CRABTREE & EVELYN
One of my favourites, though it doesn’t lather very well unless you’re using a sponge. But Crabtree & Evelyn stands for quality: this bar left my skin feeling soft and clean. And it lasts and lasts – three weeks later other bars of soap have joined that big bath tub in the sky, but this one is still going strong. The beautiful dark purple colour suggests an overwhelming fragrance, but in fact the opposite is true – there’s only a faint whiff of lavender left on my skin after a lengthy scrub. Recommended if you want to wash and wash and wash and go.
Price: ?3.30
AROMATICS
Chunky and slippy – this is not the type of soap you’d supply to a prison! And despite the name, my other half claimed I smelt as fragrant as a small bath tile. I didn’t warm to the slightly greasy texture, nor to the overly lavender hue. “It’s gotta be cheap, we can’t afford the smell,” I can hear the aromatics marketing department saying. “If we make it really purple, that should do it.” Sadly you can’t fool all of the people…
Price: ?0.39
L’OCCITANE
“The sun, the products of the soil and a love of nature are the essence of my Provence. It is this essence I want to share with the world,” said Olivier Baussan, founder of L’Occitane, conveniently forgetting to add that he also hoped to make a good wad of cash out of his altruism. But despite the price, I adored this soap. Chunky and funky, it lathers up beautifully and left my skin so soft and fragrant I didn’t need any cream after showering. I even ditched the cleanser and used it on my face. Good enough to eat.
Price: ?1.80
IMPERIAL LEATHER
This is the bog standard lavender soap, the only distinguishing feature being its kidney shape – which really does reduce the risk of bath time accidents. Dark purple and almost transparent, there isn’t too much of a fragrance to this one. But it did the job – leaving me almost too squeaky clean. I’d recommend this to anyone with oily skin. My drier skin ended up more leathery than imperial.
Price: ?0.40
OLIVIA
This bar boasts olive oil as well as lavender, and in theory it should have left me smoother than the proverbial. It didn’t. I found the fragrance almost clinical. Its cuboid shape made it slightly too large to handle. On the other hand, since it melted away to a green sludge within a couple of weeks, that shouldn’t be much of a problem. Clearly meant for people who are overly hygienic – if you shower three times a day, this should last you a week. This bar was putty in my hands.
Price: ?0.50
MARIUS FABRE
I had this by my bed for a week before I opened it, and spent every night dreaming of lavender fields. I loved everything about this soap – from the chatty website (23 employees, all dedicated purely to soap-making!) to the classic packaging. A rectangular bar that lasts forever, even the light green colour added to its authenticity. I couldn’t believe how soft my skin felt after a shower. Even my hands looked younger. It lathered up well, and left me smelling divine. Sod the kibbutz; I’m moving to Provence to work for Marius Fabre. The best. Bar none.
Price: ?3
OLIVELLENIC
You get two for the price of one in this lovely packaging, which means each small bar is more suited to hand washing than lengthy showers. This is the kind of soap I’d expect to find in upper management cloakrooms: “Spare no expense, let’s keep those hands clean.” As the name suggests, there’s a good dollop of olive oil involved, which left my skin silky smooth. But I was disappointed that the heady lavender scent didn’t stay on my skin at all. My sock drawer, however, now smells divine.
Price: ?1.90
