Skirts, horses, golf, cats — many things are amazing when mini. For some reason, the appeal of tiny guest-sized bars of soap, wrapped in fancy wax paper or intricately printed cardboard boxes is irresistible to me. The best ones are made by Classico & Fantasia, by Claus Porto, which include 100% Pistachio Butter and come wrapped in archival prints and engraving from the brand’s archive, dating back to the turn of the century.
Claus Porto came out of the first fragrance and soap factory in Portugal in 1887 and went strong until the 1950s, when costs of producing hand painted lithographic labels and competition with multinational companies took a toll. Luckily, the brand experienced a resurgence in the mid-1990s. Scents include Wild Pansy, Tobacco Blossom, Sea Mist, Tulip and Violet. Since $62.50 is a lot of money for five mini bars of soap (even classy soap) I spread them out among the dresser drawers I keep my unmentionables in, lest my hard-earned cash go down the drain.
