Therapy Friday: B.E. Dickens Soap

The power of a good scent. (And of having a husband take good pictures of President Nixon.)

Do you know what I love? I love when blogs have some sort of weekly treat, an ongoing theme that I can start to feel familiar with.

I think for this blog Shopping Therapy is a pretty good one, as I already chat about my acquisitions either for or while crafting. Etsy is a dangerous place! But I love it so!

So here goes...Therapy Friday!
Picking who to order soap from can be a little overwhelming! Just clicking on "soap" currently gives me 1315 pages of options. It makes me feel a little like I'm in National Treasure, hunting for a clue in a vast sea of artwork,

Or, I can go hunting for my favorite scent notes. Searching for "tea" gave me 53 pages, searching for "violet" gave me 8 pages, and searching for "iris" gave me...are you ready? One page. Several soaps shaped like an iris, a couple with iris extract for beauty benefits, and at the time just one that listed iris as a scent note. (On a side note: I have found almost all of my purchases via a tag search - those tags really matter! I appreciate sellers who take the time to write up accurate and thorough tags.)

I love iris/orris scents. It seems to be a growing trend in perfume, one which I approve of - a couple of my favorites are PG's Iris Taizo, or Le Labo's Iris 39. Another recent release was Prada Infusion d'Iris, though alas! despite high hopes it did not, shall we say, cooperate with my skin's chemistry. Just another case of me thinking I wanted something I didn't really want (in perfume! Or in life? Hmmm...)

So my soap craving self went ahead and purchased B.E. Dickens Fleur de Lis, a pretty pink bar with notes of iris and violet. Perfect!

And, because sample sized objects fill me with a sort of giddy glee, with their sweet miniature proportions, I went ahead and indulged in B. E. Dickens hunka soap package. I'm glad I did!

Between my selections, and hers, I ended up with 19 soaps to try. Oh, I can feel the therapy working already! The samples range in size from slim and flirty to hunka handsome.

When I opened the box I was walloped with an instant scent memory - turning 21. A combination of scents, I think Peach Puff and Azariah, smelled fruity, a little bitter, and distinctly fizzy. I don't usually like fruity scents, but it was a moment of nostalgic bliss.

The scents I remember ordering, because I was looking forward to them and convinced I would like them best, were:

Lavender Divinity, River Birch, Honey Pun, Goddess (amber and patch), Jonquil ("Luscious notes of iris, jasmine, balsam & lichen" - and I'm guessing jonquil), and Willy Street (clove, sandalwood and...are you ready for this? Tobacco!).

Will this be another case of my eyes being disconnected from my nose? Well, I still think I will love them, but maybe not as much as the rest of my treasure trove.

It will take me a bit to figure it out, because I certainly intend give each little bitty baby soap the full shower treatment. Plus, I can draw out my therapy over many Fridays this way. Mmm...anticipation!

The scents I either forgot I ordered, or that B. E. Dickens in her bubbly wisdom knew I'd love, were : b.e. naturals Kali (clay rich with notes of sage, rose, citrus - I'm drinking sage tea right now, must be soap psychic powers!), b.e. natural Cybele (clay infused with notes of neroli, jasmine and sandalwood), b.e. natural Danu (clay plus notes of lavender, eucalyptus, jasmine and other sweet flowers), Peach Puff, Eqyptian Sky (desert resins), Azariah (a musky unisex with bergamot and (gasp!) leather), I Wanda (lime and olive - or maybe tropical fish), Lanai (the artist's favorite - notes of Lemon Verbena and flowers), Grand Dame (floral), Grandmother's Lilac, Fruity Little Drink, and Atomic Pepper (citrus and chili pepper).

See? That's a lot of showers!

The full size is plenty large enough (haha), plus it was beautifully packaged.

The soap itself seems to be nicely scented, not overwhelming. Many of the lighter scents seem to, when dry, smell primarily of rich, creamy soap with a frisky streak of well balanced fragrance. Nice! Also, I can't get over how darned sweet the packaging was - next time I decide to buy nice soap as a gift this will probably be my destination. It looked pretty, simple, and elegant. The only cautionary detail was that it was wrapped with price tag, but I'm sure that could be removed by the seller! Plus, the little sample soap carry container included with the Hunka looks like it will be astoundingly useful. Taking a dash of sudsy scent with me as I travel? Oh yes, please!

Overall, without even stepping into a shower, it has already been a good value for money - nice scents, generous samples, packaged beautifully and professionally, plus a bonus dash of a happy scent memory.