Vaadi Sandal soap with saffron and turmeric

Remember the time Veerappan was a huge menace in the South? He was charged with everything from man-slaughter to kidnapping, to poaching of elephants to sandalwood smuggling. Among his many misdeeds however the last one seems to have stuck the most, giving him the moniker ‘Sandalwood Veerappan’. Veerappan obviously thought very highly of the value of this ingredient and so do I. I would like to believe that is the only thing Veerappan and I share in common. I love sandalwood soaps and I really expected this one to be a diamond in the mine.

I took a very long time to make my mind up about the soap (two weeks almost).It was hard to really figure out what I thought about it. It was a nice soap. Not mind blowing, spectacular stuff just nice. The translucent, plain bar of soap was uninteresting (I like interesting shapes and sizes in soaps) but it did its job well. It lathered well, had a pleasant fragrance that lingered for a long time and made my skin feel clean. There isn’t  much more that I could possibly say about it. All the characteristics I have just listed are, if you have noticed, quite, oh how should I say it, ordinary.

Vaadi had good intentions.  The sandalwood, saffron and turmeric combination is actually delightful and anyone who enjoys a good earthy scent would find it very enticing.  Like I said, it is a nice everyday-use soap but tweak the ingredients a little and it would have been spectacular. Like for example, if the soap had a cream base instead of the glycerine and that itself would have taken this soap up several notches. The soap does have the advantage of being affordable (it is priced at Rs.25/- ) and having the right mix of ingredients which might entice the loyal sandalwood soap audience but my only regret it is that it could have been so much more.

All in all, this soap does not demand your complete devotion and loyalty in the soap department but it is definitely worth a one-time wash. It’s been almost 8 years since the death of the notorious Sandalwood Veerappan but I am sure when he smuggled 10,000 tons of sandalwood to the US for 22,000,000$  he thought it would have come to better use than in the Vaadi soap. He obviously knew the real worth of this soap and had he been alive today I am sure he would have had added one more charge to his chargesheet.

Seller: Vaadi Herbals

Soap name: Divine Sandal soap (Skin whitening therapy)

Seller : Flipkart

Price; Rs 25/-

  

Aloe Veda: Luxury Butter Bathing Bar- Chocolate and coffee soap scrub

Rummaging through my carton of soap bars, unable to decide which soap to open next, I thought I would arrive at my choice by deducting those scents that least fascinated me... Himalayan Plum, The orange and cinnamon, joined other soap bars at the bottom of the carton. Then one soap description sprung up at me. It read, " A perfect mood enhancer,this chocolate and coffee soap gives you the best way to kick start your day and experience a unique chocolate high. Made with the ancient recipe of crushed coffee beans that gently exfoliate and protect your skin, cocoa extracts, aloe Vera and glycerin, this exotic formula is Aloe Veda's offering for the chocolate lovers in the bath tub."

How could I resist that? Coffee, kick start ( I have been working for 15 hrs each day for the whole of last week!), scrub, mood enhancer ( I had been editing articles for the past 4 hrs)- it had all the right words...

Once I lathered on (yes, the soap gives one a good, thick foamy lather) the soap, I could smell only the chocolate and I felt a little disappointed on missing out on the coffee... and exactly 2 mins later, the most orgasmic coffee scent hit me and I let out a heavy, helpless sigh. "This bar of soap is perfect!" , I thought and it is. It lathers on great, smells unbelievably awesome and it delivered all the promises it made along with an added bonus- my skin felt supremely soft and supple. The mood enhancer bit? They weren't kidding! Even after 2 hrs of taking a bath, I feel like a million bucks and 'am raring to go work some more. I couldn't wait to blog about this, I think this is every soap enthusiast's dream bathing bar. Chocolate and coffee act as anti oxidants, and the scrub keeps your pores clean. Its a handmade organic soap made from Palm Kernel Oil, Cocoa Butter, Shea Butter, Coffee Grains, Whole Cloves, Ginger Oil, Wheat Germ Oil, Almond Oil, Chocolate, Coffee Paste

As you can already see, I can't stop raving about the soap. For all that it delivers, its priced at a very reasonable 80 rupees. It can easily be bought from most online shopping sites and drug stores in India. Aloe Veda is a new brand for me and I was surprised that this Mumbai based company had such a wide range of products to deliver...

Ladies and gentlemen (and all those cool enough to reject these labels), we have a Winner!! And this time, I'll take the liberty to say: You've gotta buy this or you'll pretty much suck! Bah!

For now, am in soap heaven. :)



Seller: Aloe Veda
Name:Luxury Butter Bathing Bar- Chocolate and coffee soap scrub
Price: 80 rupees