Dia daoibh!
In case you haven't heard about The Handmade Soap Company, I now introduce you to them and some of their products. The company is relatively new, set up in 2009 in Kells, Co. Meath (Ireland that is!) It's not just soaps they make, they produce a whole range of 100% natural skin/ body products. Here are some of my products:
First up is the 'Hand Cream For All Skin Types'.
I was lucky enough to win this in a giveaway from the ladies over at Viva Adonis and was the first product I had ever used from the brand. It's a glass jar with vintage inspired, minimalistic yet informative packaging. The first thing I notice about the hand cream was the smell. To me it smells like a mix of lemon/lime/refresher sweets!! Upon research it includes "Bergamot, Frankinsence, Clary Sage and Lemon Myrtl" It does take a while to melt into the skin but when it does it leave my hand really smooth and smelling really fresh.
Price: €11.95
Next up are two of their Lip Balms. I first bought the 'Au Natural with Rosehip Oil'. For some reason I expected it to be rose scented but I was wrong. I guess that's what they meant by "au natural" as this baby was unscented.
Packaging? Love! As you can see it's a small little metal tin (smaller than a Vaseling tin) but because it contains natural oils, more goodness is packed in so I wouldn't let the size put you off. Although in saying that, I have to mention that this just did not impress me.
The lack of scent was my own mistake I guess but there were a few other things. It was mega hard to get any product onto my finger to use. Swirling my finger simply did not suffice so I ended up having to scoop bits up with my nail... ick! On the lips it's really smooth and plesent feeling.
I used this for about a week but I felt my lips becoming drier. Drier!!? Yes. I have no idea why. It completly puzzled me as the ingredients (as pictured below) sound amazing. I used it every night but when I woke in the morning my lips were parched. Meh, not impressed :( But perhaps it was my lips at the time with the dry weather. I will persevere and try it again out of curiosity!
I have now tried another one of the lip balms, the Calendula & Orange flavour. Now this I much prefer. It doesn't leave my lips feeling dry after using and the consistency wasn't as rock solid as the Rosehip one. It seems to have slight little bits in it which smooth out onto the lips and the orange scent is scrummy. Thumbs up!
Price: €4.50
And finally is the Shaving Soap. This I was excited about. Many women experience prickly, heated bumps and discomfort after shaving, so bearing in mind that The Handmade Soap Company was founded with problamatic/sensitive skin in mind, I thought this would be a great one to try out.
This is the Shaving Soap For Her. There is also a For Him version which also sounded nice. This one smells quite like the handcream. Amazingly lemony fresh! Lemongrass actually! Just leaving this out would give the bathroom a smell.
The soap did not lather as much as I expected it to however. It gave a bare minimum few bubbles but not a thick lather which I was expecting. In saying that though, I could feel that it left a layer of moist smoothness on my leg which in a way acted as a barrier between the blade of the razor and my skin. I didn't really think much of it while using but afterwards is when I noticed how lovely this is. My legs were so so smooth, more so than they usually would be, so because of this and the amazing smell I'm also going to give this item a thumbs up!
Price: €4.50
I've had some hit's and misses with The Handmade Soap Company but overall I think they're a fantastic Irish company. I don't have problematic skin, so for someone who does, I'm sure this will massively appeal. I will certainly be trying out some more of their 100% natural products. You can buy from their website, Cloud10Beauty and in various shops nationwide listed HERE. Here are some of their links:
The Calendula & Orange Lip Balm was sent to me for free from The Hnadmade Soap Company's PR Team for reviewing purposes. All opinions above are completely my own, 100% honest thoughts on the product.