Thursday, January 15, 2015

By Kristin


Tasty Tasty Soaps from Naiad Soap Arts

I wish this could be part of our Company Overview feature but unfortunately, I haven't actually purchased anything from this company so I can't talk about all the things like TAT or the buying experience. Everything I have from Naiad Soap Arts was a gift from co-blogger Jessye who purchased through The Soap Box Co, a distributor of several indie bath and body companies.

Jessye first handed me the Almond Biscotti Sugar Whipped Soap and when I told her I loved it, she gave me the Lemon Poppy Seed Soap and the Almond Biscotti lotion for my birthday. (And she claims that I'm the enabler in our relationship.) <3

I've really enjoyed these products and I wanted to show them to you guys even though I have yet to order from them directly or for myself.

As far as I can tell, there are three different places to order from Naiad Soap Arts:
  1. They have their own website: NaiadSoap.com
    • This is the only place where they sell soap shaped like Popsicles. I have no idea if this is a new item or if it will be rolled out to the other locations.
    • Sugar Whipped soaps are cheaper than the Etsy shop (at $12.95) but oddly more expensive than The Soap Box Co by $1. Body Creams are the same price as the Etsy shop.
    • Shipping is cheaper than Etsy for a single item but the shipping calculator seems to be weight dependent since shipping for two heavy items is much more expensive than for one. ($3.29 for one 10 oz item but $9.90 for two 10 oz items)

  2. They have an Etsy Shop
    • This is the only place where you can get a marshmallow shaped soap.
    • Sugar Whipped soaps are $14. Body Creams are $16.
    • There are currently only 10 different scents of Sugar Whipped Soaps listed (compared to 12 on their regular site) but this may be because of how Etsy lists inventory. 
    • Shipping seems to be more item based since I didn't see the same kind of price increases as I did on their main site. 

  3. Or you can purchase from The Soap Box Co, mentioned above. 
    • Three exclusive products that you can't buy elsewhere: Sugar Whipped Soap and Body Cream in Almond Biscotti; and a Sugar Whipped Soap in Pink Sugar.
    • They currently only have Body Creams in four scents lists on the site and all four are on discount - speculation: perhaps these are being phased off the website? If one of the four scents catches your eye though, they're much cheaper on The Soap Box Co than on the other two websites ($10.36 on discount and $12.95 regularly compared to $16 elsewhere).
    • Sugar Whipped Soaps are $11.95 and there are 14 available options (the 12 from their own site plus two exclusives).
    • Shipping rates are weight-based and there is a flat rate mailing option.
edit:
  • Oops there's another way to buy Naiad Soap Arts! You can also purchase them from The Rhinestone Housewife, a distributor of several indie companies. Here they offer lip balms in tins as well as in stick form and you can purchase soaps shaped like macarons

Jessye has been pretty impressed with The Soap Box Co and their promptness in getting items to us.

Lemon Poppy Seed Sugar Whipped Soap in action

Sugar Whipped Soap

Almond Biscotti

This delightful gourmand creation captures the toasted almonds and crisp baked sweet pastry scent to perfection

This was my first experience with Naiad Soaps and I immediately called Jessye to tell her that I thought she'd love the formula; in our Haus of Gloi scrub comparison, she really loved the smooth nature of the Emulsifying Scrubs and I thought that the Sugar Whipped Soap formula was an even smoother version of a similar product type.

If you've read the HoG scrub comparison, you'll know that I actually preferred the other kind of scrub, the more scrubby kind and so to me, the Naiad version isn't a scrub for that purpose. It's creamy and smooth and though it does have sugar in it for exfoliating purpose, it's not enough that it feels super gritty. I actually prefer using this as a soap instead of as a scrub. I put a scoop of it onto my loofa and it foams up nicely though that probably removes most of the exfoliating nature out of the product.

As for the scent, man, I have no idea how many Almond Biscotti's the owner had to eat to get this scent so perfect but I'm in awe and amazed. Jessye handed this to me saying that she smelled it and knew that I'd appreciate it more than she would (so she says but I'm beginning to suspect that she's started to buy things for me along with her orders and uses that excuse so I won't tell her to not >.>). This is just such a perfect representation of an almond biscotti. It's sweet and slightly nutty in a hint of almond way.

If you create a lather in your hands (as opposed to a loofa or washcloth), the scent will linger in a delicious way.

Purchase Link (This is a Soap Box Co exclusive)

Lemon Poppy Seed 

Mouth watering lemon butter cake drizzled with buttercream icing! 

Warning: Immediately after using this, I went out and purchased an entire tray of lemon bars which I consumed in one sitting. Product may cause cravings.

This Sugar Whipped Soap is another tasty one, though fear not non-gourmand lovers! There are options in the Naiad catalog for you too! The lemon is soft and creamy. Almost reminiscent of the lemon note in Solstice Scents' Lemon Ginger Creams (though there are a few different things in Lemon Ginger Creams that make it a very different experience). It's a non-citrusy lemon tempered with an almost lick-able sugary edge.

This particular Sugar Whipped Soap is slightly different from the others in that it has poppy seeds added for extra exfoliation. I didn't feel the poppy seeds making any difference compared to the Almond Biscotti though.

Purchase Link

Body Cream

Almond Biscotti 

This delightful gourmand creation captures the toasted almonds and crisp baked sweet pastry scent to perfection

There are many indie body lotions out there that have a cocoa butter base (a turn-off for some) but this is the first that I've seen that's instead based in shea butter. It's easy to scoop out a dense glob but on application, the cream glides on sheerly. The formula absorbs easily and doesn't leave any residue on my skin.

The scent in the body cream is a little different from the Whipped Sugar Soap above. It's certainly sweet smelling but the nutty undertone is fainter.

It performs a little oddly on me. I first tried it after the shower on my arms and to my disappointment, the scent faded away in two minutes down to the shea butter base. But on my hands, the smell lingers and the nuttiness comes out a little more than in the jar. It's been a pretty confusing experience and I'll continue to play with it until I find out why my arms seem to absorb the smell more than other parts of my body. I'll be very sad if I can't smell like Almond Biscotti 24/7.

Purchase Link (This is a Soap Box Co exclusive)


Personal Thoughts:
Naiad has actually been around for awhile (since 2006!) and I'm surprised that I haven't heard more about them. The items that I've tried have been high quality and I'll definitely go back for a full size of the Almond Biscotti Soap at the very least.

Have you heard of or tried Naiad Soap Arts? 
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3 comments:

  1. I've been wanting to try them for a while now! Their scents sound so yummy.

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  2. Wow! I wish I would have seen this sooner! So glad you like the scents and textures of the product! The scents discrepancy in the cream was due to the natural scent of the raw shea butter we were using in the formula. We have since been using organic refined shea butter so the scents are more uniform across all products.

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    Replies
    1. Hi Erin! Thanks for dropping by and for the info! I'll have to give your new formula a try!

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