Our favourite fragranced soaps

There’s something simply charming about sweet-smelling soap, writes beauty editor Janetta Mackay, whether to wash with or tuck away in a drawer.

When I was a little girl, shopping for my mother, grandmother and aunts usually involved a trip to the chemist to dig about among the bath salts and soaps for an inexpensive prettily wrapped gift. These items are harder to find nowadays, with the shift to using body wash in the shower, but they still make terrific little tokens.

Better yet to buy if the fragrance has a nostalgic aroma. Lemon verbena is one of my personal favourites.

From memory, Granny usually got landed with lavender, maybe because she grew it, so I figured she must like it. It still holds true that lavender is a comfortingly familiar fragrance, especially to the older sector of the market, although beauty companies tell me vanilla appeals more to younger consumers. The latest thing is for fragrances across all body cleansing products to echo trends in perfumery, meaning we are seeing a move away from fresh single-note citrus scents to more complex blends.

New Zealanders have been slower to forgo soap for liquid wash than Australians, with the sales split here about 50-50. Soap sales are, however, melting away year on year.

Before finding soap becomes a stretch, why not remind your loved ones that it can be a treat.

If you’re feeling flush you could splash out on a cake of Chanel but there’s plenty of choices to be had that aren’t at designer prices. Seek them out in pharmacies, department and gift stores. If you’re not choosing on fragrance, then packaging is likely to be the decider, here’s some options that caught our eye.

Claus Porto Aguia Vetyver Bath Soap and Claus Porto Argus Sandalwood Soap $20 each
This much milled, air-dried soap is made in Portugal in traditional style and contains shea butter for added softness. The choice of wrappings and fragrances, from a company that has been making soap since 1887, have an old-fashioned appeal. From World Beauty stores and Isabel Harris, Newmarket.

Fragonard soap $22.50
The boxed French soaps from long-established Grasse-based Fragonard are beautifully presented, embossed with botanical imagery and infused with the perfumes the company is known for. From Isabel Harris, Newmarket.

MOR Blood Orange Triple-Milled Soap $24.99
This tissue-wrapped soap comes from MOR’s Emporium Classics line, which also includes hand cream, body wash and lotion and home fragrances in five choices from a Melbourne maker. The blood orange is softened with floral notes from jasmine, rose and lily-of-the-valley. From Redcurrent, selected gift and department stores and morboutique.com.

Nesti Dante Romantica Rose Peony Soap $14.95
Florentine-style floral paper is used to wrap these Italian-made soaps, which would slip prettily into a lingerie drawer. The company was founded in 1947 in the city where soap-making became a recognised craft with a soap-makers’ guild set up on Via dei Saponai (Soapmakers St) during the Renaissance. From Isabel Harris, Newmarket.

Pacifica Passionfruit, Papaya Honey Soap $15.95
This large-sized soap is enriched with almond and jojoba oils and cocoa butter. For stockists, including Acquisitions and Flying Saucers stores,
see pacificaskincare.co.nz.

MOR Correspondence Bluebells Fields Soap $19.95
Celebrate another sadly contracting art with this soap, which recalls the era of letter writing. There are nine differently enveloped fragrances. From Smith Caughey’s, selected gift stores and online.

Linden Leaves Absolute Dreams Lavender Soap $14.99
Eco-friendly vegetable inks are used on the paper that wraps this vegetable soap, which features added organic rosehip and avocado oils and a lavender, cedarwood and orange fragrance. There’s matching body products and several other fragrance choices from this Christchurch-based gift company. Find stockists or buy online.

Banks Co Citrus Cassis Soap $9.20
Along with shea butter and almond oil this soap gains moisturising properties from New Zealand manuka honey and flax seed oil. Cassis intermingles with citrus top notes, lavender and a base of clove and nutmeg. See pacificaskincare.co.nz.

- VIVA

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Langley model wants to give back to cancer patients

Last year, in the prime of her life and modeling career, 25-year-old Langley resident Elly Mayday was diagnosed with a rare form of ovarian cancer. The diagnosis sent her into a whirlwind of surgeries and very harsh rounds of chemotherapy, as she fought for her life.

In those difficult times, she remembers getting a chemo comfort bag from friends, full of thoughtful items like a hand-knitted toque for her bald head, hard candies to alleviate ‘metal mouth’ and written words of encouragement.

“I had some great friends who gave me one and I loved it so much I wanted to pay it forward,” said Mayday.

Langley’s Forever Yours Lingerie and Mayday have teamed up during Ovarian Cancer awareness month (September) to create chemo comfort bags for those undergoing chemotherapy.

Mayday has been Forever Yours’ star model in past years, and even did some modeling for them during her treatments, gaining her international attention after doing a photo shoot in only a sports bra and underwear. In the picture there is no air brushing, just Mayday looking bald and beautiful, cancer scars and all. From that poignant ad, Mayday went on Good Morning America and spoke with media across the world about her way of turning the modeling world on its head.

“We wanted to provide something tangible for people who are currently fighting cancer. Elly shared with us some of the things that helped her get through her treatment and here we are, building chemo comfort bags,” said Sonya Perkins, Forever Yours Lingerie co-owner.

The Langley-based lingerie store is happy to accept cash donations to purchase items for their chemo comfort bags. They are also looking for words of encouragement — a short note or card with words of support to include with each bag, and knit or crocheted toques. They request that the hats be made with soft materials because they are going on bald heads.

The goal is to make up to 500 bags, said Mayday. The campaign is being called Fight Like A Girl.

The comfort bags will include a comfortable blanket, hand-made hats, journal, thermal cup, movie passes, lip balm, body lotion, handwritten cards/letters, warm socks and candy to alleviate metal mouth caused by chemo.

These bags will be given to both male and female cancer patients in Langley.

Ovarian cancer has been dubbed the silent killer since the signs and symptoms can be difficult to detect.

Mayday is a survivor but she will have future cancer treatments. She is currently modeling in New York.

Donations and letters will be accepted at Forever Yours, 20460 Fraser Highway, seven days a week.

In the prime of her life, and busy with modeling and all the fun life brings at 24, Mayday was diagnosed with a cancer that usually strikes older woman. Since her diagnosis, Forever Yours has helped raise funds for her treatment and recovery.

“She underwent numerous operations, and thankfully, she is still here with us – however, it is still a fight for her,” said Perkins. Mayday is a survivor but she will have future cancer treatments.

But she is choosing to live life to the fullest while still giving back.

She is currently modeling in New York. She has a popular Facebook fan page and is putting out another model calendar this year, with partial proceeds going to the comfort bags.

They are all hoping the community can get behind helping those in Langley going through chemotherapy.

Donations and letters will be accepted at Forever Yours, seven days a week. Or words of support can be mailed to:

Attn: Fight Like A Girl

Forever Yours Lingerie

20460 Fraser Hwy

Langley, BC

V3A 4G2

 

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