Philadelphia Phocus & Giveaway: Mother's Nature Soaps

It’s freezing right now in Philadelphia, and my heater is working overtime to keep my home toasty warm. So, nowadays, one of the things I most look forward to is a relaxing, hot shower. But because this time of year is particularly harsh on my sensitive skin, I have to be careful of the bath and body products I use. Luckily, I’ve discovered Mother’s Nature Soaps.

Mother’s Nature Soaps is a family-run company that specializes in luxurious homemade soaps, bath products, and natural skin care products. Alyson, the owner, started making soaps in 2003 to help her son’s eczema. Five years later, she says the same amount of love that went into her first bar of soap still goes into every bar she makes now.

The hand-crafted soaps are made with pure rainwater, oils of olive, coconut, sunflower, palm, castor and canola; some of the soap formulas also contain extra nourishing ingredients such as shea butter, cocoa butter, honey, buttermilk, organic milks for extra skin moisturizing benefits and are colored with natural pigments. Noticeably absent from the list of ingredients are the synthetic chemicals found in many conventional bar soaps. Mother’s Nature Soaps are also rich in natural glycerin, which draws moisture to your skin to promote a healthy, youthful appearance.

My favorite product is the Monkey Farts Soap, a unique blend of bananas, fresh grapefruit, with strawberries, kiwi, bubble gum and a touch of vanilla. Alyson says that it’s a hit with kids and adults. I'm also wild for the Butter Kisses; they literally melt on your skin and moisturize with pure cocoa butter, shea butter, olive oil and Vitamin E.

Mother’s Nature Soaps is located in Middletown, Delaware (a half-hour drive outside of Philadelphia), but their website ensures that – no matter where you live – their all-natural products are just a click away.

But this week only, Spoiled Pretty is giving you the opportunity to win some of these wonderful products! One winner will receive a Mother’s Nature Soaps Gift Basket, filled with the following goodies: Lavender Fields Soap, Monkey Farts Soap, Lavender & Eucalyptus Soap, Clarity Bath Salts, Lavender & Mint Body Polish, Soap Saver, 4 oz Lavender Whipped Body Butter, and Chocolate Mint Lip Balm. This gift basket retails for $50.

A 2nd place winner will receive a $25 gift certificate, and a third place winner will be rewarded with a $15 gift certificate.

Entering the giveaway is easy. To be eligible for the contest, you must be a Spoiled Pretty subscriber. Subscribing is simple and quick - just click here (don't forget to verify your email address). Plus you’ll be signed up to get posts delivered directly to your inbox. Contest closes at 9pm EST on Sunday, January 27th – and the winners will be revealed on Monday, January 28th. Good luck!

Philadelphia Phocus & Giveaway: Mother's Nature Soaps

It’s freezing right now in Philadelphia, and my heater is working overtime to keep my home toasty warm. So, nowadays, one of the things I most look forward to is a relaxing, hot shower. But because this time of year is particularly harsh on my sensitive skin, I have to be careful of the bath and body products I use. Luckily, I’ve discovered Mother’s Nature Soaps.

Mother’s Nature Soaps is a family-run company that specializes in luxurious homemade soaps, bath products, and natural skin care products. Alyson, the owner, started making soaps in 2003 to help her son’s eczema. Five years later, she says the same amount of love that went into her first bar of soap still goes into every bar she makes now.

The hand-crafted soaps are made with pure rainwater, oils of olive, coconut, sunflower, palm, castor and canola; some of the soap formulas also contain extra nourishing ingredients such as shea butter, cocoa butter, honey, buttermilk, organic milks for extra skin moisturizing benefits and are colored with natural pigments. Noticeably absent from the list of ingredients are the synthetic chemicals found in many conventional bar soaps. Mother’s Nature Soaps are also rich in natural glycerin, which draws moisture to your skin to promote a healthy, youthful appearance.

My favorite product is the Monkey Farts Soap, a unique blend of bananas, fresh grapefruit, with strawberries, kiwi, bubble gum and a touch of vanilla. Alyson says that it’s a hit with kids and adults. I'm also wild for the Butter Kisses; they literally melt on your skin and moisturize with pure cocoa butter, shea butter, olive oil and Vitamin E.

Mother’s Nature Soaps is located in Middletown, Delaware (a half-hour drive outside of Philadelphia), but their website ensures that – no matter where you live – their all-natural products are just a click away.

But this week only, Spoiled Pretty is giving you the opportunity to win some of these wonderful products! One winner will receive a Mother’s Nature Soaps Gift Basket, filled with the following goodies: Lavender Fields Soap, Monkey Farts Soap, Lavender & Eucalyptus Soap, Clarity Bath Salts, Lavender & Mint Body Polish, Soap Saver, 4 oz Lavender Whipped Body Butter, and Chocolate Mint Lip Balm. This gift basket retails for $50.

A 2nd place winner will receive a $25 gift certificate, and a third place winner will be rewarded with a $15 gift certificate.

Entering the giveaway is easy. To be eligible for the contest, you must be a Spoiled Pretty subscriber. Subscribing is simple and quick - just click here (don't forget to verify your email address). Plus you’ll be signed up to get posts delivered directly to your inbox. Contest closes at 9pm EST on Sunday, January 27th – and the winners will be revealed on Monday, January 28th. Good luck!

Jaqua Introduces Hand Soaps

Jaqua knew there was a demand for hand soaps when they found out customers had been using Shower Syrups and Shower Crèmes as stand-ins at their bathroom and kitchen sinks.

Now you can send your favorite Jaqua shower washes back to the shower and replace them with feminine, yet hard-working Hand Soaps instead! With these new, richly lathering Pink Buttercream Frosting and Pink Champagne Hand Soaps, not only will your powder room look even more like a palace - your hands will get cleansed and conditioned with skin-soothing formula filled with fruit and plant extracts, vitamin E and aloe.

Take 30% off Pink Buttercream Frosting and Pink Champagne Hand Soaps, as Jaqua’s way of inviting you to try their newest indulgence. Don't forget your guest bathrooms too!

Promo Code: SOAP1A Expires: January 16, 2008

Jaqua Introduces Hand Soaps

Jaqua knew there was a demand for hand soaps when they found out customers had been using Shower Syrups and Shower Crèmes as stand-ins at their bathroom and kitchen sinks.

Now you can send your favorite Jaqua shower washes back to the shower and replace them with feminine, yet hard-working Hand Soaps instead! With these new, richly lathering Pink Buttercream Frosting and Pink Champagne Hand Soaps, not only will your powder room look even more like a palace - your hands will get cleansed and conditioned with skin-soothing formula filled with fruit and plant extracts, vitamin E and aloe.

Take 30% off Pink Buttercream Frosting and Pink Champagne Hand Soaps, as Jaqua’s way of inviting you to try their newest indulgence. Don't forget your guest bathrooms too!

Promo Code: SOAP1A Expires: January 16, 2008

Go Ask Alice

For Holiday 2007, Walt Disney has partnered with Gianna Rose Atelier to produce triple-milled soap sets inspired by Alice in Wonderland.

"We went into Disney's vaults and drew upon the inspiration of Walt Disney's iconography to transform the characters, images and themes into couture soaps," said Blair Buckley, Vice President of Product development at Gianna Rose Atelier.

Alice’s Treasures includes three soaps in the shape of a heart, a key, and a pocket watch – all packaged in a baroque style collector's box, embellished with a key charm and story hand tag.

Alice’s English Garden is comprised of hand soap petals, “plucked” from the garden - infused with a blend of Gardenia and White Rose - and placed in an antique-style apothecary jar.

The Red Queen’s Court features four playing card-shaped soaps, embossed with silhouettes of Alice, the White Rabbit, the royal crest of the Queen and the key to Wonderland. All rest on a beautiful porcelain dish, and are boxed in Disney-inspired collectible style.

Go Ask Alice

For Holiday 2007, Walt Disney has partnered with Gianna Rose Atelier to produce triple-milled soap sets inspired by Alice in Wonderland.

"We went into Disney's vaults and drew upon the inspiration of Walt Disney's iconography to transform the characters, images and themes into couture soaps," said Blair Buckley, Vice President of Product development at Gianna Rose Atelier.

Alice’s Treasures includes three soaps in the shape of a heart, a key, and a pocket watch – all packaged in a baroque style collector's box, embellished with a key charm and story hand tag.

Alice’s English Garden is comprised of hand soap petals, “plucked” from the garden - infused with a blend of Gardenia and White Rose - and placed in an antique-style apothecary jar.

The Red Queen’s Court features four playing card-shaped soaps, embossed with silhouettes of Alice, the White Rabbit, the royal crest of the Queen and the key to Wonderland. All rest on a beautiful porcelain dish, and are boxed in Disney-inspired collectible style.

Oprah's Favorite Things 2007

Yesterday, America watched as Oprah unveiled her Favorite Things of 2007 list on an unsuspecting audience in Macon, Georgia. Three hundred golden ticket holders left the convention center pushing shopping carts filled with the (now) most coveted products in the country.

This year, Oprah took her show on the road because Macon consistently has the nation's highest percentage of viewers tuned into her talk show. Filming the "Favorite Things" episode in Macon was a thank-you to the fans, she explained. Audience members left the local convention hall pushing shopping carts toppled with loot – including camcorders, apparel, refrigerators with an LCD TV built into the door – and, of course, beauty products!

When the ‘Queen of All Media’ wants to spoil herself pretty, she reaches for…



Claus Porto Soaps From Lafco New York
These all-natural, bath-sized bars distributed by Lafco New York are a labor of love. They have been created by the Claus Porto's family-run factory in Portugal for the past 117 years. Each bar starts with top quality 100% vegetable soap base and pure, skin softening shea butter. Next, the finest fragrances from the South of France are mixed in so that the scent lasts until the very end of the bar. All of these ingredients are then milled seven times in the traditional European way for a hard, dense soap that has an ultra luxurious and creamy lather.

The jumbo-sized soaps appeal to the senses with beautiful wrappers and 17 magnificent scents, from honeysuckle to grapefruit fig. "They make great hostess gifts," Oprah says.

Cost: $42 (set of 3)
lafcony.com


Kai Body Butter and Body Buffer

"Bathing is an art form and nobody enjoys it more than I do," Oprah says. Kai customized their signature scent into a moisturizing body butter in a tub just for Oprah. Kai body lotion contains safflower seed oil, shea butter, apricot kernel oil, and cucumber a silky whipped soufflé with a moisturizing shea butter base blended with safflower seed oil, vitamins A, C, and E, aloe leaf extract, chamomile flower extract, cucumber fruit extract, apricot kernel oil, and the original kai perfume oil. "It's clean and fresh," she says.

She also loves the Body Buffer by Kai, a hypo-allergenic loofah infused with a light blend of exotic perfumes and natural essences to cleanse, exfoliate, and moisturize the skin. Just wet and squeeze to release foaming bubbles that smell like an exotic garden.

Cost: Body Buffer $28; Body Butter $55
kaifragrance.com
Also available at embraceyourstyle.com and eluxury.com


Clarisonic Skin Care System

Developed by the people who created the Sonicare Toothbrush, the Clarisonic Skin Care System helps remove six times more makeup than soap and water alone. The bristles vibrate 300 times per second and massage your face to squeaky clean perfection. The Clarisonic system cleanses so well that products absorb better; reduces oily areas, dry skin patches and blemishes; visibly shrinks pores; minimizes the appearance of fine lines and wrinkles; and leaves skin feeling and looking younger and smoother. "It's a miracle massage for your face," Oprah says.

Cost: $195 (includes Cordless Clarisonic, charging cradle, two brush heads, and 2 oz. trial size Gentle Hydro Cleanser)
clarisonic.com

Oprah's Favorite Things 2007

Yesterday, America watched as Oprah unveiled her Favorite Things of 2007 list on an unsuspecting audience in Macon, Georgia. Three hundred golden ticket holders left the convention center pushing shopping carts filled with the (now) most coveted products in the country.

This year, Oprah took her show on the road because Macon consistently has the nation's highest percentage of viewers tuned into her talk show. Filming the "Favorite Things" episode in Macon was a thank-you to the fans, she explained. Audience members left the local convention hall pushing shopping carts toppled with loot – including camcorders, apparel, refrigerators with an LCD TV built into the door – and, of course, beauty products!

When the ‘Queen of All Media’ wants to spoil herself pretty, she reaches for…



Claus Porto Soaps From Lafco New York
These all-natural, bath-sized bars distributed by Lafco New York are a labor of love. They have been created by the Claus Porto's family-run factory in Portugal for the past 117 years. Each bar starts with top quality 100% vegetable soap base and pure, skin softening shea butter. Next, the finest fragrances from the South of France are mixed in so that the scent lasts until the very end of the bar. All of these ingredients are then milled seven times in the traditional European way for a hard, dense soap that has an ultra luxurious and creamy lather.

The jumbo-sized soaps appeal to the senses with beautiful wrappers and 17 magnificent scents, from honeysuckle to grapefruit fig. "They make great hostess gifts," Oprah says.

Cost: $42 (set of 3)
lafcony.com


Kai Body Butter and Body Buffer

"Bathing is an art form and nobody enjoys it more than I do," Oprah says. Kai customized their signature scent into a moisturizing body butter in a tub just for Oprah. Kai body lotion contains safflower seed oil, shea butter, apricot kernel oil, and cucumber a silky whipped soufflé with a moisturizing shea butter base blended with safflower seed oil, vitamins A, C, and E, aloe leaf extract, chamomile flower extract, cucumber fruit extract, apricot kernel oil, and the original kai perfume oil. "It's clean and fresh," she says.

She also loves the Body Buffer by Kai, a hypo-allergenic loofah infused with a light blend of exotic perfumes and natural essences to cleanse, exfoliate, and moisturize the skin. Just wet and squeeze to release foaming bubbles that smell like an exotic garden.

Cost: Body Buffer $28; Body Butter $55
kaifragrance.com
Also available at embraceyourstyle.com and eluxury.com


Clarisonic Skin Care System

Developed by the people who created the Sonicare Toothbrush, the Clarisonic Skin Care System helps remove six times more makeup than soap and water alone. The bristles vibrate 300 times per second and massage your face to squeaky clean perfection. The Clarisonic system cleanses so well that products absorb better; reduces oily areas, dry skin patches and blemishes; visibly shrinks pores; minimizes the appearance of fine lines and wrinkles; and leaves skin feeling and looking younger and smoother. "It's a miracle massage for your face," Oprah says.

Cost: $195 (includes Cordless Clarisonic, charging cradle, two brush heads, and 2 oz. trial size Gentle Hydro Cleanser)
clarisonic.com

Duck, Duck, Goose

How adorable are these Extra Pur Duck Soaps from La Compagnie de Provence Marseille? Made with palm oil, these soaps are ideal for daily use in your shower and tub, and leave your skin soft and subtly fragranced.

Available in cherry blossom, fresh verbena, olive & lavender, fig of province, orange slice, summer grapefruit, wild rose, and fragrance-free (gentle enough for the little ones).

Duck, Duck, Goose

How adorable are these Extra Pur Duck Soaps from La Compagnie de Provence Marseille? Made with palm oil, these soaps are ideal for daily use in your shower and tub, and leave your skin soft and subtly fragranced.

Available in cherry blossom, fresh verbena, olive & lavender, fig of province, orange slice, summer grapefruit, wild rose, and fragrance-free (gentle enough for the little ones).

Baby Your Skin

These gentle soaps won’t irritate or dry out even the most sensitive skin.











Splurge
Royal Jelly Treatment Soap by Gianna Rose is a bountiful six ounce bar that sparkles with splendor. This luminous soap is enriched with shea butter and royal jelly. Available as a single or trio, both elegantly boxed and equally indulgent. $14 each











Steal
Baby Bee Buttermilk Soap by Burt's Bees is made with buttermilk - a natural, soothing skin cleanser and moisturizer. Oat flour calms irritated skin, and honey and glycerin moisturize baby's (and your) skin. $5 each

Baby Your Skin

These gentle soaps won’t irritate or dry out even the most sensitive skin.











Splurge
Royal Jelly Treatment Soap by Gianna Rose is a bountiful six ounce bar that sparkles with splendor. This luminous soap is enriched with shea butter and royal jelly. Available as a single or trio, both elegantly boxed and equally indulgent. $14 each











Steal
Baby Bee Buttermilk Soap by Burt's Bees is made with buttermilk - a natural, soothing skin cleanser and moisturizer. Oat flour calms irritated skin, and honey and glycerin moisturize baby's (and your) skin. $5 each

Good Clean Fun

Sometimes, it's super-fun getting dirty. Shouldn’t it be as enjoyable getting clean again? With these soap stars, it can be!


Soap Leaves by Trace Elements
Only Mother Nature could form soaps this beautiful. Genuine dried and cured leaves form a pretty, latice frame for a gentle soap resin that has been mixed according to a secret Thai formula. Each honey-scented soap leaf will last for one to two washings. Available in Ivory or Green. Box of 20.


Sapone da Viaggio Assorted Gift Soap Set by Tocca
A charming gift set of three Sapone bar soaps in Stella (Blood Orange), Florence(Orris Rose), and Cleopatra (Grapefruit Cucumber), Sapone Da Viaggio makes the perfect gift. A gentle, moisture-rich bar soap that uses key ingredients like Kukui Nut oil, blue-green algae extract and Vitamin E to hydrate, firm and repair skin, leaving it soft and glowing.


Bar Soap by Pure & Basic
It was only recently discovered that green tea has deodorant properties that are surprisingly effective. In formulating their exclusive soaps, Pure & Basic used Green Tea extracts that provide natural deodorant protection. For the first time, health-conscious consumers can buy a gentle deodorant soap that really works. Ingredients include tea tree oil, lotus leaves, and shea butter. Available in five fragrances: Fresh Fig, Green Tea, Honey Shea Butter, White Tea, and Wild Banana Vanilla (my fav!).


La Source Triple-Milled Soap by Crabtree & Evelyn
La Source cleansing bars are formulated with shea butter to moisturize and condition your skin. The relaxing sea air fragrance smells so good, I get compliments from friends and strangers.


Original Soaps by Fresh
These soaps have a pure vegetable oil base enhanced with nourishing shea butter. Because the bars are milled twice, there are no air pockets - which makes the soap dense, luxurious, and long-lasting. My favorite scents are Verbena, Vanilla, and Mangosteen.


Let's Circulate Salt Rub Soap by Origins
Massaging nubs and purifying Dead Sea Salts buffered in moisture-grabbing Glycerin lather up to release surface toxins and get positive energy circulating throughout your whole being.


Exfoliating Body Soap by L'Occitane
Enriched with exfoliating apricot kernel powder, nourishing grape-seed oil and revitalizing organic grape juice from Provence, this exfoliating soap cares for your skin and reveals all its beauty. It smoothes rough areas and effectively sloughs away dead cells and traces of ink, adhesive bandages, self-tanners, etc.

Good Clean Fun

Sometimes, it's super-fun getting dirty. Shouldn’t it be as enjoyable getting clean again? With these soap stars, it can be!


Soap Leaves by Trace Elements
Only Mother Nature could form soaps this beautiful. Genuine dried and cured leaves form a pretty, latice frame for a gentle soap resin that has been mixed according to a secret Thai formula. Each honey-scented soap leaf will last for one to two washings. Available in Ivory or Green. Box of 20.


Sapone da Viaggio Assorted Gift Soap Set by Tocca
A charming gift set of three Sapone bar soaps in Stella (Blood Orange), Florence(Orris Rose), and Cleopatra (Grapefruit Cucumber), Sapone Da Viaggio makes the perfect gift. A gentle, moisture-rich bar soap that uses key ingredients like Kukui Nut oil, blue-green algae extract and Vitamin E to hydrate, firm and repair skin, leaving it soft and glowing.


Bar Soap by Pure & Basic
It was only recently discovered that green tea has deodorant properties that are surprisingly effective. In formulating their exclusive soaps, Pure & Basic used Green Tea extracts that provide natural deodorant protection. For the first time, health-conscious consumers can buy a gentle deodorant soap that really works. Ingredients include tea tree oil, lotus leaves, and shea butter. Available in five fragrances: Fresh Fig, Green Tea, Honey Shea Butter, White Tea, and Wild Banana Vanilla (my fav!).


La Source Triple-Milled Soap by Crabtree & Evelyn
La Source cleansing bars are formulated with shea butter to moisturize and condition your skin. The relaxing sea air fragrance smells so good, I get compliments from friends and strangers.


Original Soaps by Fresh
These soaps have a pure vegetable oil base enhanced with nourishing shea butter. Because the bars are milled twice, there are no air pockets - which makes the soap dense, luxurious, and long-lasting. My favorite scents are Verbena, Vanilla, and Mangosteen.


Let's Circulate Salt Rub Soap by Origins
Massaging nubs and purifying Dead Sea Salts buffered in moisture-grabbing Glycerin lather up to release surface toxins and get positive energy circulating throughout your whole being.


Exfoliating Body Soap by L'Occitane
Enriched with exfoliating apricot kernel powder, nourishing grape-seed oil and revitalizing organic grape juice from Provence, this exfoliating soap cares for your skin and reveals all its beauty. It smoothes rough areas and effectively sloughs away dead cells and traces of ink, adhesive bandages, self-tanners, etc.