The past twelve months have certainly not been what any of us could have expected. January started off with all of the usual excitement but, very quickly, the world changed dramatically. With restrictions, lockdowns, and a mammoth shift in our everyday lives, it would have been easy to just pull the covers over our heads... but we all soldiered on. The situation was certainly not easy for the fragrance industry either, but they still managed to launch some spectacular products. As we approach the end of 2020 I thought it would be a good moment to look back at twelve months of articles, channel my inner Blyton, and pick My Favourite Five.
Anybody that has followed me regularly will know that I have a deep love for the humble bar of soap. This started as a child when I would regularly reach for the Imperial Leather at home or, even more exotic to small fingers, the Coal Tar at my grandfather’s house. I’m not saying that I liked the thought of washing as a child, I don't think that any of us did, but I loved the smell that these fragranced bars provided. In recent years and months we’ve seen soap make a resurgence that could never have been planned, and it’s coincided with the launch of the wonderfully scented and beautifully packaged Shower PUK.
We are living through extraordinary times but, never one to miss an opportunity, the beauty industry has been cashing in on the public fear. With a shortage of hand sanitiser, all thoughts turned to the humble bar of soap and the marketing machines have rumbled into action with “anti-bacterial” messages and questionable pricing. Thankfully many companies have not gone down this grubby route and have retained some dignity. So, I’ve raided my bathroom cupboard to bring you some honourable favourites that won’t break the bank. And talking about cost, I also bought all of these scented beauties myself.
One of the biggest problems for many companies at the moment is trying to reconcile environmental impact with customer expectations. The issue of exactly how a product is manufactured goes hand in hand with the packaging that it ends up wearing, and it’s the latter that is often the biggest problem. In an effort to reduce the amount of plastic that the world uses, many companies have started to offer alternatives for our everyday essentials and the latest is Baron. They’ve taken the humble bar of soap, they’ve given it a slick new design, but they haven’t charged the earth. Welcome to the Baron Shower Bar.
