Okay, I’ve got a thing about a lot of things. But even as a kid, scented soap seemed like the most romantic and timeless of basic necessities. Evidence of soap goes back to Babylon in 2,800 BCE, and it remains a worldwide staple.
As a child, I was too young for blush, mascara and nail polish, but of course, I could use soap with abandon. Even as I grew into high heels and makeup, I continued to collect bars of every kind. They filled up decorative dishes and I stuffed them into bureau drawers to scent my clothes. To this day, my mother has a crystal vase in what is now her guest bathroom, filled with soap I collected from beauty boutiques, long-closed natural food stores, hotels, nursery garden stores, and museum gift shops. There’s something satisfying about the textures, the scents, and the many shapes and types of soap, from natural rough-cut chunks, to fancy, molded bars.
Here are a few of my fanciest favorites:
Mistral
Although Mistral as a company is only 20 years old this year, they take advantage of centuries-old French soap-making techniques from Provence, as well as the famous perfume traditions of Grasse.
Mistral soaps last for a long time. All of them have exquisite fragrances that last to the very last sliver, with an enormous number of fragrance choices.
My favorites are the Pure Iris, Milk, and Wild Blackberry for ladies ($8 for 200g/7oz), and the Teak Wood ($10.50 – 250g/8.8oz) for gentlemen. Their men’s fragrances are really unparalleled. The Teak Wood scent makes me swoon. It’s not too hard to find Mistral soaps at beauty boutiques in California, and they’re also available online at Mistral’s website.
Blanc Lila
I can’t help it. I grew up in New England. I adore the sweet, nostalgic scent of lilac. Many lilac fragrances verge on cloying, but Blanc Lila soaps are just right. They’re 
creamy and emollient, charmingly pretty, and well-scented, and available in pretty little boxed sets.
Since lilac blooms in May, they make a fantastic Mother’s Day gift. Personally, I love them any time I pine for springtime.
A quick Google search reveals how widely these soaps are carried by sellers including C.O.Bigelow, The Soap Bar and from a number of sellers on Amazon. A set of four 50g bars generally goes for about $11, or six for around $25.
Claus Porto
These soaps reached cult status when Oprah mentioned them on her “Favorite Things” show in 2007, but Claus Porto had already reached legendary status as one of the oldest and best soap companies in the world. A Portuguese institution founded in 1887, Claus Porto makes some of the creamiest and 
most luxuriously fragranced soaps. I don’t love all of the fragrances, but they do have a wide variety, and their retro, art deco-inspired packaging is beautiful enough to frame. My favorite is their enormous 12.3oz bar of Tobacco bath soap ($16), with its warm, sweet, almost carob-like tobacco fragrance. Different stores seem to have different stock available, but Claus Porto soaps can be found at Small Flower, Sesto Senso, and Beauty Habit among others.
Rancé
I think Rancé deserves mention since there aren’t a lot of reviews available online. Rancé is a French family soap company out of Milan, Italy. Contrary to what their ad copy suggests, they have not been in continuous operation since 1795, and the products and fragrances are certainly not the same as the ones Rancé proudly reports “were favored by Napolean as well as most of the aristocracy over the last 200 years.”
However, Rancé soaps are luxuriously soft and milky, and their fragrances are lovely, contemporary perfumes. The presentation boxes are just plain exquisite. I will say, though, they’re outrageously priced, the fragrances aren’t as strong as other high-end soaps, and being luxuriously soft, they also melt pretty quickly. I enjoyed the bars I tried, but for the money, there are others I prefer.
Sets are easier to come by online, but single bars and sets can be ordered from Rancé US and A Secret Admirer. The bars are generally 2.3 oz, and single bars range from $10-15, while boxed sets of six go for approximately $50-80. The only place I’ve found Rancé soaps in person is at the fabulous Apthorp Pharmacy at 78th and Broadway, NYC.
Fine Fragrance Perfumed Soaps
Sometimes you can find fine fragrance soaps pretty heavily discounted at some of the perfume discount sites like beautyencounter.com and fragrancenet.com, and it’s fun to try out different ones. Others are high-end perfume counter treats worth checking out despite the high price tags. Here are a few that I adore:
Agent Provocateur original and Maitresse soaps are exquisite, creamy, highly fragranced and ultra feminine. The original fragrance is a classic rosy chypre with a bit of cardamom and patchouli, while Maitresse is an abundantly creamy white floral. I find them on discount sites all the time.
Nothing beats the classic Chanel no. 5 in my book. These are nearly impossible to find discounted, so why not buy it at the Chanel counter for instant gratification and lavish packaging, and the little miniature Chanel mascara they usually throw in as a gift with purchase?
Floris fragrances have been good enough for the British Royals since 1730, and they’re good enough for me. These come in a wide range for men and women, and sometimes you can find them for a discount online.
Jo Malone is another British favorite that received a lot of attention after Kate Middleton (or more accurately Catherine, Duchess of Cambridge) was reported to love the line. Bloomingdales carries the soaps for $18 for 100g, and while pricy for a soap, it’s a more conservative way to enjoy their gorgeous fragrances that go for more than $100 a bottle. I adore their Red Rose scent.
Alright, there are more affordable soaps. But what’s more fun than treating yourself or someone you love to a nice hot sudsy bath with an outrageously nice bar of soap and some good company?
Erica Bloom's Vanity Project 