DeShawn Marie Handmade Soap!! Triple yum!

I love handmade soap. No--I *really* love handmade soap! I love the way it smells and feels. I love that it was not poured into some factory mold and I especially love when it doesn't contain all of the animal fats and strange chemicals that I cannot pronounce.

I used to make soap. I started at first because it sounded fun and because we were Vegan, I wanted to make my own Vegan soap. I gave it away as gifts and people loved it! Seems like a century ago. I had a pretty successful soapmaking business and sold it mostly online. After I had my son, who is 6, I didn't feel like I had the time to keep it up and I sold off all of my supplies, my domain name, my client lists, my recipes, all of it. Because of all of that, I have a deep-rooted affection for handmade soap and for soapmakers. I support handmade as much as possibly, but it's not every day that you come across a true artisan of soap such as DeShawn Marie.

I ordered three bars of soap from DeShawn Marie. Actually, I ordered two bars and a handrolled soap. Before I tell you which one was my favorite, I'll show you some photos.

My first impression when I opened the package was how beautiful and classy the gold boxes that she packages them in (see the top of this post) are. Then I couldn't wait to get those boxes OPEN and smell the soapy goodness inside!

The soap below is the Hippy Chick handrolled soap


Here's the Grapefruit Orange bar


and my favorite, the Perfect Rose is riiiight here:


The Hippy Chick smells just like you'd expect with a very distinctive patchouli and citrus blend. I was just professing my love for oatmeal the other day. I was telling my husband (who thought I was totally nuts) that oatmeal is like a hug for your tummy. Well, this is relevant because the Grapefruit Orange bar has oatmeal sprinkled on top and bits throughout the soap. I know what you're thinking, but I didn't eat it. I just liked the idea that it had oatmeal on/in it. There's something just...comforting about that. It smells very "SPRING" and after this cold winter, I am ready for some SPRING!

Now, I am normally not a huge fan of floral scents, particularly rose and jasmine. Funny because the Perfect Rose soap has essences of BOTH rose and jasmine in it. It has rose petals in it, too. I love soap with the "real deal" in it and the petals put this one over the top for me. SO pretty and SO fragrant (but not obnoxiously so). I noticed that out of the three scents I bought, the Perfect Rose has the most staying power, meaning that I can still smell it on my hands and body throughout the day after I've used it. It's not overpowering, just a sweet reminder of that beautiful bar of soap.

Did I mention that all of DeShawn Marie's handmade soaps are 100% Vegan!? She doesn't use any animal products and doesn't test them on animals.

You will NOT be disappointed with DeShawn Marie's handmade soaps!!!