review: Sweet Tea N Biscuits Soaps

A little while ago I ordered some handmade soaps from Sweet Tea N' Biscuits on Etsy. Since I clicked purchase it had been an anxious wait for a little padded envelope to arrive at my door! Thankfully it arrived safely, and promptly--and securely packaged to boot.

When I opened the package, a sweet scent overtook my senses. I knew I was gonna love this soap.

Holly even packed a little thoughtful gift, a sort of thing one would only get when shopping handmade. My gift was of ginger peach tea, and a teeny sample of another one of her soaps. By this point I was already sold on her work so I’ll be happy to send the sample to the first curious reader who e-mails me. :] As for the tea, I brewed it right away. I adore trying new blends.

The one challenge to shopping for things like soap online is the adventure of purchasing soaps that you think you'll like based on its description. I personally like the thrill of it, but some may find it an uncomfortable gamble. Let me say that in this case, I took the chance with her Absinthe scented soaps and was not at all disappointed.

The top lighter colored bar in the photo below is named Absinthe. I can’t find the right words to accurately describe the scent of this particular soap either, but I do completely agree with Holly that it’s a beautiful gender-neutral scent. It smells crisp, nice and clean. :D The other soap, made with the remaining fragrance for a past customer has a bright and citrusy scent. I’d like to argue that the soap is gender neutral as well.

What’s also very nice to confirm is the degree of subtlety in the soap scents. Holly reassures me in her listing description: “This will not overpower you or your bathroom, and will probably not linger too strongly on your skin or clothing.” And now that I’ve tried it on my woolens, I can vouch for that!

I ran out of some of my favorite woolen soaps while in England, so I resigned to putting the sturdier blends in the washer with the rest of my clothes and laying flat to dry. This left the socks with an undesirable texture, especially around the heel. Now it’s totally possible that I’m committing a hand-washing sin, but I went ahead and gently scrubbed those bad parts of the sock in an attempt to save them. The rippled texture of the soap was just perfect for that! The socks felt as nice and soft as when they were when first blocked.

Kookaburra used to be the rinse of choice for personal and Bapsicrafts knits, but after using my personal knits as a guinea pig (with success) with Sweet Tea & Biscuits soaps, I think I have made a good soapy-friend. I feel better knowing how much less wasteful the use of a solid bar for handwashing is compared to liquids, and am happy to make the change to solids (and to handmade)!

Both soaps are what Holly calls "Wool or You". They're both made with lanolin, an oil great for your wools and for your skin! Lanolin is known to many as a wonder moisturiser, and after feeling its effect on my hands after the wash, I can agree.

Overall, I'm a happy customer. If you're looking for a light soap to use for your wooly handknits (wool-acrylic blends love a good bath in lanolin soaps too!) I recommend this shop as a great place to get started.

You can visit Holly at Sweet Tea N' Biscuits here. And like Sweet Tea N' Biscuits on Facebook for her witty posts, soap updates, and if you're lucky, maybe a giveaway.