten some soap samples from i think....Sabon? And they smell sooooo good.

Sarah said...

@s0nlxaftrsh0ck Oh man! Don't they look good enough to eat? Wow Ron! Sabon is a fancy soap! haha! I feel that its out of my league somehow. You started at the top lol!

Gale said...

OH MY those look delicious! and OMG i have the same problem with my hands in the winter, which i believe i inherited from my dad. he actually has it worse than me. so i totally know about the cracking and bleeding...and you're right lotion never works for me either.

i might take your advice and head over to SOAP PORN now. the eye candy on this post is almost irresistible to not take a peek at the blog and possibly by some soap! thanks!

Joanna Schmidt said...

Sarah, what a great thing to post about Heirloom's soaps. I am so glad you won. You are truly appreciating the winnings. :)

Thanks for coming to my blog, too.

Once I tried handmade soap, I could never go back. It's what saved my skin 7 years ago.

Sarah said...

@wichser studio Ah! Someone else who shares my pain! Isn't it awful? Yes yes! check out some handmade soaps, I think its the pure ingredients that make them special. It took my hands a while to heal, but ever since I've switched I've enjoyed the last two winters with fresh hands! My boyfriend admitted that my hands felt like sandpaper when he held them! Augh! Embarrassing!

I hope the handmade soap will cure you too. Its really fun shopping for soap! There's lot of different kinds and scents! I'm sure you'll find one that you'll love :)

@Joanna Thank you so much! <3 I'm still smiling that I won haha! I love your blog so much! Its like the gateway into soap world. I don't think I'll ever go back to commercial soaps either. For me its been 2 years and going strong.

p.s. I received the nicest email from Becky! She's a doll <3

Joanna Schmidt said...

She is such a great person!

Cindy said...

Congratulations on winning! I understand your dry hands dilemma totally! I had the same issue before I started making my own soap and such. Try a touch of body butter. I make one that is mostly mango butter, which is wonderful for healing. You can also mix it with shea butter and any other multitude of wonderful natural ingredients. Cindy

Sarah said...

@Cindy Ooh! You know I haven't tried Mango or Shea butter yet. I tried Aquaphor - it was expensive, aggressive and didn't even work! Plus it was way too greasy and smelled weird. I'll have to take up your suggestion on the Mango and Shea butter. I actually haven't tried those yet. Cocoa butter was pretty good but didn't really do the trick. Together we will defeat Winter skin!! haha! Thanks Cindy! <3

FuturePrimitive Soap Co. said...

What a lovely win...and a lovely review.

Amanda said...

Very nice! They all look wonderful. I'm glad to have found your blog. Congrats on winning!