Savor France With These Fine Savon de Marseille Soaps From O'Soleil

O’Soleil has the feel of a Parisian boutique. 

Isabelle, the owner of O'Soleil, is French and grew up in France. Her sophisticated style and delicate touch are evident throughout the Montclair, New Jersey shop. At  O'Soleil, you’ll find beautiful and unique clothing, elegant home decor and unique jewelry from both French and American designers.

And then there are the  Savon de Mar-seille Extra Pur Soaps by La Compagnie de Pro-vence. I am drawn to them like a moth to a light. 

The handmade soaps are arranged artfully on two shelves. On the top shelf, the all-natural Savon de Marseille Extra Pur liquid hand soaps seem to glow within their chic glass dispensers. While the exquisite Savon Extra Pur bar soaps with their contemporary, colorful packaging have the brilliance of a box of French pastels (see above photo.)

“You’ll find Savon de Marseille soaps in French pharmacies,” Isabelle tells me. 

French pharmacies are a destination, unlike our ho-hum American chain pharmacies. A place where you can buy luxe beauty products. 

Savon Extra Pur Soap is gentle and is ideal for sensitive skin. It is made from 72% palm oil and it is a wonderful moisturizer. 

Since 1688, French law decreed that only soaps made  in and around the Marseille area, using traditional techniques and containing only the purest ingredients are privileged  to bear the mark "Savon de Marseille." 

Fragrances include: Figure (fig), Pamplemousse (grapefruit), Olive Lavende (lavender), Verveine (verbena),  Fleur d' oranger (Orange Blossom), Rose, and Pure (unscented).

I’ve fallen hard for the Pamplemousee. I like its wholesome, clean bouquet. After my shower, I feel fresh. I love how the soap’s weight in grams is engraved into one side of the soap.

Modern and natural, with a dash of French histoire! What more could you want.

100 gram Savon de Marseille soap: $7.00
250 gram Savon de Marseille soap: $10.00

500 ml Savon de Marseille Liquid Hand Soap: $22.00

O’Soleil: www.osoleilfrance.com/7 South Fullerton Ave., Montclair, NJ  07042/973.783.4444

6 Natural Beauty Products Under $25: Selected by Whole Foods Body Care Pro

I love browsing the natural beauty and body care products at my local Whole Foods store. Yet these unique beauty products are a mystery to me. There are jars and jars of organic body lotions that promise to make your skin silky smooth; tubes of lovely scented hand creams; row after row of lipsticks in fabulous colors and so many choices for shampoos. 


Where does a girl begin? 


So I decided to ask an expert. I spoke to Meghan Elliott, Whole Foods Body Care Buyer in West Orange, New Jersey. I told her I was intrigued by Whole Foods huge selection of natural products, but I didn't know much about them. In particular, I wanted to learn about some of the beauty and body care products under $25. 


Meghan was happy to share with me with some of her favorite picks. This is what she had to say:

Giovanni Grapefruit Sky Body Lotion 

This has a great fresh scent, not overwhelmingly citrus, made with certified organic ingredients and leaves skin super soft and smooth with no oily feeling.

Giovanni Lotion: $9.99

Hemp Organics Lipsticks

Certified organic ingredients, great color selection (my favorites are mocha and red earth), super long-lasting even after eating I rarely re-apply.

Hemp Organics Lipsticks: $14.99

Karite-Lips Shea Butter Vanilla Lip Balm

Best lip balm I've ever used. Heals dry/chapped lips within a couple days. Relieves discomfort. Really protective in cold weather.

Karite-Lips Shea Balm: $8.59

Earth Science: Apricot Gentle Facial Scrub 

Gently exfoliates without irritating or drying. Leaves my skin soft and smoother after use. Soap free and PH balanced at 5. It is my favorite thing to use at the end of a long day!

Earth Science Apricot Facial Scrub: $8.59

Nubian Heritage Bar Soaps

My favorite is the African Black Soap with oats, aloe and vitamin E. The soap deep cleanses and gently exfoliates while moisturizing. Black soap in particular is good for evening skin tone and healing any irritations.We carry 12 other varieties all unique and all smell amazing.100% vegetable based, no animal by-products or animal testing.

Nubian Heritage Soap: $3.99

Aubrey Organics Shampoos and Conditioners

Aubrey Organics makes many varieties for any hair type. 100% natural, no sodium lauryl sulfate, no parabens or petro-chemicals, vegan, no animal testing. Amazing line, great results. My favorite is the Primrose and Lavender scalp soothing shampoo. Leaves hair cleansed and hydrated.

Aubrey Organics Shampoos and Conditioners: $10-13 range

I've already tried the Giovanni Grapefruit Sky Body Lotion, and the scent is light and pleasing. Delicious!

Thank you Meghan, for the sampling of Whole Foods organic beauty care products. (And thank you Denise Dagnino for the photos.) I look forward to checking out more of your recommendations!

Note: Meghan recently took a position as ATL of Whole Body at the Whole Foods Madison, NJ store. 

Photo credits: Denise J. Danino, Whole Foods Marketing Team Leader 

Photo credit for lip balm: Mode de Vie

Illustration: www.imagezoo.com

Stuff for Him Under $25

Click above to see more details and prices...

Great stocking stuffers or gifts under the tree for the classical or modern man.

Dress Up Your Dog for the Holidays With a Festive Collar and Leash!

Okay, dog owners. You can't forget your lovable poochie, this holiday season. Not with these oh-so-cute doggie accessories, toys and beauty products from The Banyan Tree. The store is selling 3 different styles (see above) of an adjustable dog collar and leash: "Naughty or Nice Dog Bones," "Festive Stripes," and "Polka Dots." The collar comes in a variety of sizes. Your well-dressed dog will be the ultimate Fashionista on the block. After all, your best friend deserves the very best. 

Collar/$10

Leash/$19

Plus how can you pass up these beauty accessories made especially for your dog. The Banyan Tree is offering two different packages of soap, each containing 3 bars: the wonderful "Peppermint/Cranberry" and "Mint Glycerine." Both will give your lil' darlin' a delightful fragrant scent. 
Soaps: $12 each

And what about some doggie holiday toys? Three mint-flavored Mini-Pet balls with little sayings. For boys: Stud... Good Boy... and Ho Ho! For girls: Princess... Diva... and Ho Ho! The charming package even has a hook so you can hang it on the tree. 

Mini-Pet Balls: $9.00 for the set (not for dogs over 12 pounds)

The Banyan Tree is an elegant shop in Upper Montclair, NJ that features decorative gift accessories for the home. When I visited the store, I planned to showcase some of their home accessories. That is until I saw the tempting display of dog merchandise under The Banyan Tree's cheerful Christmas tree. 

The amazing tree is garnished with garlands of sparkly red dog bones. Woof!
Dog-boned Garland: $15.00


In the following month, I plan to single out some unique items from Montclair shops that would make fabulous gifts. And lucky you, you won’t even have to leave home as you can order everything on-line.  You can check out a previous blog post where I highlighted hip Jonathan Adler ornaments from Montclair's ColorStoryHome.

The Banyan Tree: http://www.banyantreeshop.com/Contact.html/208 Bellevue Avenue, Upper Montclair, NJ

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I Heart: Tokyo Milk Soap

The packaging for the Tokyo Milk soap is beautiful.

The dainty dragonfly sparkles with gold dust.

I don't think I'm going to open it. I like to just look at it. I smell the Parfumerie Dei Fiori through the wrapper.

Exquisite.

I guess I've always been this way. I've bought books for their covers. I've fallen in love with a design on a t-shirt and I'm suddenly handing my credit card to the sales clerk. I still have my chocolate Easter Bunny preserved in a box. He's so adorable, I can't devour him.

When I was a kid, my family visited the National Zoo. I bought a huge sun-colored lollipop imprinted with one of the pandas. The lollipop sat in my bedroom gathering dust. This greatly annoyed my sister. She couldn't understand why I didn't eat it. She wanted it. She had finished her lollipop immediately after it was bought. I should have given it to her. I threw the panda lollipop away after I realized 5 years had passed. But the memory was more important to me than the taste. If I left it in the wrapper, then it was always there.

I smell the soap again.

Semplice: www.semplicehome.com/ $11.00 for an 8oz. bar/ The home design and gift store also sells Tokyo Milk perfumes. / 465 Bloomfield Avenue, Montclair, NJ