Tokyo Factory at Etsy -
http://www.etsy.com/shop/TokyoFactory
I stumbled on this soapmaker, I don't really recall how because it was sometime in December. I fell in love with the soap photos on her blog site. The soaps were all so unique and since I am fascinated with Japanese culture and love their art style, I had to have these!
After viewing a few more photos in her gallery, I looked around her blog for a shop link. I found her shop on Etsy, only to see that it was closed and she was planning a trip to Japan. Her note said she'd return in February, so I waited and stalked and waited and stalked.. and the soaps began to appear in her shop, one by one. -gasp- I had already made a wishlist and committed it to memory so I was just waiting for all the ones I wanted to be stocked all at once. As I waited, one of the ones I wanted most had just sold out! I about freaked and then kept watching for a bit to see if it was restocked. After an hour or so, the bar I wanted most had not yet made another appearance, so I thought perhaps I would just ask. What do I have to lose, right?
I contacted AYU, the (awesome!!!) soaptician, and she replied to me really quickly and was so kind and super sweet. :)
She happened to have one bar left and said she would list it for me. (squee!!) So, I placed my order within minutes of our convo on Feb. 9th and it has arrived to me today!
Here it is in all it's beauty, the much coveted (by me) Black Kimono Soap photos and review. :)
What's behind here?!
Soaps turned on their sides with ingredient labels facing up! Also a little packet on the side with a note and something else inside.
Everything laid out, wow she packages well! Two bars per cello bag. Two of these soaps are for my coworker, we saved on shipping by ordering together!
After opening the cello bags, I found that each bar is heat sealed in plastic with a silica gel packet to seal in freshness, and then its wrapped in paper, with a ribbon around the back and sticker on the top! My gosh what a perfect wrapping job! It must take eons to wrap hundreds of bars for her shop!
Japanese Black Kimono Soap - A Beautiful Japanese BLACK KIMONO Soap. One day, I wanted to make some pretty Japanese soaps and came up with "KIMONO Soaps". KIMONO Soaps have been very popular with our Japanese customers. This soap contains Shea Butter which is rich natural plant butter and has moisturizing and softening effects to skin. Also we used Organic Coconut Water to make this soap extra special. Coconut Water is known to moisturize dehydrated skin. It is called "Natural Sport Drink". This soap has a luxury blend of Rosewood, Geranium and Clary Sage scents. Very lovely!
--The bar is a beautiful rich black, is a good size and feels creamy to the touch. I washed my hands with it and it makes grey bubbles! The lather is really nice, has big bubbles and took little effort. The bar smells like fresh black licorice to my nose! The smell of licorice brings back so many of my wonderful childhood memories. After drying my hands, they feel really soft as if I'd put lotion on them.
I haven't opened the rest of the bars yet since they're sealed and I don't think I will be able to use them quickly enough to warrant opening them all. So below are some photos of the naked bars, which I've borrowed from her Etsy shop, along with her descriptions.
Sakura Sake Soap - This soap contains luxury Macadamia Nut Oil which has moisturizing and softening effects to skin. It has our popular Japanese Sakura (Cherry Blossoms) scent. Enjoy!
Organic Green Tea Sake soap - This soap contains luxury Macadamia Nut Oil which has moisturizing and softening effects to skin. It has light clean & fresh Lemongrass and Green Tea scents.
Lavender Chamomile Soap with Chamomile and Shea Butter - A Truly Luxury Lavender Chamomile Soap with Chamomile & Shea Butter.
Chamomile is known to be used for many skin products. It has skin healing and antioxidant properties. We also used Shea Butter which is known to have moisturizing and softening effects to skin. Also we used Organic Coconut Water to make this soap extra special. This soap has a luxury blend of Chamomile and Lavender scents.
