misosouper, a shopping blog

As you know, my skin allergies have been documented (complained about?) in several posts; the upside of being allergic to everything metal/makeup/cleaning-producty is that the stuff I’ve been putting on my body recently is a lot better for me than the vats of chemicals I used to rely on.  And it’s led me to companies like mi SPA, which are creating delicious, effective, paraben-free products that people like me can use without fear of turning into a strawberry marshmallow. Bonus points for disclosing all ingredients, and including a detailed ingredient glossary on their site.

Today at mi SPA, you can get a surprise-mi box stuffed with goodies–mine just came in the mail!–for a ridiculously reduced price.  My package smelled like a pine forest perched on the edge of the ocean, and contained a Green Tea soy candle, a big, yummy Beer Shampoo bar (don’t knock it ’til you try it…they’re great for color-treated hair and last FOREVER), a Lemon Sugar Dry Perfume roll-on, and a good-sized Everyday Conditioner, along with some treats from other indie designers.  The cost?  $22.50.  So go!  Run!  Buy your box now, before I buy three more and leave you empty-handed and dirty-headed.

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Are you going away this weekend?  If so, cheers; if not, then lather yourself with this bar of Island Coconut soap, which smells like delightfully like the Hawaiian Tropic coconut oil of my crispy, burnt youth.

Here’s the thing with me and soap:  I can’t use it.  Without getting into too many of the boring details (allergies blah blah blah), let’s just say that everyone in my house is forced to use a special concoction that smells like air and feels like water. (We are a clean people, I promise.)

So when Kelly from Mollycoddle Soap contacted me, I was hesitant, but I figured that I could always use my family as soapy pigs.  The soap arrived, and it smelled so, so good.  I sudsed my daughter’s hands;  they foamed, and smelled like pie.  I dipped my pinky in a bubble.  Then: I held my breath, and washed my hands.  Nothing happened, beyond an awesome cleanliness and the faintly lingering scent of citrus and almonds.

Beyond their seemingly magical hypoallergenic properties, Mollycoddle’s soaps are over-the-top funny.  Moustaches on a stick, ouija boards, freaky looking babies, dentures, big slabs of meat that smell like sweet tomatoes:  they’re the best guest bath soaps ever.  If you’re hosting a cheeky dinner party, prepare a dessert platter of doughnut, Oreo, and key lime pie soaps, and let your friends take them home as favors.

This week, we’re giving away a selection of Mollycoddle soaps; check out Mollycoddle’s e-commerce and Etsy sites, then leave a comment on this post, describing which soap shape or scent you’d like to see Mollycoddle make next.  One lucky winner will be chosen at random.

the fine print:

Comments will be closed and entries will not be accepted after 11:59 pm EST on Sunday, April 12, 2009. The winner will be selected at random on Monday, April 13, 2009, and notified by e-mail. Results of the giveaway will be announced on Monday, April 13, 2009. Misosouper, a shopping blog reserves the right to disqualify entries that are incomplete, inaccurate, or considered spam.