Hello shiny clean, good-smelling people!

It's August, the hottest month of summer, in the hottest summer on record and we're all hot, Hot, HOT! **breaks into song** but which one? Kool and the Gang's "Too Hot," Foreigner's "Hot Blooded," or maybe Rod Stewart's "Hot Legs?" We are definitely talking about "Hot Stuff!"

What are your top tips for keeping cool this summer? Without a doubt, we're adding extra water - twice a day showers, dips in the pool, jumps in the lake - getting wet is the best way to chill it down. But to keep your skin healthy, the soap you choose to use for cleaning off the sweaty smellies definitely matters.

Handmade soap is tops when it comes to sudsing up, and with a nice addition of shea butter in our bars, the suds are creamy dreamy, the scents are all kinds of beautiful, and you never have to worry if your skin is going to get dry, itchy and flaky just from showering.

LAST CALL FOR SUMMER SEASONAL SOAPS

Which brings up the next subject - if you've fallen in love with one of our summer scents, you might want to grab the last few bars left this year. We've got just a bit left in stock and then it's onto something new. Forest Bathing, Lavender Woods, Sea Salt + Surf, and Watermelon Mint are still available and refreshing as can be for warm weather soaping.

Sea Salt + Surf seems to be the most popular this season and I'm excited about that, because I was giving it a try out in hopes that it might end up on the regular menu. Forest Bathing too. I'd love your feedback on those two - drop me a line! I can't promise they will remain on the menu through the rest of the year, but if I get enough requests . . . maybe?

NEW FOR AUGUST: GREEN TEA + CUCUMBER SOAP

Remember a couple years ago when I introduced the Green Tea + Cucumber seasonal soap for summer? It was an instant hit!

While clearing out the supply cabinet, I noticed I had a bit of that enchanting fragrance left over and decided to make a couple of extra batches to end August with a bang.

Crisp, fresh cucumber slices blended with grassy green tea notes transport you to a blissful state of tranquility, whisking away stress, leaving you renewed and rejuvenated. Adding this to your shower brings a true oasis of refreshment and relaxation to the hustle and bustle of your daily routine. Immerse yourself in the delicate and enchanting aroma of freshly brewed green tea, captured in every lather of this luxurious soap. Very limited quantity available - August til sold out.

DEAD SEA BATH SALTS - LOWEST PRICE OF THE YEAR!

Hello to my tub soakers! Some of you make this a daily ritual, winter or summer. Some of you might not even be thinking about soaking in the bath until there's a nip in the air. But some of you clever people might be lallygagging like queens in a cool, chill bathtub, keeping out of the heat. No matter what kind of soaker you are, this is your special month. Time to stock up on sweet smelling, luxurious bath salts that make your skin feel like silk. All month long, I'll have the Dead Sea Bath Salts on sale. Usually $10, they are now $8 each (16 oz bottle).

These rustic, chunky salts come directly from the Dead Sea. Completely unrefined, they are solar evaporated from the southern Dead Sea water in Israel. Pure, fresh salts with a mineral content that is 7 times greater than other types of sea salts, they work wonders on purifying and detoxifying, improving circulation and moisturizing skin, soaking away stress, and relaxing muscles, aches and pains.

The Dead Sea salts are quite concentrated in their healing and nourishing properties, so a little goes a long way. Just toss a small handful, or approximately a quarter of a cup into your bath water, and use even less for foot soaks. The fragrance may seem a little strong at first whiff in the bottle but they are scented to fill a full bath. Beautiful scents of French Lavender, Vanilla Bean & Honey, Rose Petal & Cardamom, Sweet Fig, Almond Ginger, or Bourbon (Vanilla) Sandalwood.

AUTUMN ON THE WAY

If you've been socked into one of those never-ending heat domes, or just sweating out the always hotter summers, you might be having daydreams of fall arriving a little quicker this year. I've been planning for sweater weather for awhile now!

I'm so excited to share my new fall soap scents with you, but they are under wraps for a few more weeks. Check your inbox (or Facebook or Instagram) at the beginning of September for my Autumn Newsletter.

Be well, stay safe and don't melt!

Heidi Risse

“August is ripening grain in the fields blowing hot and sunny, the scent of tree-ripened peaches, of hot buttered sweet corn on the cob. Vivid dahlias fling huge tousled blossoms through gardens and joe-pye-weed dusts the meadow purple.”
– Jean Hersey

Splish Splash! We're taking a (cold) bath!