Make bath time luxurious with essential oil, vegan soap

By Nikki Golden

I have a confession. I’m a total hoarder when it comes to what I consider “special” items, such as fancy soap or candles. I don’t even buy them for myself because I know they will be saved for that never-to-be-had special occasion.

However, that changed this year, when I was going through a tough time, and my best friend advised that I should do something nice for myself each day as a treat.

Last December, I had been to Navy Pier in Chicago and picked up a soap sample from a natural soup/lotion shop called Abbey Brown Soap Artisan. (Marketers, take note—brilliant way to get people try your product, if possible.) I loved the smell, so I treated myself to two bars of it.

These soaps are hand-crafted and made up of olive oil (58%), with the remaining ingredients are other natural products and essential oils.

I bought bark because of its cinnamon scent. The full ingredients of this bar include coconut, Shea butter, castor bean, and hempseed. It also includes a blend of essential oils, including sweet orange, cassia, vanilla and cinnamon bark. I also should mention this soap is vegan.

My skin is incredibly sensitive. But this soap’s natural ingredients leave my skin feeling soft and luxurious, like I had been to a spa.

And the scent lingers, which is another plus for me.

Abbey Brown Soap Artisan has several lines of natural soaps, which include savory scents, like Basil Me or Clary Sage; floral scents, like Garden Soap; fruity scents, like Juiced, which has essence of orange, pink grapefruit and Clementine; and more. There also is a line of essential oils for aromatherapy.

Soap runs from $5.50 to about $8.50.