So how much soap did The Clean Diva buy at Renegade?

I have been laid up in bed with the (not swine) flu all week so this is the first chance I have really gotten to talk about the fun I had at Renegade.

There were so many booths that it was total sensory overload. And it was HOT! But I tromped around seeking out the soap booths and sniffing away. Sadly, there were tons of uninspired soap scents. Maybe that isn't nice but I ended up only purchasing from 3 soapers. The Roomie was shocked.

Of course, the soaps I did buy are brilliant.

I bought a bar of Wasabi Soap by Bunny Butt Apothecary!

I got a little nuts at the booth for DirtyLovesClean

I bought Manhattan (which is not on her Etsy site but she says is curing), Sweet Tea (not up on the site either but transports me back to working through college at Cracker Barrel each time I sniff it) and McCarren Park, which is a MUST HAVE if you live in Brooklyn or totally dig the scent of fresh cut grass. I also have some samples of 7up Pound cake and Boxed Wine that I cannot wait to try! Believe me when I say I could have bought more there!

Finally, I bought a chunky bar of Nectar from non-Esty but still AMAZING Rinse Bath & Body Co. I don't know how to describe this bar except that if I ever smelled an angel, I am pretty sure this is what said angel would smell like. The product description doesn't do it justice. I cannot WAIT to use it but the soapmaker told me to let it cure a few weeks as she had recently made it.

And I have used none of these soaps yet because I was so sick last week I could only tolerate Polar Express by SeaSpriteSoaps seeing as 1. It was the only thing I could smell and 2. The cool tingle it left on my skin was so refreshing.

I'm singing in the shower again!

For someone who dedicated most of her young life (and according to her family, should currently dedicate more) to singing, I almost never sing in the shower.

It could be because I am concentrating on the finer details of whichever soap I am using, but whatever...

So, with my many many soaps to try, I know just shove my hand into my wicker basket of unused soaps and pick one. One (way too early for its good) morning I stuck in my hand, fished around a bit and pulled out...

Coconut Lemongrass by Sea Sprite Soaps.

I'll confess that I was pretty stoked for a number of reasons.

The first reason is that I have been wanting to try out one of these soaps for some time. I dig, the soapmaker's blog (she links to Book Slut, hello?) and her banner and packaging is among my favorite on Etsy. It caught my eye from day one. At any rate, it took me far too long to try one of the soaps.

Sooooo...take one is a blend of two GREAT scents: lemongrass and coconut!

As a side note, I once made a soup with lemongrass in it and it completely overwhelmed the other flavors. So there was a small part of me that was afraid that all I would smell is lemongrass.

But I was wrong.

Ok, so I love love love this soap. The scent is nicely layered. It actually blooms! At first you smell the lemongrass but it mellows out to the soothing scent of the coconut that dries on your skin just enough to make you feel as though you are heading to the beach as opposed to Wall Street (although I suppose both have sharks).

This soap has been chilling in my soap dish and, I must admit, I have to force myself not to reach for it in the morning. There is something so cheerful and sunny about it. The soap is downright optimistic.

In fact, this is my new favorite good morning summer scent. The only thing that would make it better is if I could get up at 10am to shower then and if my piña coladas didn't get watered down in the shower.

But I'm singing that darned Harry Nilsson song again!