Ipswich Bay Soap Company

The first thing I love about this soap is where it is made. It's made in one of the oldest houses in the country-250 years old! Owned and run by a family in Ipswich, Massachussetts (hence, the name of the company) the company still makes soap the old fashioned way. They use 100% all natural ingredients, dried herbs for texture, oxides and ultramarines for color and cured for a solid four weeks.

The photo below is probably of one of the tubs in the historic home. I have a thing for old farmhouses and when I was younger, we bought a hundred year old farmhouse just north of NYC. When I first saw the house, I felt like I belonged there. It was quaint and quirky, not manor-like and large, but so charming the way it sat on a hill at the bottom of a small mountain with a creek running through the center of the property. And I loved those old drafty wavy glass windows.
Back to soap.

I received a few bars of handmade soap from Ipswich and right away, I could tell that they must have been at this for quite some time. It was neat and cut perfectly, the soap wrap was nicely printed and fastened crisply and the scent was not overpowering at all. Very mild in scent, and mild on my skin. The smell of the Lily-Of-The-Valley soap was faintly floral with a hint of sweetness.

The other bar was a Lavender Oatmeal, and I am just not a fan of the Lavender Oatmeal smell, in or on anything, I'm sorry I have to say. Perfume, lotion, bubble bath, soap.... So I gave it to my mother who was pleased as punch with it! I should have had her write a review on that one because she really went on about it. The one I'm going to buy before it's all gone is the Pearberry, shown below, which just makes me want to eat it. Something about fresh fruit and cream colored bars of soap.... it just looks so inviting.

So all in all, I loved the soap. Very traditional and pure.