soap

Favorite Find Friday: Softsoap Limited Edition Maui Coconut Splash Moisturizing Body Wash

Written on May 31, 2013 at 9:00 am , by Molly Ritterbeck

While the majority of New Yorkers are getting a little cranky due to the 90-degree temps, I’m loving the recent heat wave. Though it does make me wish I was jetting off to a tropical island in the middle of nowhere. And while no such vacation exists on my summer calendar (wah!), I made my own quiet little escape—in my shower. It’s not as glamorous, I know, but I grabbed Softsoap’s Limited Edition Maui Coconut Splash Moisturizing Body Wash ($3, drugstores) from the beauty closet and scrubbed up after the gym. The formula is luxurious with a rich, hydrating lather, but the scent is what’ll really get you. The bright floral notes mixed with a hint of sweet coconut intoxicate you like your favorite fruity, umbrella-on-the-side cocktail. This might sound a bit dramatic, but seriously, the experience is so relaxing it might just be enough to hold me over until I can finally get to that white-sanded slice of paradise.

Life-Saving Soaps

Written on April 2, 2012 at 1:01 pm , by April Franzino

Do good while you wash up with soaps from Hand in Hand Sustainable Suds and SoapBox Soaps. Similar to the Toms Shoes “One for One” credo, for every soap purchased from these brands, one is donated to a child in a developing country to prevent the spread of water-related illnesses, which kill more than five million people per year worldwide. And you’re not sacrificing quality for conscience: The hydrating glycerin and shea butter-based bars come in sophisticated, fresh scents like orange blossom, lavender and lemongrass.

Favorite Find Friday: Out of Africa Organic Shea Butter Soap in Vanilla

Written on July 8, 2011 at 10:34 am , by April Franzino

We’ve always loved bar soaps in theory, but they tend to leave our skin a little too squeaky, and, well—dry. But not the Out of Africa Organic Shea Butter Soap in Vanilla that recently came across our desk. When we sudsed up, it had the creamiest feel and left our skin silky, thanks to a 20% pure shea butter base, and only four other ingredients: olive and palm kernel oils, vanilla essential oil, and water. The faintly sweet, warm vanilla scent has us addicted, too.  As simple—and skin-loving—as soap gets. Do you wash with bar soap? If so, what’s your go-to?

Favorite Find Friday: One Just 4 Me! Brown Sugar Oatmeal Natural Body Soap

Written on April 8, 2011 at 11:17 am , by April Franzino

Our April “Raise the Bar” Beauty Buys page is bursting with our favorite soaps for skin and hair. Another that’s recently taken up residence in our shower: One Just 4 Me! Brown Sugar Oatmeal Natural Body Soap, a creamy, gently sudsing bar that’s flecked with real bits of oatmeal, so it exfoliates as it cleanses. It makes our skin feel soft, not tight, and we love the subtly sweet scent it leaves behind. What’s the best bar soap you’ve tried?

Thrifty Thursday: Animal Attraction

Written on January 13, 2011 at 11:22 am , by April Franzino

Our love for animals and beauty products meets in these whimsical, creature-adorned treats. They’re guaranteed to make you smile every time you pick them up! (We’d know—all three currently have a home on our desk.) From left:

Soap and Paper Factory Patch NYC Whale Solid Fragrance—despite its moniker, does not smell like a whale; rather a unique mix of patchouli, basil and jasmine.

Alora Ambiance Triple Milled Shea Butter Soap in Bimbi As indicated by it’s duck-dotted wrapping, smells fresh and faintly sweet, like a baby’s skin.

Tokyo Milk Little Art Flat Pocket Mirror in Graphic Bird slips undetected into—you guessed it—your back pocket.