# Buying other people's soap



## Saponista (Feb 7, 2016)

I absolutely love trying out soap made by other people. I have just purchased some of Auntie Clara's soap. I am so excited as I have been wanting some for a while, but had to save up until I could afford the international postage. I have ordered six of her bars. I am sooooo excited to try them!!!! Do any of you purchase other people's soap? My hubby thinks I'm crazy because I make it myself, but nothing beats trying something made by someone else, it's like getting a  restaurant dinner rather than cooking your own, something just a little bit special.


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## IrishLass (Feb 7, 2016)

I do! The last two times that we went on vacation (or 'on holiday' to those over the pond), I bought a small handful of bars of handmade soap that I found at one of the little family-owned shops not too far away from our time-share. The soaps turned out to be really good. As a matter of fact, I just got done using up the last of the bars yesterday, and now I'm looking forward to our next vacation when I can buy some more! lol Hopefully, the shop will still be stocking them on our next visit. 

I've also tried other's soaps by doing soap swaps. To me, it's always an exciting treat to try other's soaps.


IrishLass


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## TheDragonGirl (Feb 7, 2016)

Sadly my favorite soap maker has disappeared into the ether, she used to have a booth at the local renaissance festival, and I worked for her one year- and then the next year she was just gone, and I'd never gotten any sort of contact information about her otherwise ):

I do find it extremely exciting to try other peoples soaps though!


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## JBot (Feb 7, 2016)

Haha, I do this ALL THE TIME!  My parents and in-laws were initially quite puzzled when I asked them to buy local handcrafted soap for me whenever they travel.  I just love checking out other soapmakers' work, it's so fun and inspiring.

I've built up a good-sized collection of soaps that I didn't make.  I like to cut off a small piece of the bar to try out and save the rest, including the label, where I note the date I bought/received it.  I'll often cut off another piece several months later to see if it's changed.


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## snappyllama (Feb 7, 2016)

I love trying out other soapmakers' goodies. I am now much more discriminating about what I'll buy at craft fairs/shops though. I still buy, but now I can recognize who has really nice stuff.

 I loved participating in the last swap here and seeing all the wonderful thing everyone has been creating.

You'll have to report back on Auntie Clara's soaps... I'm such a fangirl of hers! A friend is South African, and I just missed begging him to bring me some back the last time he went home to Cape Town.


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## Rowan (Feb 7, 2016)

Oh Wow, I can't wait to hear what her soaps are like! I'd love to do the same but the postage is too much for me right now.  What soaps did you order?


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## paillo (Feb 7, 2016)

I do too! Having never tried it, had to buy some tallow soap from a couple soapers on Etsy, and am SOOOO impressed by one of them, a lovely naked deer tallow bar with faint but wonderful lavender and mint EOs. I will order from her again even when I have tallow soap under my belt. Ordered an Aleppo bar from Syria from an Etsy seller in France, can't wait to find out next week what the raves are all about. And I often buy from farmers markets and festivals if something looks really, really nice.  Lots of mediocre soap out there, but love to try really good stuff, and love to give feedback on it


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## Saponista (Feb 7, 2016)

I have bought -

Rock shandy (it sounds really interesting and the scent blend appealed)

Violet (my ultimate favourite fragrance and I bet she has chosen a wonderful version) 

Carnation (someone asked me for carnation soap at a craft fair recently as his wife loves it and her favourite brand is discontinued. Clara has used a blend to mimic the carnation scent) 

Buchu soap (I've never heard of it and likely won't ever get a chance to try it again)

Princess Alice (the floral blend appealed to me) 

Nkandla shower soap (contains cognac so seemed really interesting)


I  so jealous of your proper Syrian Aleppo paillo, I'd love to get my hands on some! 

I have a few other soapmakers on my list to try too!


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## paillo (Feb 7, 2016)

Here's where I ordered the Aleppo soap, very reasonable shipping too. I wish it were possible to buy directly from soapers in Aleppo, but alas, it looks like the city is totally bombed and largely abandoned. So hoping this can one day turn around and give these people back their livelihoods.

https://www.etsy.com/listing/258078918/soap-of-aleppo-170gr-syria-alepia?ref=listing-shop-header-0. Will let y'all know what I think of it, and if anyone else has good sources, would love to try more from other sellers across the big pond.


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## soapswirl (Feb 7, 2016)

Another source for Aleppo soap is 'Nature et Decouvertes' in France. Search pain d'alep on their website. I got some of the 35% stuff last year while i was in France on holiday. 

So yes i like trying other peoples' soaps too!


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## makemineirish (Feb 7, 2016)

I absolutely buy soap from others, but consider it economically advantageous.  While I do make my own, I do not sell.  This limits the myriad of things that I can practically try.  More importantly, it can be disproportionately costly and time-consuming to make a single bar to test.  It takes almost as much time as making a batch and is annoying to order ingredients to "try".

I employ the same logic in eating out.  I find it to be easier and cheaper to simply purchase novel menu items.  If a restaurant is known for it's tuna burger, I'll try it there first.   If I find that tuna is simply not a meat that I enjoy in burger format, I have saved myself the time and effort of deciding on a recipe, grocery shopping, and preparing a meal that I end up hating.  If I love it, I have a more informed opinion about how I want to tweak my version.

Likewise, there are sometimes new ingredients in soap making that I have not played with.  Auntie Clara has a bile soap in her shop that fascinates me.  She claims that it is a superior stain remover.  I cannot even imagine how much of a PITA it would be for me to figure out where I can get bile from or what it would cost if I did.  Even if I randomly had some floating around in my pantry (which would raise a lot of eyebrows), there is bound to be a learning curve to working with a strange ingredient and formulating a recipe.  That takes time, effort, materials, etc.  It only makes sense to try hers first, expensive postage and all.  

If it is soapy magic, it gives me a benchmark to strive towards.  I'll gladly spend months trying to replicate or improve on her version.  If I hate it, I am only out the cost of the one bar of soap.  Even if it is really expensive soap, I cannot imagine that that is not a significant savings.  There is nothing I hate more than making a herculean effort to get lackluster results.  Whether it's a soap, meal, or other DIY project...it just feels like such a waste of materials, time, and money.  

I know that there is value in the learning experience, but feel that trying out others' products hones my editorial process.  It also gives me a measurable metric for my results.  Otherwise, I might go running around thinking that I was the best at everything:grin:.http://www.soapmakingforum.com//www.pinterest.com/pin/create/extension/


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## Saponista (Feb 15, 2016)

Look what came today!!!!!! Excited is a understatement!


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## Soapsavvy (Feb 15, 2016)

I would, but I don't think I'd buy 6 sweetie. That's ok, hopefully you'll love all six!!


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## Saponista (Feb 15, 2016)

I had to buy them from South Africa so I had to buy several or the postage just wasn't worth paying. I'm sure I will love them, they smell fantastic.


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## dixiedragon (Feb 15, 2016)

I do, but not over the web. Only if I can smell it in person! I don't very often, b/c it has to be something that really grabs me.


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## Wildcraft_Garden (Feb 15, 2016)

Saponista said:


> View attachment 19464
> 
> 
> Look what came today!!!!!! Excited is a understatement!


Ooooh! What did you get!? I love her.


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## Saponista (Feb 15, 2016)

If you go back up the post a bit I wrote which ones I had chosen. So far I have only opened the carnation one. The packaging is so lovely I didn't want to open them all yet!


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## JuneP (Feb 15, 2016)

In the past year I have tried some other peoples soap for comparison to my own recipes. The other reason I've ordered others soaps, was also to try the fragrance before buying the FO. It serves three purposes - I get to try any soapers soap for lather, bubbles, etc. comparison, get to know if I like the fragrance enough to buy the FO to use myself, and lastly, just to live with someone elses soap for a while. 

I also like the idea of supporting those people who have been generous with their on line videos, sharing information, so I will continue to order soap periodically to support those people and to try new scents.


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## amd (Feb 20, 2016)

I too buy other peoples soap. I just ordered two beautiful bars from Germany (they'll be delivered to the German office and a colleague will bring them stateside next month). I've purchased from Shunt here - and will buy again when my stock runs out - and have a few others bookmarked to check out. I post reviews on my blog.


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## Saponista (Feb 20, 2016)

What's the link to your blog amd?


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## TBandCW (Feb 20, 2016)

I also buy other soapers soap.  I like to compare it to my soap and also to see whats out there.


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## penelopejane (Feb 20, 2016)

I will buy other people's soap once I have perfected my recipes and have something to compare. 

I am fussy though and won't buy anything with SLS or chemical other additives ( other than FOs). I won't buy soap that doesn't list the ingredients. I understand people want to keep their recipe a secret but I can't use certain ingredients because I am allergic to them so won't risk it.


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## Arimara (Feb 20, 2016)

I've bought from Great Cakes Soapworks, Zum Bars and a few local companies in NY State. The absolute BEST one I've used- Morning Mist Farms. I'd be honored if my soap ever compared to theirs and they smelled amazing. Zum Bars, or however you call it, made my skin itch like a beast AND I hate their claims about soap. I wouldn't accept their soap as a gift at all. Great Cakes wasn't as good as Morning Mist IMO but they were still stellar and gentle. If I could justify shipping, I could order more from them but I can't.


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## maya (Feb 20, 2016)

I frequently purchase other peoples soap. I have a small-ish box of soaps made by other soapers. I love them. <3


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## fuzz-juzz (Feb 20, 2016)

There are quite a few soapers I would like to buy from.
But with our dollar being so bad I just can't justify the postage or the cost.
I really like Missouri river soap and Auntie Clara's.


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## Rowan (Feb 20, 2016)

Saponista said:


> View attachment 19464
> 
> 
> Look what came today!!!!!! Excited is a understatement!



Wow, they look beautiful. I can't wait to hear what you think about them? I love the personal message too, that's a really lovely touch!


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## amd (Feb 20, 2016)

Saponista said:


> What's the link to your blog amd?



andanotherbookblog.blogspot.com 
it started out as a place to keep my bookish stuff but has morphed into food recipes, soap reviews (which is fairly new) and various projects.


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## Susie (Feb 20, 2016)

penelopejane said:


> I will buy other people's soap once I have perfected my recipes and have something to compare.
> 
> I am fussy though and won't buy anything with SLS or chemical other additives ( other than FOs). I won't buy soap that doesn't list the ingredients. I understand people want to keep their recipe a secret but I can't use certain ingredients because I am allergic to them so won't risk it.



I read every label, and won't buy any un-labelled soap.  I have allergies, also.  I am very picky, but I learn quite a bit from those bars I buy.


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## susiefreckleface (Feb 21, 2016)

oh yes - I love to try other soapers' creations.  Except one time - choco mint swirl, pretty very pretty, but the scent was not to my liking, nor my DH. a bit strong.

eh I've done worse.  I am half-way through curing a neem/tea-tree soap right now, and once in a while I catch a whiff off guard. ahem. oosh.

Suz


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## TBandCW (Feb 21, 2016)

Saponista said:


> View attachment 19464
> 
> 
> Look what came today!!!!!! Excited is a understatement!



The packaging is very nice, but I wish my penmanship was that nice!


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## TeresaT (Mar 5, 2016)

Saponista, you inspired me to buy some of Aunti Clara's soaps.  I ordered them 2/22 and they arrived just now!  She threw a cute sample of her travel soaps in the box.  There was a lovely hand written note, too. Her soaps are packaged beautifully.  When I took them out of the box "sexy" is the first thing that came to mind.  Oh my gosh.  They're actually quite simply done, but very effective.  And yes, sexy.


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## enny (Mar 5, 2016)

Saponista said:


> View attachment 19464
> 
> 
> Look what came today!!!!!! Excited is a understatement!



In what kind of paper are those soaps wrapped? Is that tissue paper?


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## TeresaT (Mar 5, 2016)

enny said:


> In what kind of paper are those soaps wrapped? Is that tissue paper?



Not, it's not tissue.  It is paper.  I think it is hand crafted paper, but I am not positive.


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## maya (Mar 5, 2016)

fuzz-juzz said:


> There are quite a few soapers I would like to buy from.
> But with our dollar being so bad I just can't justify the postage or the cost.
> I really like Missouri river soap and Auntie Clara's.



Wanna swap soaps?


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## Saponista (Mar 8, 2016)

Oh wow Teresa, those look lovely too. Which is your favourite? Mine so far is the Violet, but I have only opened the Violet and the carnation ones.


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## TeresaT (Mar 8, 2016)

Saponista, it's a toss-up between the African Afternoon and the Sandlewood Vanilla.  I haven't opened anything but the Black Lace yet.  It lathers well and feels nice; however, I'm not overjoyed with the fragrance.  Since I had no idea what geranium rose or vetiver smelled like, it was a big risk.  At least it is not extremely floral.  If it was, it would definitely have been a gift.  The Tradional Pine Tar Soap makes me gag!  Again, I had no idea what pine tar smelled like, so I decided to buy a bar of soap.  I'll eventually give it a go and see if I like it.  If I do, I'll add it to the list of soaps I make.  However, that will not be made until the garage is converted or I get the shed ready to be a drying room.  I can at least make the soap in the yard and put it in the shed right away.

Enny:  the paper is not handmade after all.  I realized that when I opened the bar of soap.  It is printed on one side.  I'm actually saving the wrapping and labels from the Black Lace soap.  I may from all of them.  I really love her packaging and may attempt to brazenly steal the idea when I eventually start selling soap (six long years from now).  However, I'm sure I'll see other packaging that I fall in love with between now and then and will have to have samples of that, too.


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## fuzz-juzz (Mar 9, 2016)

maya said:


> Wanna swap soaps?



How? Ours or other soaper's soaps?


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## TeresaT (Mar 12, 2016)

Saponista, did your Aunt Clara's soaps make your skin dry?  So far, I've only opened the Black Lace and it did mine.  I'm not sure if it is the palm oil or the fragrance oil.  I've never used palm and I'm light with the FOs.  This soap is very fragrant.  However, I have skin issues and commercial soap (especially Dial and Ivory for some reason) makes my skin hurt.  I'll save this for a hand soap only and try one of the Pine Tar bar.  It has lard, cow's milk, coconut oil, castor oil, lanolin, pine tar and hydrolized merino wool.  I've never used pine tar before, but I have no issues or sensitivities to any of the other ingredients.   (I love lanolin and merino wool!  Never thought to use wool in soap.  Hmmmm.)


ETA photo.  Ha!  It's got a sheepie on it!!


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## Saponista (Mar 12, 2016)

I didn't feel like it made my skin dry, but I use palm oil in my soaps anyway so my skin is used to it. I also think she uses a low superfat, that's what it feels like to me anyway. I am one of those people who uses a low superfat myself though as I really don't like the feeling of the excess oils in the higher superfat soaps, so it may be a case of your skin just not being used to a different type of recipe.

If it is a superfat thing then the lanolin and pine tar may make the bar more mousturising so fingers crossed you will like that one better. My pine tar bars do wonders for my husband's eczema. It's such a shame that EU safety assessors won't allow pine tar in soap any more


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## maya (Mar 13, 2016)

fuzz-juzz said:


> How? Ours or other soaper's soaps?




Ours! We can each ship to each other. I'll message you as to not take over this loverly thread. 


Unless.... anyone else want in? a soap swap?!
http://www.soapmakingforum.com//www.pinterest.com/pin/create/extension/


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