Lovin' It: Amazing Grace Cold-Process Soap

Back in December of 2010, I ordered a Lavish Sampler Box from the Sampler Village, which contained a multitude of samples from different online shops – most of them hailing from the world of Etsy. It was a fantastic way to discover new indie shops from all over the country, and definitely great exposure for those small businesses. It was even more fantastic because in it, I found my new favorite fragrance, in the form of Amazing Grace cold-process soap from My Best Friend's Soap {which I'll start referring to as "BFF"}. BFF provided a generously sized sample of their Amazing Grace soap in the sampler box, which should last me a couple of weeks. The scent right out of the package was AH-MAZING, and it looked über-cute with bright colors and pretty packaging. You'd think I would have used it all up within a few days, but I ended up putting it in a drawer {error #1, considering the lack of organization in my bathroom cabinets} and I forgot about it until a few days ago. I've been on the hunt for a new scent to use in the shower, so I re-discovered this sample at the perfect time.

Amazing Grace soap {picture from etsy.com}

I don't have the Etsy listing with the product details for this soap anymore, but I'm assuming this scent is supposed to be a dupe of Philosophy's Amazing Grace products. BFF's soap has notes of Italian bergamot, sparkling lemon, white floral jasmine, sheer musk and rose. Considering all of the oils used in making this soap {natural oils}, I was surprised that it wasn't more moisturizing. After lathering and washing it off, it left my skin very clean – SQUEAKY clean, in fact. It's very different from big-brand body wash, which usually deposits some oils and lotions on your skin after it's washed off {which can be a bad thing, as it often leaves a residue/film on your skin in order to moisturize it}. So knowing that, I think I can get used to the super-clean feeling of this soap – the scent makes it totally worth it anyway.

In my opinion, the smell is like a wonderful mixture of laundry that's right out of the dryer, and a fresh, clean smell {I can't really explain it}. Now, I've never smelled Philosophy's Amazing Grace, so I don't know how accurate BFF's version is to the original. However, I doubt I'd pay $22 for Philosophy's products when I know I love BFF's, and for a much lower price. If BFF made perfume and body lotion in the same scent, I would snap it all up in a heartbeat. Also, by the end of the day I could STILL smell this scent on my skin, which is quite unusual for soap.

So, would I recommend this? Um – YES! Everyone finds different fragrances appealing, so I can't guarantee that every person would like it. But in this case, the smell is so clean and fresh that I could see many people with different scent preferences really enjoying it. Plus, it's made by a smaller indie company, which I'm almost always in favor of supporting.

Stay Fabulous!