If you love rich, woodsy scents, here's your new shower buddy: Indigo Wild Cedar Zum Bar ($4). Don't let its tough-guy exterior fool you, though. Behind the swirls of the black and white bar exist skin-softening olive, palm, and coconut oils. There's also goat's milk in the formulation, which is neither too alkaline or acidic, playing nicely with the natural pH balance of skin. And speaking of Read more

Unless a trip to Rio is in your future, good luck tracking down Phebo soaps and candles. Founded in the 1930s, Phebo is one of Brazil's most venerable perfumery brands — and as well-known as the line is in South America, it's extremely hard to find in the States. That's all about to change, as Macy's begins to stock a variety of Phebo bath and body products this month. Three hundred stores Read more

If you've never heard of black soap, get ready: this stuff is about to have its moment in the sun. Made from ashes (specifically those of plantains, palms, and/or cocoa pods) mixed with shea butter or another natural skin hydrator, black soap is one of West Africa's best-known skin treatments. It has hydrating, antimicrobial, and cleansing properties, and having used it, we can aver that it's a Read more

If you've got a mold and some willpower, you can make soap look like anything you want, so it follows that these pistol-shaped soaps ($4 for two) recently appeared on Etsy. Their creator definitely gets kudos for creativity, and the red and blue shades are unrealistic enough to be nonthreatening, but life-size soap that looks like an actual gun could be another thing altogether. The shop owner Read more

Besides pumpkin ale and other spiced boozes, seasonally scented soaps are the perfect hostess gift to give, like these adorable, handmade sugar skull soaps ($9 each). Perfumed by the folks at Black Phoenix Alchemy Lab, these cute cleansers include a blend of five sugars along with a hint of candied fruits. But if you're looking for something with less of a playful design, go with the brand's Read more

Sharks may induce fright among some people, but they're an essential part of the balance of marine life. Unfortunately, tens of millions of sharks are killed each year for their oil, cartilage, and fins (the latter is often used to make shark fin soup). It's a rough practice: after being captured and de-finned, sharks are tossed back into the water only to eventually suffocate, bleed to death, or Read more

I came to an odd realization this morning: I love soap, but I never actually use it on my body. When I get a fancy bar, in fact, I recoil at the suggestion that I would ever actually put it in the shower. It's not that I'm a soap hoarder, or even that I have a problem with using soap to clean yourself up. To see what actually makes my soap usage out of the ordinary, just keep reading. Read more

Spring has sprung, and with it comes that most delectable of seasonal confections, the Peeps bunny. As a vegan, I'm not inclined to eat the real thing, but these Peep soaps ($12) make a nice substitute. They're hand painted, covered in sparkles, and come in three Peeps-accurate colors. An adorable way to be nostalgic without actually consuming a ton of gelatin and high fructose corn syrup Read more