I recently received this beautiful package from Alexandra at http://sapundecasa.wordpress.com/. We have been exchanging emails ever since she won the guessing game on my mysterious natural soap colour – Pomegranate Juice!
The thing that struck me most at first from the wonderful selection of soaps that Alexandra sent me was the difference between all of her products. Each one has so many different ingredients! The aromas come from Essential Oil blends and they are faint but lovely blends.
The first soap that I am using of hers, as I was most intrigued by it, is her soap with Pomegranate Juice and Hibiscus tea, and I am amazed at its smoothness and the way it leaves my skin feel – one of the nicest soaps I have ever tried.
I used to think that a good soap needed to have abundant, big bubbly lather, but that seems sort of superficial to me these days…. The real thing I look for in a bar of soap is how it leaves my skin feel. Although I still love scent, smoothness, and a manageable soap size. This soap, as it was cut as a smallish sample, was easy to use, the scent is quite faint, and it is VERY smooth, sort of reminds me of my pomegranate bar smoothness. Could it have something to do with the juice?
I started trying the soap out first on my hands for a couple of days. The lather is delayed but it slowly builds up into a thick and creamy (less bubbly) lather which is amazingly addicting. I love it. And the best part is the softness of my skin afterward. What an amazing soap!! I then used it in the shower and I loved it on my body as well as my face. Very moisturizing and softening. I am so in love with this bar that I will be upset when it is I use it all up!!!
But I have several more to try out. When trying out new soaps, I prefer to use only 1 type for a couple of weeks to really feel the effects on my skin.
Next I get to try out her beautiful shampoo bar, with castor oil, green and yellow clays, spirulina, basil leaves, rosemary leaves and rosemary, tea tree and ylang ylang essential oils, and several other soaps – one with shea butter & geranium & rose essential oils, another with Carrot Juice, “Catina” oil with a blend of sweet orange, bergamot and ylang ylang essential oils, another with Heineken Beer, Castor oil and Patchouli, lavender and ylang ylang essential oils.
I may have to post an update once I have tried the other soaps!!
Thank you SO MUCH Alexandra for sharing your soaps with me. So far I LOOOOOOOVE them.
Xoxo
Jen
16 comments:
They look exquisite, lucky you. Interesting eo combinations.
Jen, thank you for your post about my soaps! I am so happy! :) What can I say more?
Regarding the word Catina, that I couldn;t translate in english, and that is the main ingredient of the orange soap, is Tamarix ramosissima in latin. :))
Kisses!
Hi Jen! I'm not a soap-maker but I'm a soap-user and I happen to know these soaps, I exclusively use Alexandra´s soaps for many months now and I am very happy to see that you like them, too! Your soaps look very good also, simple yet elegant. And I must say that you are a good photographer also :) Have a nice evening!
Cynthia, Yes they are pretty wonderful soaps and the scents are nice. Thank you for commenting!! xo Jen
Alexandra, You are very welcome! I am the one to thank YOU for the wonderful gift. I still don't really understand what Tamarix or Catina is - it looks like a plant, an tree that likes salty soil? Maybe one translation that I found could be Salt-Cedar. I still don't know what it is good for though. Look very forward to trying the orange soap now!! xo Jen
Otilia, Thank you for your comment and for your compliments about my soap and photography. I agree with you that Alexandra's soaps are wonderful. xoxoxo Jen
Hey,
As i am working with medicinal plants i am coming with a translation of Catina.
Catina in English is sea buckthorn, the orange small fruit that has lots of medicinal use.
I hope this would help.
I am glad for Alexandra, she is doing a great job with her blog and soaps.
By the way, you are also great, you both inspire me some how!
Wish you the best,
Alina :)
Hi Jen,
I use Alexandra's soaps and I must tell they are the best I've tried ! For more than a year I have been buying soaps from different ladies who make soaps and a few months ago I found Alexandra. She is the best ! Now I cannot buy form anyone else :)
By the way, "catina" is seabuckthorn.
Laura
Quite a bounty of soaps you got and they all look lovely and so creamy! It's a shame I didn't know of her blog till now. Thanks for link...I'll head over there right now.
Alina, Thank you!! I had heard about Sea Buckhorn oil. Thank you for the translation! xo Jen
Nitya, Yes they are wonderful soaps. You are welcome. Enjoy the link... although it is in another language... xoxo Jen
I am also glad to see your nice words about Alexandra and het soaps. I haven't yet tried her soaps but I bet they are wonderful. I also use catina in my soap and the latin translation I found is Hippophae Rhamnoides L. I love this oil, it gives a nice colour to the soap and it is full of betacaroten :).
Enjoy the nice soap of Alexandra.
http://mijnzeep.wordpress.com/
I think I may have to try Catina Oil/ Sea Buckthorn oil!! What colour does it give? Alexandra's Catina soap is a beautiful bright orange. Just checked out your blog - very nice! How did you get that beautiful green in the soap in your last post? xoxox Jen
This Hippophae Rhamnoides L.oil will for sure give a nice orange colour ro the soap, it depends how much you are using.
Thanksfor your visit, I am far from your amazing blog,with a lot of info and foto's and friends :).
The green was given by the nettle powder and the goat milk.It's my 2nd tryal with this milk, I really love it( I don't know why but the colour of the milk became kind of orange,maybe that's why). Hope it helps.
Have a nice evening.
natalia
Natalia, Thank you for the information! So Sea Buckthorn oil will go orange! I love the colour of green you got with Nettle powder. I experimented with nettle as well but it didn't smell good... I think I may have to try again!! xoxoox Jen
Hi Jen, have you tried soaping with hibiscus tea yourself? It's amazing to watch because as soon as it comes into contant with lye it goes from deep red to bright green.
By the way, was that Blog Love email thingy from you? xx
Laura, Thank you for your comments. Somehow it found its way into my Spam box? Don't know why but I rescued it!! Thanks for the tip about Seabuckthorn. I had not heard much about it until this post, and now my curiosity is peaked!! xoxo Jen
Roxta, i haven't tried hibiscus tea yet but I love those shockers which feel like a mad chemistry experiment... I will have to try Hibiscus tea. Yes I sent you a "blog crush" email... your blog is one of the ones I can't WAIT for posts to show up on. My other "blog crush" is another Australian soaper - Simply Soap Handmade Soap. Hope you had a nice weekend! xo Jen
thanks, jen. you're too sweet as always! xx
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