Way back when....oh, in June (?) perhaps, I received beautiful soaps that smelled wonderful and I quickly put them aside to keep them safe while I clean up my house for a showing. We were in the process of selling our house and when you have something like a parcel with tissue paper and soap hanging out, what do you do? I did the most logical thing and I packed it right up and stuck it in the foot of my closet so the place didn't look dirty when the prospective buyers came through.
That was the last time I saw that package until 5 nights ago.
The sublime Lemon Biscotti taunted me from the Etsy shop. I kept eyeballing it. I KNEW I had it here, but where? I clearly had forgotten where I had put the package.... Did I use it and black out? Did it accidentally get lost? I was beside myself because I remember smelling it and feeling so full of excitement about hitting the shower and trying that baby out! But it ran away, and took it's pastry-ness with it.
The Muse and I wrote back and forth. We were sad together. I blamed my husband, as I was sure he had done some stupid thing with it. He does that. But then... so do I. All too often, sadly. Finally, I had just assumed it got carried off with the trash somehow. UGH!
All that frustration fell away, I moved on, and Karen of Alchemic Muse sent me a small sample to replace the full bar. Oh yeah, it smelled good. It is hard to do a review on a sliver, folks. It's hard to have the full experience in the shower. So the sliver was nice but didn't impress. I like to shower with a full bar of soap 2 or 3 times to get the full effect and then continue to see how the fragrance changes, because it often does change. Morphs. The quality bars have subtle changes and I like to experience the ride. The quality fragrance oils morph beautifully while the crappier ones fall flat and ruin the soap experience. One can make a great soap but if you use an inferior fragrance oil, your reputation will suffer. And so....
So when I found the box of soaps Karen sent me I yelped with delight. Yeah, true story. Yelped. Squealed, really. It was like my birthday. I was sitting on the floor cleaning out my closet. The floor of my closet was getting taller and taller and I couldn't stand it any longer so it was time to pull everything out and reorganize. You know when the bottom of your closet starts touching the things that are hanging? That's the sign.
Ahhhh, I found my long awaited Lemon Biscotti and it still smelled heavenly....
I have to tell you, when I walked to the shower with that full bar of Lemon Biscotti, I was thinking to myself, "You better be good, be
reallllllly good, because I lost you, there was drama. I found you, and much is resting on this review. Make me love you!"
I mean, I was
really talking to it walking to the shower.
It did not disappoint. In fact, I was beyond happy. The bar itself smelled heavenly: Not too lemony and citrusy, or astringent, and definately not too sweet and bakery-like. This had a perfect biscotti-balance. The name was spot on. The consistency of the bar is what made me fall in love. It is an
exfoliating bar, which I LOVE! Not only was it scratchy good, but it didn't slip out of my hands. :)
I do not have a photograph of my Lemon Biscotti bar because I was too excited to shoot the sucker before I showered with it and now it just is a washed up (he he, pun intended) soapie bar, It wouldn't show it justice if I shot it now. Below are a few soaps that I've hand picked from the bunch that you can purchase at the
Alchemic Muse Etsy shop.
I have to tell you, the Lemon Biscotti-pastry-citrus-God made me believe in lemon bars again. MWAH!
Ginger Cake ~
limited editionsweet cinnamon, spicy cardamom and warm ginger topped with fresh
orange slices finished off with a light dusting of sugary vanilla. 
Amber Crush This decadent soap is naturally scented with fragrant amber resins
and a touch of vanilla in a base of earthy patchouli.
Black Walnut ~
limited edition
Light notes of warm citrus rests atop a heart of roasted walnuts, brown sugar, and hazelnut java, fused
with black anise seed, earthy patchouli, and Madagascar vanilla, and winds down to a rich musk base.
Thank you Karen for your patience with the situation and my journey from start to finish. I am glad the ending was so sweet.
**
Just in!!Pictures from the lady herself!!
look at the yummy bits!
Here was the Etsy description:
A delicious, bakery fresh recipe of lemon and bitter almond essential oils to brighten and refresh dull skin.
Traditionally, lemon has been used in many cultures to brighten and refresh the complexion. Moisturizing sweet clover honey helps soothe and condition the skin, while creating an extra bubbly lather.
We added sweet almond meal to this all natural soap for exfoliation to leave skin soft, smooth, and sweet.
Aromatherapy Benefits: Uplifting, Refreshing, Clarifying
~ALL NATURAL~
Ingredients: Olea Europaea (Olive) Oil, Cocos Nucifera (Coconut) Oil, Distilled Water, Sodium Hydroxide, Ricinus Communis (Castor) Seed Oil, Oryza Sativa (Rice) Bran Oil, Theobroma Cacao (Cocoa) Seed Butter, Mangifera Indica (Mango) Seed Butter, Honey, Citrus Medica Limonum (Lemon) Peel Oil, Prunus Amygdalus Amara (Bitter Almond) Kernel Oil, Litsea Cubeba Fruit Oil, Citrus Gandis (Grapefruit) Peel Oil, Yellow Iron Oxide, Prunus Amygdalus Dulcis (Almond) Fruit
Oh she must make this again, so that you, too, can experience it, too.
I have lazed about with my children for so many days and I have loved every minute of it. There have been days that I've sat around in my pajamas for the entire day, played Bananagrams, cards, baked muffins, played more, taken naps, then taken a shower just to change into clean pajamas to make dinner and lounge around some more, maybe watch a movie, or play more games. I have spent almost no time on the computer, I have done no work at all which has really been the point. I have been ill from working so much and from the stress I've been under, soooooo, I forced myself to take a holiday. Also, my kids have been saying I am always at the shop and never around (not so true but makes me sad nonetheless).
