You probably have your go-to soap fragrance. Your favorite. Maybe it's one you buy all the time, maybe it's one that you can only get a few times a year at a fair or farmer's market. Maybe you lean towards floral soaps. Maybe woodsy or musky is what really does it for you. Lately, I find myself returning again and again to soaps in the herbal family. Here are five of my current favorites.
Advice from a Caterpillar: Advice from a Caterpillar, inspired by a scene in the beloved book, Alice in Wonderland... "You'll get used to it in time," said the Caterpillar; and it put the hookah into its mouth and began smoking again. Grassy and herbal, yet not smoky, this fragrance is exactly what you'd expect from someone who sits upon a mushroom thinking deep thoughts and dispensing obscure wisdom.
Midnight Garden: If you admit to not being extremely fond of floral fragrances in bath products; if you love the smell of actual flowers, but feel that somehow soaps and lotions never seem to smell the same... you will be over the moon about Midnight Garden! It has just enough earthy/woodsy to keep you happy, with the oakmoss and musk, but it also has subtle lavender, lily, rose, and violet. Somehow that all combines together and will make your nose delightfully happy!
Osmanthus: Osmanthus is a plant primarily native to Eastern Asia, although a few species do also grow in the southernmost regions of North America. It produces a small, white flower and is related to the olive tree; in some places it is also called Sweet Olive, or Fragrant Tea Olive. It smells so divine! It's a little herbal, herbaceous without being overly woodsy, and lightly floral.
Sage & Lemongrass: One sniff and you will want to know where this fragrance has been all your life. It's light, fresh, green, and both relaxing and a little energizing at the same time. A great pick-me-up fragrance, great for a treat for long soaks in the tub (but you'll want to use it every day).
Tortuga Hills: Mosses. Wild grasses. Yucca plants. Soap bark (a flowering plant sometimes confused for a relative to the rose). A little bit of a prairie breeze. Gum resin and a little bit of Frankincense for earthiness. This fragrance is both soothing and unforgettable; it's not a very overpowering fragrance - not spicy, not floral, definitely herbal and fresh and just a little down-to-earth.
As a bonus, did you know I still have a few sets left from the last time I made a guest soap set? That set of nine sample soaps has four of the soaps listed above (it was made before I brought in that newest fragrance, Tortuga Hills) plus five more I didn't mention here! You can check that soap set out here.
Thanks, y'all!