I Buy Handmade: Pamper And Preen

Look, at this point I'm not even going to bother apologizing for how long it's been since I've updated this blog. I'm doing a full-time MA, I have a part time job, and I also have *Bill Cosby voice* FIVE other blogs. Count them, one, two, three, four, five! And while that's really no excuse for being a lazy and unreliable craft blogger...that's my story and I'm sticking to it.

So what's brought me out of Dreadful Blog Silence? Another excellent handmade vendor, that's what.

So, as you can imagine, I spend a lot of time on etsy.com, perusing other people's wonderful wares. As you can guess from the SweetShop mission statement, I am vey passionate about handmade items and supporting sustainable development, wherever that may be. The third leg in the tripod of my personal stance on buying and selling is supporting local makers and sellers as well. So, usually, my trip to etsy starts with me clicking the "Shop Local" button on the left hand side of the page.

And that is how I came across Pamper & Preen soaps. Usually I buy handmade items because of a personal connection to the maker or particular aesthetics or ideals. This time, it simply was a matter of hey, I'm out of soap, they live in Manchester too, and I have 5 extra pounds in my account this week.

I bought Pamper & Preen's Honey Caramel Cold Process soap for £2.85 plus an additional £2.46 shipping. YIKES at the shipping, right? Especially since they're right around the corner, practically. But because I've recently been all but forced to charge exorbitant shipping rates for my own products, I feel a bit more charitable about such things and went ahead and paid it. For the most part I'm glad I did.

The Honey Caramel soap looks pretty much it does on Pamper & Preen's site...so no surprises there. It has a deep, sweet fragrance with hints of vanilla and coconut as well as honey and caramel. The bottom edge is scattered with a sprinkling of black seens. I'm not exactly sure WHAT they are, but they're great for exfoliating and they haven't turned my skin green yet, so they don't bother me. This is what it looks like unpackaged;

I bought this soap because I have dry, sensitive skin and I need something that cleans my grimy self without turning me into Mel, Master of Ash and Flakes. This soap pretty much fits the bill...it gets me clean. It smells lovely, although the scent doesn't stick around for very long. And while I haven't been using it for very long, it hasn't dried out my skin, which I definitely appreciate it. I do slather on a thick moisturizer afterwards though, so if you aren't an after-bath lotioner, you might not have the same results.

I hope it doesn't sound like I'm damning Pamper & Preen with faint praise...I'm not intending to. It's a beautifully made bar of soap, and while it doesn't exceed my expectations it meets them very well. If you like handmade soaps and want to pamper yourself with a lovely scented bar of soap, I'd recommend giving Pamper & Preen a visit HERE.

Peace beautiful people!