#indiesoap

Paintbox Soapworks recently released some new summery delights as well as some oldies but goodies! As usual I snagged a slew of soaps to use around the house and am delighted to have some fun seasonal smells! Pick-a-Duck is a returning favorite of mine, and Yacht Rock is a new and delightful treat!

Osage Orange

Scent description: A weird, green blend of sour orange, crushed sage, sticky sap, woody lavender & oakmoss

This is a gorgeous citrus botanical blend that is refreshing and clean. The oakmoss grounds the blend and smells green and alive, with fluffy herbal lavender and fresh green sage weaving in and out with a hint of bright, smooth citrus.

Journey in Satchidananda

Scent description:  The deep drone of sandalwood, patchouli, & champaca sprinkled with rose & neroli waters & clarifying geranium leaf

This scent is both heady and clean, familiar (nag champa-esque) and unique. It’s the love child of a metaphysical shop and a garden. Needless to say, I’m in love. It’s expertly blended--I get equal parts smooth sandalwood, heady champaca, refreshing rose and orange blossom water, and crisp, clean geranium leaf. A beautifully scented soap!

Pick-a-Duck

Scent description:  Riotously sweet carnival treats of sticky strawberry taffy, hot sugared donuts, Cracker Jack, & a swirl of smoke from darkened tents

This is a scent that I did not expect to love so much. It sounds like a sugar bomb--and there is for sure a lot of sweet, fried, carnival dough like funnel cakes, and handfuls of caramel popcorn--but it’s all kept in check by the puff of mellow incense and also by the twist of creamy, sticky, pink strawberry. This is perhaps my favorite scent from the whole collection. I’ve got a real thing for sweet treats + incense, and also this scent is just so very happy! It’s carefree and upbeat, like children at a carnival, and I can feel the knots in my stomach ease as I smell it.

Yacht Rock

Scent description: Sun-bleached driftwood, warm ocean breezes, & sunset-hued tropical drinks

I'm not sure what wizardry makes this smell like being on a fancy boat in the 80s, but this absolutely works. What a fun beachy blend! Kinda want to drink it, kinda want to wash with it. This does smell like ocean breezes with florals, daiquiris, and suntan lotion on the wind. Love it.

Secrets of the Sun

Scent description: Rich Indonesian patchouli, musky honey, wild honeysuckle, gardenia, sun-warmed skin

This is sticky and rich and warm and wonderful. Golden, thick honey coating waxy gardenia petals and smooth, rooty patchouli. This would make for a gorgeous and flirty summer perfume blend.

Red Cow

Scent description: Rooty, spicy apothecary cola poured over luscious home made vanilla ice cream with a bright squirt of cherry syrup

Frothy float made with artisanal root beer a la Virgil's brand. Sometimes this smells very much like root beer, and at other times it smells more like cola. In any case, it's a delightful and fun summer treat! After smelling this one I had to hop in the car to grab a root beer float from an old local drive-in joint.

Sundew

Scent description: A soporific, sun-dappled blend of crushed pineapple, honeyed chamomile, hops, swamp milkweed & damp grass

This is like drinking a pineapple-based cocktail on the porch in the middle of summer. The pineapple note is gorgeous--rich and tangy, just like the real thing. Sundew is both fruity and clean, and surprisingly nostalgic. Another beautiful, inspired blend!

I take a bath most nights to de-stress, so I am delighted that Annette is continuing to work on bath products! I love her bubble bars. They crumble easily for me under the running tap, produce a good amount of bubbles, create a beautiful bath color, and scent the bath beautifully. The bath bombs are equally beautiful and relaxing. I’m delighted to have found an indie source for bath bombs!

Just Breathe Bath Bomb

Scent description:  What a magnetic bouquet of both relaxing and uplifting notes! Sandalwood, Virginia cedar, vetiver, green melon (honeydew), grapefruit, black pepper and juniper. This is the same scent as the Abracadabra soap.

This ballistic makes me happy by looking at it! It’s a cheerful pastel rainbow! The scent really is uplifting. The cedar and vetiver are dry and woody, but tamed and not pungent as they are wont to be. The grapefruit and melon are also gentle, and mix together in a magical way to pep up the woods, creating a cheerful and happy blend.

Enchanted Forest Bubble Bar

Scent description: An exotic blend of cedar, ylang ylang, cypress, and vetiver, complimented with fruit notes and rich greenery. It is a mash of tropical island, green forest, and jungle with these smells coming together to create something more than themselves ever could be.

This bubble bar is so beautiful! It is the vibrant blue and green-colored bar. The scent is a dupe of Lush’s Jungle. It’s calm and relaxing—foresty woods, clean herbs, and a hint of fresh air. It’s like lying on the forest floor looking up at the sky through the gaps in the leaves. This turned my bath water the prettiest shade of blue!

Winter Mirth Ballistic and Bubble Bar

Scent description: A captivating fusion of elegant, sweet and spicy essences to invite merriment and mirth into your bath, shower and beyond. This graceful symmetry is comprised of white patchouli, smoked vanilla, pink pepper and golden ginger making this soap warm your senses and ignite your spirit in the darkest days of Winter Solstice.

The Winter Mirth bubble bar is a lovely spring green and the ballistic is light turquoise embellished with gold mica-dusted sea salt. This one is a dupe of Lush’s Lord of Misrule scent! The scents translate slightly differently in the bubble bar and the bath bomb (I’ll have to try the soap to see if it’s a bit different as well!), but they are equally lovely. The bath bomb is a bit more heavy on the vanilla-sweet wood, with a light touch of pepper keeping it from being too sweet. It’s slightly powdery as well, which is likely due to the components of the ballistic itself. The scent of the bubble bar is more rich, and I can detect a hint of the ginger, which is a nice balance to the vanilla-sweetened patchouli. These both make for a cheerful, relaxing bath.

Colorado Sunset Bubble Bar

Scent description: Patchouli, frankincense, and cinnamon.

This one is a warm cinnamon-heavy blend with a support of fragrant, woody frankincense and a touch of earthy, grounding patchouli. I expected not to love this because it’s got so much cinnamon, but it’s really, really lovely, especially as a bath on a cold night. It’s warm and comforting. The frankincense really blooms in the tub, wafting up in golden and resinous clouds.

Wooden Heart Bath Bomb

Scent description: Oudh is at the heart of this oriental woody blend comprised of sandalwood, olibanum, agarwood (oudh), cedar and iris. 

This cute little red bath bomb packs a punch! It’s scent is luxe and tranquil. The oudh is rich and woody, but not indolic. The sandalwood is warm, fragrant, and dry. Beautiful!

Empress Soap

Scent description: A soap fit for a Queen, inspired by a Princess (Lady Diana). Egyptian amber, sandalwood, fig and just a touch of lemon zest.

I love how simple and elegant this soap is. The scent is beautiful and simple as well. I get a healthy amount of fresh, realistic fig. It’s classed up by the musk and the fragrant, dry sandalwood. This is so beautiful, and I hope Annette will continue to make it!

Apothecary Soap

Scent description: Lavender, sage and just a tiny bit of rosemary and herbaceous mix.

Apothecary is the lovely purple and white soap, with a sprinkling of lavender buds and herbs on top. A lovely fresh and herbal lavender blend that will be lovely year-round. I love herbal soaps, and this one scratches the itch. It’s a beautiful mixture of fresh and dry lavender and rosemary.

Gossamer Soap

Scent description: A ghostly breeze drifts through the room on a warm Autumn evening. It leaves you with a fresh linen aroma, an earthly note of patchouli reminiscent of the cedar-wood floors beneath you.

The design of this one is so beautiful! It is the gradient black, grey, and white soap pictured. This is exactly what it says on the tin: clean, fresh linen grounded with a gentle, smooth patchouli. It’s very elegant, and would be lovely year-round.

Orient Express Soap 

Scent description: Imported spices of sandalwood, myrrh and patchouli cradled in fabrics of gold, silver and bronze.

This soap is heaven! It’s stunningly beautiful—I love the contrast of the blue and gold—and the scent is gorgeous. (It’s currently not pictured because I only have a small sample of it, but I will update this post with a photo as soon as I purchase and receive a full-sized bar!) It smells of smooth, rich sandalwood with a warm dusting of myrrh and a hint of soft, woody patchouli. It’s a wonderful precious resins and woods scent. It’s warm and cool all at once, elegant and exotic.