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