Sometimes the convergence of two things is just seamless. Such is the case with the soaps from Black Phoenix Trading Post.
Once upon a time, many years ago, Beth from BPAL made her own soaps. Being the prolific, highly inventive lady that she was, and soaps being the time-consuming creature that they are, eventually the BPAL soaps passed on into the mist to make way for other enticements - though they were much missed. A few years ago, BPAL teamed with a local soapmaker to produce a small line of soaps. As lovely as these were, they were not meant to be, and once again we suffered a dearth of BPAL-infused suds.
Enter Villainess. With years of soapmaking under her belt, Brooke is a master of her craft (as I have drooled over in a previous post). Her soaps are not just aromatic and cleansing - they works of art in and of themselves, complex riffs on olfactory concepts, and lushly lathersome to boot.
For these two ladies to team up was only natural, though the result has been nothing short of sublime.
Bear witness to The Most Perfect Soap Ever Made:
Once upon a time, many years ago, Beth from BPAL made her own soaps. Being the prolific, highly inventive lady that she was, and soaps being the time-consuming creature that they are, eventually the BPAL soaps passed on into the mist to make way for other enticements - though they were much missed. A few years ago, BPAL teamed with a local soapmaker to produce a small line of soaps. As lovely as these were, they were not meant to be, and once again we suffered a dearth of BPAL-infused suds.
Enter Villainess. With years of soapmaking under her belt, Brooke is a master of her craft (as I have drooled over in a previous post). Her soaps are not just aromatic and cleansing - they works of art in and of themselves, complex riffs on olfactory concepts, and lushly lathersome to boot.
For these two ladies to team up was only natural, though the result has been nothing short of sublime.
Bear witness to The Most Perfect Soap Ever Made:
Ok. That might be touch of hyperbole. But only a touch - it really is an awesome soap.
First, a quick shout out for the label-design. It's not an easy thing to combine two very established aesthetics, as both BPAL and Villainess have, and come up with something that stands so beautifully on its own. Kudos extended to the lady behind Elixireleven for the gorgeousness.
Scented with BPAL's Shub-Niggurath perfume (a blend that was once a limited edition, with original bottles that fetched high sums on ebay), it is a soap unlike most people have likely experienced. It is smooth, spicy incense that once lathered up lingers deliciously in the bathroom and on your skin - it is so persistent, that you almost don't need perfume for several hours later. And of course the soap itself is a Villainess standard - that fabulous, slice-of-fudge texture, and a soft, silky lather that leaves the skin satiny-clean.
This is not the kind of soap that you toss in the shower for a quick, refreshing boost in the morning. This is the kind of soap that invites you to luxuriate, to marvel at the sheer voluptuous potential in an act as basic as bathing.
It is, simply put, smexy soap. And I officially need several hundred bars to stockpile.*
*And it is conserves very well over time. Soap does not, of course, have an infinite shelf-life, but Villainess soaps store very well - up to year, easily.
First, a quick shout out for the label-design. It's not an easy thing to combine two very established aesthetics, as both BPAL and Villainess have, and come up with something that stands so beautifully on its own. Kudos extended to the lady behind Elixireleven for the gorgeousness.
Scented with BPAL's Shub-Niggurath perfume (a blend that was once a limited edition, with original bottles that fetched high sums on ebay), it is a soap unlike most people have likely experienced. It is smooth, spicy incense that once lathered up lingers deliciously in the bathroom and on your skin - it is so persistent, that you almost don't need perfume for several hours later. And of course the soap itself is a Villainess standard - that fabulous, slice-of-fudge texture, and a soft, silky lather that leaves the skin satiny-clean.
This is not the kind of soap that you toss in the shower for a quick, refreshing boost in the morning. This is the kind of soap that invites you to luxuriate, to marvel at the sheer voluptuous potential in an act as basic as bathing.
It is, simply put, smexy soap. And I officially need several hundred bars to stockpile.*
*And it is conserves very well over time. Soap does not, of course, have an infinite shelf-life, but Villainess soaps store very well - up to year, easily.
