I stumbled upon
Kalamazoo Soap Co on one of my browse though Etsy nights! They have a nice range of soaps. bath salt and sanitizers, as well as very professional photography and very detailed descriptions. I immediately saw a few soaps that I wanted to try! KSC is a newer shop , opening on August 11 2011. I convroed the owners and after a few convros back and forth I was sent a package to review! The soaps arrived in a box with packing peanuts.. inside was a pamphlet , A thank you card , my 2 choice soaps and 4 additional soap samples, a face soap sample and a sample of bath salt. The packaging is cute and is complete with ingredients.
Twilight Soap - "A blend of exotic patchouli, spicy cinnamon, and woodsy, sweet cedarwood. A fabulous spicy, sweet aroma that is not too strong. Reminiscent of Halloween."
This soap smells incredible.. I can't even describe it.. Twilight is amazing and I was super excited to try it.. I can't stop sniffing it! This lathers great and leaves a subtle scent on the skin.
Oatmeal, Milk, and Honey-" A rich blend of oatmeal, farm fresh milk and a dollop of honey with a hint of spice."
Ok so for those of you that have been reading my blog for awhile you know I have a thing for Oatmeal Milk and Honey soap. For those that don't know.. I have an obssesion for OMH soap! I have noticed that all companies make this kind of soap different.. As far as KSC's OMH soap.. Wow.. amzing .. it has a bit of a brown sugar smell.. but nothing overpowering.
Vanilla Fig - Blend of "Ripe Fig, Bergamot, Fresh Peach, Sweet Vanilla Musk, Candied Rum, Dark Amber"
This was my least favorite in the bunch.. Personally I don't care for the smell.. but like the other others it lathers great and leaves a faint scent.
Cherry Almond- " A delectable blend of lightly sugar coated, sweet, plump cherries and nutty almonds. Can't get enough of the smell of this soap! A top seller with our customers."
I didn't think I would like this soap.. I am not one for fruit smells.. but the balance of cherry and almond make this a truly lovely soap.. It doesn't have a extremely high cherry smell.. just enough.. its one of those soap you use and you feel pretty..
Dreamsicle- "A blend of orange and cream. Smells just like the frozen treat, so much so that you might be tempted to want to take a bite."
So I had to go out and buy Dreamsicles after smelling this. Now being the fact that it is really a sweet smelling soap I couldnt use it for shower purposes but I left it in the bathroom for everyone to use as a handsoap and I am happy to say everyone loves it! A friend of mine said that she thinks it smells great and her hands feel truely clean after using it!
Goats Milk , Oatmeal and Honey - "All the benefits of Goat's Milk with the added benefits of Oatmeal Colloidal. Oatmeal Colloidal helps eczema, psoriasis, acne, bug bites, sunburn, & other minor skin irritations. Also aids in the relieve of chicken pox, poison ivy, oak, and sumac, as well as other itchy skin rashes. When skin is itchy & irritated, the skins PH levels may rise, Oatmeal Colloidal brings PH back down to normal levels, taming the need to itch. "
This soap is great!! It smells good and not only lather great but it leaves you with a fresh and clean feeling!
Green Tea Facial Bar - 'A spa like facial bar that will leave you skin clear and youthful. A blend of green tea, goat's milk, avocado oil, evening primrose (high in anti-oxidants), Bentonite Clay, and green tea leaves for a light exfoliate."
I can not rave about this face soap enough.. it is amazing. When applied it feels kind of like a mask to me.. I love it and can't wait to purchase a full size!
Pink Himalayan Spa Salt -- Unfortunately I am not able to review this.. I am a cabinet in my bathroom where I have all of my bath stuff.. well on one of the shelves I have my to be reviews soap and my soap driers.. Kalamazoo Soap Co packs their samples in wax paper bags and because i had a blonde moment I accidentally left it next to the soap drier and the water soaked the bag.. yeah it was a mess and kinda upsetting.. I do have to say it smelt great!
All in All:
I like this company.. they are very friendly and professional. You can tell the care that goes into their products. All soaps lather great and leave just enough scent.. nothing overpowering. So between the photography, descriptions , packaging and the actual product, I have to say they are sure to be a favorite of everyone who enjoys a great smell quality soap!
Will I order? Oh yeah I gotta get some more of the Green Tea Face Soap and there are a few more soap I want to try!
To bring you a little more about this company I asked Tracy a few questions!! Here they are
1.
How long have you been making soap for?
We started making the soap in late 2010, first just for ourselves and then deciding to start a business after friends and family fell in love with our soaps. We are a husband and wife team. My husband is the soap maker and I am the "everything" else maker. We work together on what soaps we would like to offer and then I do the artwork, labels, wrapping, and marketing.
2.
How did you come up with the name Kalamazoo Soap Co?
Well, we live in Kalamazoo and thought Kalamazoo is a unique name people would remember. Since our soaps are made the old fashion way, we thought Kalamazoo Soap Co. sounded like something you would hear/see back in the 1800-1900's. From there we carried the vintage idea into our packaging and label. The logo is actually a painting of Main St. in Kalamazoo from the early 1900's.
3.
What is your favorite soap to make , and the one that is hardest to make?
My husband enjoys making all the soap but does particularly like the ones that he puts colorants, clays, or powders in and swirls them around. I will have to say that we tried a "Camper's Soap" which consisted of a lot of stinky oils and decided immediately that one was not going to be produced again. It took 2 weeks to get the smell out of everything. It did work great for repelling bugs....and probably everything else too:)
4.
You have some interesting / unique soaps ie Dirt (Hunters ) soap and Apple Jack Soap.. How do you come up with these.. do you plan to make that scent or is it an oops?
The Dirt soap is an actual fragrance oil meant to smell just like dirt. It really does too. Everyone laughs in amazement when they smell it. The Apple Jack is a fragrance oil already mixed to smell like it does. So far all our scents that we mixed ourselves have turned out how we planned.
5.
Do you have a signature soap that is close to your heart?
I don't know if we can pick just one that we like the best. We both have some that we like better than others but all that we are happy with. I think our favorite soaps are what we consider "beneficial soaps", the ones that help skin issues. We use various clays, powders, oils, butters, and essential oils that help people that have skin problem, sensitivities, or wish to improve their skin.
*All products were sent free of charge for review purposes. All opinions are my own
