Soap Stories Review

A month or so ago I received a package that made my room smell like a fruity, floral heaven. I have to thank Soap Stories for that - their fragrant, beautiful products had me excited for body and nail care!

The three soaps I received were the Lavender, Patchouli Blood Orange and Grapefruit soaps*, They're cruelty-free, vegan, and contain essential oils. While they all smelled heavenly, my favourite was definitely the grapefruit soap; the scent was fresh, light and perfect for the summer. The patchouli blood orange soap smelled very, very, similar and the lavender one smelled relaxing (as lavender always does). I'll be honest in saying that the formula for the soaps were not my favourite - I found them to be drying on my skin. They were much less than regular bar soap but they did not feel moisturizing to me. The soaps looked rustic and handmade and they were packaged well. They certainly make for beautiful, personal gifts - maybe a part of a gift basket! I do believe they're sold as bricks if you're looking to cut them up for party favours.

I also received the Natural Shine Nail Kit in Coconut* which came with a nail file/buffer, cuticle oil, Oatmeal Coconut Exfoliating Soap and Shea & Coconut Body Butter. These products came in a beautiful book-like package which makes it a lovely gift. The nail file had four sides to it with four steps: file, buff, polish and shine. I really liked this product - it was easy to use, effective and left my nails looking so healthy. I loved that the buffer didn't scrape my nail badly and the shine-r didn't leave my nails looking like they had a clear top coat on. While 15-year-old Nabihah loved shiny nails, 22-year-old Nabihah feels that unpainted, shiny nails look like you've spit on them (my mom's words, not mine). I would recommend this product to everyone, even if you have soft or brittle nails as they're not harsh on them at all. I also loved the cuticle oil: while the oil had a tendency to slip out of the tube, it absorbed so quickly and easily into my cuticles. I was left with well moisturized, non-greasy cuticles and that's a huge plus in my books.

The exfoliating soap was a bit of a disappointment - it didn't exfoliate nearly as well as the sugar scrubs I was used to. It was much more drying than the other soaps I'd gotten and the fact that the exfoliator was ineffective makes it a product I am not likely to purchase. I do love that, like the other soaps, it's vegan and cruelty free. The shape of the soap made it easy to use; using body washes has made me forget how slippery bars of soap can be but I had no trouble at all with this.

The body butter was by far my favourite. It was thick and moisturizing without being greasy which is a hard combination to find. This is definitely a product you can use all year long as it's not too intense for summer. It smelled light and warm and I loved how well it applied. I wish more body butters had this formula - it's perfect for people who hate moisturizing as this is so light while being extremely effective.

Have you ever tried Soap Stories? Which product do you think you'd get? Comment below or tweet me @SundayWardrobe!

STWW: Body Acne (and how to get rid of it!)

Here's a little story about something I've had for years and years that I was always so shy about: Bacne. It's not a "pretty" topic but it is common and human and natural so I thought why not share my story if it helps someone out.

I had fairly bad breakouts on my back for many years which I hated. As I got older, the frequency of these breakouts reduced (not by very much) but the scarring was still prominent. I was always so shy about wearing tank tops or strapless tops and wouldn't unless I wore my hair down to hide my back.

Around six years ago I made a decision that I wouldn't let something on my body affect me so negatively and started not caring about my scars and bacne - writing it out sounds silly, like I'm making it a bigger deal than it is but, back then, it was a huge deal to me. After appreciating my body for the wonderful things it does for me, rather than hating something small like scarring, I decided to take action on my breakouts. I visited a doctor who prescribed an acne cream for me. I did this for a few weeks and, while it worked, the second I stopped, my back would break out again. It was also incredibly drying on my skin and the chemicals would bleach my clothes. I spoke to a friend who had done research on this and she recommended something that's so easy and that I use everyday and swear by.

Head and Shoulders. That's it. Or any dandruff shampoo, really. I use it in place of a body wash - it's enough to combat my acne without drying my skin and I've used it for a few years now and love it. I break out much less frequently and my scars are gradually fading (though this isn't because of the shampoo). I also don't use a moisturizer on my back as I don't want the oils and chemicals to irritate my skin. This is the most effective thing I've used without drying my skin or bleaching my clothes.

Is body breakouts an issue for you? Write any products/ways to reduce body breakouts (and if you use Head and Shoulders) in the comments below or tweet me @SundayWardrobe!