My Foamy Obsession

Earlier this year I had developed an addiction towards a certain item: SOAPS.

I blame it on to my discovery of Marseille soap, a traditional soap made from vegetable oils that has been made around Marseille, France, for about 600 years. After learning about this, I have searched every possible website where I could find local sellers of this “medieval soap.” When finally I have found one, yes just ONE, they were out of stock of it already and will have replenishments after 6 months. How pathetic.

The mishap I mentioned above sparked a new interest in me. I became curious how soaps would differ from one another. I immediately began looking for highly reviewed soaps online and tried some. At this time of my life I do not intend to whiten my skin anymore but rather I want it to look younger and more moisturized. But, nevertheless, I still tried whitening soaps. Below are my comments on each one of them.

1.) Luxe and Lace Goat’s Milk Soap with Olive Oil

  PhP 120.00 / US$2.50

I got this for FREE from the author’s father (Siege Malva). I found his advertisement on sulit and contacted him to buy one. He is very kind as he allowed me to purchase just one piece from him (whereas his ad requires a minimum purchase of which I forgot) and to return his kindness, I insisted on having it picked up from his home instead of him bringing it to the mall (one of his meetup points). Upon learning that I am planning to use his soap for my planned soap blog (which obviously did not pursue and yes that is how I was obsessed with soaps that I planned to do a blog dedicated to it) he gave it away for FREE! Yes. I saved  $3 (Php120) for that. He just wanted me to write good review about it and below is my verdict.

The soap smelled delicious. It smelled like “kabayan bread” (if you don’t know it, go Google. Maximize your internet. Chause! Teehee). It’s slightly soft and it foams to a crazy lather but it takes a while to run out. I guess it took me three or four weeks to actually consume the soap. It’s cost efficient. Anyway,  I expected it to be moisturizing because it said it contains goat’s milk and secondly it contains olive oil. But it was not. It was overly drying and I had to stop using it for a week because some “sensitive parts of my body” started to itch and hurt. I don’t know why. I also tried it to my face but I guess it was too drying that the sides of my nose itched as well and get red. But I continued using it after a week until it ran out. What I do like about it is that it evened out my skin tone and got rid of my dark spots. And the smell, never had I smelled something so delicious I was even tempted to take a bite. Hahaha. It was a nice soap; maybe it just did not suit my skin because I have a dry one. And also it’s not that expensive. You may get the soap here: JoJo Malvar or here Luxe and Lace.

 

  

2.) Perla Papaya

Yes you read it right. I tried PERLA because I read from forums that it made their skin better looking and lighter. Mind you the people talking in the forums I go to are those who could afford high end cleansers and soaps but they opted to buy PERLA because they saw that it could do wonders.

PhP 11.00 / US$ 0.20

I did see wonders. My skin got clearer and it was not that dry at all. It’s actually gentle and the smell is too faint which makes it even better because fragrant soaps tend to “quarrel” your lotion or perfume. However, because I know that it is a detergent soap, I decided to stop this because I fear that it might have a long term adverse effect on my skin. It’s very cheap as well. US$0.25 (PhP10). It also dissolves or melts easily. It also foams up to a rich lather. I tried it on my face and it’s okay. It felt smooth and soft. But like I said, I am afraid to use it for too long. You can find it in your local groceries.

3.) CY Gabriel

I find it too cheap for a bleaching soap so I decided to give it a try. Also, I have read positive reviews about it on female forums (yes I read them hahaha) that it made their skin clearer, softer, and smoother.

PhP 16.50 / US$ 0.40

It was disappointing though. I have not seen any changes in my skin after using this. Plus, it’s very drying. My skin would flake badly though it did not itch. It may be because it is a bleaching soap but I did not see any lightening in my skin though. I love the smell anyway. I smelled clean every time I finish taking my showers and it would linger until noon time (unless I put on fragrant lotion). It’s not too bad for its price but really I won’t use something that does not live up to their promise. Maybe like with Luxe and Lace, it may have not suited my skin. It worked for others, as with the reviews but not for me. So if you want to give it a try, go to the nearest grocery in your area.

4.) Etta’s Moisturizing Soap

I got this for FREE as well from an online store. I just signed up in their website, liked their Facebook Fan Page, and got 300 points which equaled to P300 that I can use to buy from their store. I got this and the Etta’s Vitamin E cream (which I loved by the way). The store is Hallo Hallo Mall.

Since I was looking for moisturizing soap to keep my overly dry skin hydrated, I excitedly opened this soap and could not wait to give it a try when it arrived. It does not have a smell at all which made me more excited as it meant it is for dry sensitive skin. However, at the first time I used it, the soap was so harsh. It’s too drying. It made my skin tight, squeaky, and itchy. After 4 washes, I decided to stop it forever. It was disappointing. It is targeted to the mature market with mature skin so I wonder how mature people would react to it. I have no idea how much it costs as I got it for free and I don’t want to recommend it because of my experience.

5.) Marseille Soap (Palm Variant)

Finally I got one! Though not the Olive variant which was the original and was the first to be made. When I got to their store, there were only 3 of it left. It was pricey but since I have been itching to try this, I purchased one.

PhP 250.00 (200g) / US$ 6.00

The soap was just okay. I love the scent. Smells like traditional soaps. I love how it slides on to my skin. It’s foamy but the foam has something special in it. It’s not like any other regular soap. It is slick and it felt moisturizing though it dries up my skin as well. I tried using it to my face and it was just okay but it broke me out. I don’t know. It somehow felt oily but it wasn’t oily. I am not disappointed with it but I am not happy as well. I don’t know but I still want to try the olive variant, hopefully the handmade one (as the one I tried was obviously machine-made because it’s rock hard). You may try it though, it’s available at AC+632 in Greenbelt 5.

6.) Ivory Classic Soap

I just stumbled upon it on Google while I was researching about soap (as I have said I once had an obsession with soaps) and I read about its history in Wikipedia. Its ability to float in water caught my attention and I purchased it immediately to see it really floats. IT DID! I’ll post a picture soon. I forgot to take one while it’s floating.

PhP 24.75 / US$ 0.60 

 I fell in love with this soap the first time I used it. It smells great but the smell is not overpowering. It smells clean. It is actually my current soap. It’s also the lightest soap I have ever held. It lasts long, about four to five weeks I guess. It’s not drying. It doesn’t make my skin flaky or wrinkled. It’s even gentle to the face. It doesn’t whiten or moisturize my skin but I don’t know I just love using it and I feel like it is doing what it has to do which is to gently cleanse my skin without doing any harm to it. 

What I don’t like about it is that it’s hard to find. When my first one run out, I rummaged the department store and supermarket of Trinoma, SM North, Ever, and other near groceries to no avail (but I remember when I purchased it at Trinoma, it’s stacked up on two shelves, I guess hundreds of it). After about two or three months it became available again and I already purchased three of it (in case it runs out again). True enough when I come back two days after I purchased it, only two Ivory were left. And that is a proof that a lot of people are still using Ivory.

 Floating Ivory Soap

Floating Ivory Soap

I have used lots of soap as well aside from the ones in here but I decided not to put everything as you might get bored and not read any.

I would like to use African Black Soap but it’s a bit expensive (PhP 350.00 / US$ 8.50). I heard it's very good at clarifying your skin and making it healthy. Any sponsorship is welcome. :-P

Happy bathing!

Slán go foill!