First things first: I strongly dislike summer. I’ll do anything possible to avoid high temperatures and strong sunlight, I never wear shorts or flip-flops, and I’m customarily immune to the appeal of any product claiming to evoke the experience of the beach. All the same, I couldn’t resist the packaging of The Swedish Summer Soap from Victorian Scandinavian Soap. The cheerful illustration of a sailboat beneath a sunny sky, the Swedish labeling on other side of the box (“Saltsjötvål” is the soap’s true name), and the promise that the soap “floats in fresh and salt water,” not that I have plans of using it anywhere other than my own shower — somehow, this all promises an ideal vision of a summer that would leave me feeling rosy-cheeked and optimistic rather than sweaty, dehydrated, and irritable.
Swedish Summer Soap is tinted canary-yellow, and it does indeed produce more than enough soft lather to wash away the aforementioned sweat, or sand, or whatever your own summer debris might be. Even more striking than its color is its fragrance. My first impression was “lemon,” which altered to “citronella” as soon as I actually used the soap. Until now, I’d forgotten all about the citronella candles of my 1970s youth, which we placed on the backyard picnic table to repel mosquitoes and other flying pests. The candles’ aggressively chemical citrus odor was contained within globes of jewel-colored faceted glass, deep red or blue, that were in turn encased in white mesh sheathes. (What was the mesh for? for safer handling of the candles? I’m still not sure.) I loved the way those candles looked when they were lit in the dark, and their aroma became one of the signature smells of our suburban summers. If fireflies had a fragrance, for me, they would smell just like those citronella candles.
I’m sure the soap-makers of Victoria Scandinavian Soap, “Purveyor to the Swedish Royal Court,” didn’t intend this soap to stir up reminiscences of July evenings in New Jersey. However, I don’t think they would mind too much. Scent memory is personal, and their soap’s lemony bite of fragrance is my own reminder of summers past.
(One last note: I am fanatically devoted to Victoria’s petite oval bars of Eggwhite Facial Soap, whose packaging is even more adorable than the Summer Soap box. They don’t have any discernable scent, however, so I’ve never been able to justify giving them their own review.)
The Swedish Summer Soap sells for $3.50 for a 100 g (3.5 oz.) bar at Beautyhabit and Amazon. For more information, see Victoria Scandinavian Soap's website.
Thanks, I'll have to check these out. I'm new to the world of bar soap, as I've been using huge plastic bottles of body wash for years and suddenly thinking, wow, that's a lot of plastic. So I'm quickly becoming hooked on soap. About the eggwhite soap, is it moisturizing? I'm still looking for a facial soap for my dry skin.
What a cool product, I will most definitely look into this. I love the idea of it floating in salt water. I guess that implies we will take it with us to bathe in the ocean…
Yes, isn't that a wonderful fantasy?
Well then, welcome (back) to soap world! I can also recommend Copa Soaps, which I reviewed a while back.
I think the Eggwhite soap would be best for normal-to-oily faces, since it has a slight “tightening” effect. I'm not sure to recommend for dry skin… but maybe one of our other readers has an idea! Maybe Neutrogena or something else with lots of glycerin?
I love the packaging! I'll have to try that next… thanks~!
I love Victoria Swedish Soap! I live near a Scandanavian-themed store that carries goods from the territories and every year around Christmas, I use their “Christmas” and “Elf” soaps. My ex, who happened to be Jewish, loved the scent of the “Christmas” soap and found it nostalgic, despite the irony of its name. I love how silly the orders are, those stamped out on the elf soaps, in the vein of “be nice”, “be good”, etc…I bet the citronella scented soaps would come in handy on a buggy evening.
Hi there! I too love bar soaps – have never used the liquid kind. There is something about the heft of the bar in my hands, and the lathering up with a beautiful bar of soap. Now that I am – ahem! – getting more serious about perfumes, I mostly use an unscented soap called Kukui Nut Dreams from Hawaiian Bath & Body, which I order online. I love what it does for my skin! Pure kukui nut oil is also a great product. I frequently use it instead of facial and body moisturizer. Not greasy and a little goes a long way.
I think I felt happy every time I looked at that box!
I'd love to try those Elf soaps when the holidays roll around! I'd give some as gifts to nieces and nephews, too.
The Summer Soap does list citronella among its ingredients, so if you washed with it right before going out at night, it might actually help fight the bugs!
Thanks! I'll have to check out that soap. I have a few shower gels in rotation, but I always come back to good old-fashioned bars.
I never use soap on my face, but Indigowild's goat's-milk soaps are very moisturizing on the body and smell fabulous.
Rosarita,
Hi! Have you gone the Pears route? I love that stuff for my face. It's a bit milder than Neutrogena and it's wonderful in both winter and summer (my skin is dry in winter and flat-out greasy in summer).
There's also a shea butter soap @ L'occitaine that I love. It's about $8 or so (and you can get it elsewhere) but it lasts forever. Like you, I'm moving back to bars because even though I recycle all this plastic it still sort of creeps me out.
MamaBear/Musette
Hi! Are those the Zum soaps? Or made by the same company? It sounds familiar. Will check it out.
Ah, Pears! I love that as a hand soap. It's so wonderfully old-fashioned!
Thanks for the suggestions, all of you.
I bought a bar of this for freskaboy, since he likes to bathe in the lake, and it is biodegradable. He's actually just started using it this summer and he loves it–he especially likes the strong citronella fragrance (which might help keep mosquitos away, too–a summer bonus!). Unfortunately, I won't use it myself because–as with the Dr. Bronner's soaps–I can't get past the funk I detect so often in castile soap. I don't know what ingredient it is, but it makes me sad because I love the idea of biodegradable soaps like Dr. Bronner's for all-purpose use. But that's okay, because I have and adore my Copa soaps (thanks to you!).
Aw. I wasn't susceptible to any “funk” with this particular soap, but I don't care for the Dr. Bronner's bar soaps, either (although I've been enjoying his Peppermint liquid soap this summer–refreshing!). And yes, Copa Soaps are still my favorites. I'm happy to spread the word about them!
Omg! This is what we use every summer when going on the annual family boat trip. For 3 weeks we'd leave the “civilised” world behind and camp at deserted islands, every day would be about relaxing, swimming and exploring the hidden treasures of the Stockholm archipelago. Because a boat offers limited storage we'd only be able to take one small bag per person and toiletries are always paired down to a minimum; toothpaste, soap and suntan lotion… The only soap that works well in salty water is this one as it lathers (regular soap will stick to your skin and not cleanse) and because it floats you won't lose it while trying to wash your hair. This is probably the quickest way to bring back memories of more than 20 years of summer living for me. Thanks for posting this! I have to run to my local shop and buy a bar of soap right now!
Persikoflicka, Thank *you* for this wonderful explanation, and for sharing your memories!
I visited Stockholm and the surrounding area once, years ago. I still remember how beautiful it was!
I am with you on the anti-summer train (private car air-conditioned, please). I don't know what pathology made me move to Miami!
I am going to try this stuff. I love soap as much if not more than perfume. Thank you for the review!
Oh, don't even get me started! Anything above 75 degrees puts me in a vile mood. I have a few products that cheer me up a bit in hot weather, though, and this soap is definitely one of them!
I love some of the chagrin valley soaps for the face (I esp liked chamomile and calendula for my face)- chagrinvalleysoapandcraft.com
I've even used some of the soaps from copasoaps.com (Thank you Jessica for the rec..:)) for my face with pretty good results- e.g. ginger carrot and shea (which are more moisturizing than some of the others like honey oatmeal)..hth..:)
I'd love to try the eggwhite facial soap. J, are these cold process soaps??
I'm with you on summer not being my favourite time of the year!!!
Hi Lavanya! Except for one dreadful heat wave last month, we've been relatively lucky so far this year (in the Northeast)… but really, it's my least favorite time of year! Thank goodness for iced coffee. lol.
Good suggestions! I still haven't tried any Chagrin Valley soaps. I like the name!
The Eggwhite Facial Soaps are made in soap molds, so I'm guessing they're not cold process…?
Aha! Another native Newjerseyan. I'm headed back there in just two days for a long weekend at the shore (it's been years since I've been able to go in summer). You're right about summers there being heinous though — I'm hoping it's not too humid during my visit.
That package is really great, and I'm a lover of all things Swedish (the Swedish name means salt-sea-soap, btw). And I'm envious of persikoflicka's summers sailing around the “skärgård.” Citronella also evokes summer memories. I may need to get my hands on a bar or two of this just to have — I'm a complete convert to shower gels for the most part. Nice review!
Thanks, Joe. Have a great time “down the Shore.”