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and in other news... I'm An American Girl Size 16 The Dog Whisperer The Angry Knitter Just Dreamy Media Blackout Cute and Curly New Balance Squishy Curbed other stuff: buy stuff i designed my flickr page forgotten new york frellyheck chinh loobylu jakwon tof reknin 63 days heart and mind obscure store dooce oddy-knocky natruallycurly.com knitty TRIPPYswell RSS Feed www.flickr.com
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Soap
Friday, September 22, 2006 The other shopping experience I had with my mom last weekend was a leisurely stroll (or in my case, hobble) around the Islip Craft and Cultural Fair. I like fairs, although I don't know why. I never seem to find anything worthy of purchase at them. I've been to many street fairs in New York, where every other table sells cheap tube socks, semi-precious stone jewelry and knock-off cell phone covers. Needless to say, I don't bother with those kinds of fairs any more, especially since I found Sock Dreams. Memorial day brings the DanceAfrica Bazaar at BAM, where one can find unrefined shea butter, "I *heart* My Hair" t-shirts, and the coolest wrap-skirt-dress-things ever seen. It was there that I snagged the most scrumptious mini cupcake I've had in years. The last fair I'd been to was the Renegade Craft Fair at McCarren Park in Williamsburg. I'd hoped to find something cool and unique to buy, but all the stuff was disappointingly similar. Hand stitched felt bags, ironic screen-printed shirts, and owl-themed kitsch as far as the eye could see. I saw nothing I couldn't make myself, for less money, except the hand-carved wooden glasses. Those were pretty cool, if impractical. So, I wasn't really expecting to buy anything at a fair on Montauk Highway (aka Main Street), across the street from my mom's doctor's office. I didn't even have any cash on me. At first glance, my low expectations of the wares offered were confirmed. I saw some truly ugly crocheted baby gear, early Americana stuffed-cat-dolls-wearing-aprons you can buy in the housewares aisle of Marshall's, and the same sort of silver jewelry found in abundance at a Manhattan street fair. Fortunately, there were no tube socks. I can't say I was disappointed since I wasn't expecting much, but when I looked closer, I found some true creativity evident. Like the guy who made biplanes out of old Coke and Budweiser cans. I almost bought one for Kyle, but I didn't know how I'd get it home with out crushing it. There were some nice crocheted purses, along with other handmade crafty things at a table run by some girls who wished they had a booth at the Renegade Craft Fair. And then there was the soap lady. This was the booth I came back to before I left. The lady presiding over the table informed us that she had been an RN for ten years, but now she's a full-time herbalist and even sells her stuff on the internet. I have a thing for soap. I don't know what it is, but a creamy bar of fancy soap can really make my day. I used to spend ridiculous amounts of money on Fresh Milk soap. It smells so yummy and you get a whopping huge chunk, but $12.50 for a bar of soap? Even I couldn't rationalize that addiction. I've found some comparable milk soaps at Marshall's, of all places. These bars are monstrous and take forever to go through, but even though I still have one in the shower (whittled down over the months to normal bar soap size), I simply had to buy some of that woman's soap. Her name, by the way, is Christine and her company is called Christine's Concoctions. I know, it's a silly name, but honest to God, she makes the best soap I've used in years. I bought two bars, one in a scent called Nature's Bliss, the other is called Seduction. After a brief sniff test, Kyle suggested I try Nature's Bliss first. The wrapper said it was a blend of Goat's Milk, Lavender, Patchouli. I'm not a big fan of Patchouli. It reminds me of fat goth girls wearing ankh necklaces and smoking cloves or dirty hippie girls with blonde dreads and dirt-blackened feet, also smoking cloves. This scent, however, is mild and lovely. The soap has a creamy lather and rinses off to a soft perfection. The subtle scent lingers for a couple of hours after drying off, but not in a stinky perfume way. It's simply wonderful. As a bonus, the bar isn't so huge I'll be using the same one for the next twelvemonth. Christine has a lot of other products on her website, including skin care products, healing ointments (I love the word "ointment"), massage oils and bath salts, but it's the soap I'll go back for. And since I can buy it right off her website, I don't have to trek back to Long Island when I run out. Ain't e-commerce grand? posted at 2:21 PM . link to this post .   .
(2) comments
2 Comments:I love handmade soap... sometimes I come across handmade soap that is so yummy I could just eat it! Ok maybe that sounds crazy... but I think you can relate if you splurge on milk soap. :)
By No, it's not crazy. I know exactly what you mean. I love soap.
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Get my friend Alison's new book!  BUY IT! 
Or check out BrooklynBaby.com |
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