[A gift pack of all-natural, handcrafted soaps, body butters and lip balm for you–and YOU choose the soaps you want!]
I’m really excited to be sharing this giveaway with you all today! As a rule, the giveaways on this blog have tended to involve food of one sort or another. In fact, even though today’s giveaway is a gift pack of beautiful soaps, body butters and lip balms, they’re all made with real food ingredients. So, you could almost eat them (almost).
I first tried out Bell Soaps nearly a year ago, when Karen Bell, the owner and relative of a friend, dropped by to deliver a sample pack. I had actually contacted Karen first and asked if I could try them, since I knew that she used all-natural organic ingredients. I also knew that each and every bar of soap was lovingly handcrafted by Karen herself, right here in Ontario. Plus, almost every type was also 100% vegan! Well, how could I resist, when I already have a penchant for highlighting local, Canadian, and “green” companies (not to mention very delicate and dry skin)?
The company’s slogan is “Treat your skin the way nature intended!” and after reading Karen’s story, I can see how that’s entirely true with these soaps.
[Gorgeous stack of Bell Soap. You can see from the slightly irregular edges that each bar has been individually hand-cut.]
I’ll let you read the entire history of the company here, but in a nutshell, Karen (who was already an environmentally conscious consumer) fell in love with soap making after looking for a way to create something from real ingredients. She realized how many artificial ingredients and chemicals were in most body products, and decided to make something better. What started out as a hobby and a project to create gifts for family and friends quickly evolved into a sustainable business.
But what are the products like? Honestly, I was crazy about these soaps (but I guess you knew that–otherwise I wouldn’t be writing about them on this blog!). In fact, I hadn’t realized how spoiled I was as I worked my way through the different varieties that Karen had supplied until I finished the last bar and moved back to my previous “all natural” brand. The old soap suddenly felt almost as if it were leaving a tacky residue on my skin! They’re also available in customized varieties for each skin type so you can be sure that the soap you use is the right one for you. I absolutely adored the Avocado soap, the Carrot Complexion bar, the Himalayan Pink Salt bar and the Coffee Scrub (for getting out blueberry stains under my nails!)–but really, they are all wonderful.
I also loved the fact that the soaps contain only natural colorants as well–NO dyes or artificial anything. In other words, the Carrot Complexion Bar is orange because of turmeric, the Pink Himalayan Salt Bar is pink because of madder root, the Coffee Bar is earthy because of cocoa powder and ground coffee beans (a great exfoliant, as Karen explains), the Calendula Soap contains calendula petals, and so on. Check out the entire list of ingredients in the products here.
The body butters are made from pure shea butter and cocoa butter (and what a glorious scent they confer! Just like raw cacao butter. . . oh, right, because that’s what it’s made of!).ย I should note that they are not like your standard store-bought lotions that disappear instantly into the skin, leaving a heavy scent. These go on like butter (literally), and are absorbed as you rub them in. They leave your skin feeling soft and smooth, with a light sheen (they are made of natural oil, after all). So, while I wouldn’t use the shea butter or cocoa butter on my face, they are the perfect body moisturizer after a shower or at night.
And now. . . . THE GIVEAWAY!
One RH reader will receive a full pack of EIGHT Organic Bell Bar Soaps, TWO Organic Body Butters, and TWO Organic Lip Balms. The winner can choose which eight varieties s/he wishes to have.
And guess what? Karen has generously offered to send this prize ANYWHERE, worldwide!! Wahoo!!
Just use the Rafflecopter form below to enter. You will need to leave a comment below as part of the first entry. Answer the question in the form (once you click on “leave a comment”) in your comment.
The giveaway will close at midnight my time (EST) on Sunday, October 27, 2013. I’ll announce the winner on this page.
Good luck, everyone!
[Disclaimer: this post may contain affiliate links. If you buy using these links, at no cost to you, I will earn a small commission from the sale.]
Hmmm i wish i could smell of freshly baked bread fresh from the shower! ๐ otherwise rosewood and cedarwood… They’re so delicate yet intense and warm.
Chestnut.
Lavenders everywhere!! ๐
I’ve always like herb-y scents for soap like basil or mint. They smell so fresh and clean without being sweet or flowery.
Licorice is always my favorite soap smell.
I love natural products. Chocolate scented sounds good to me.
I love a plain, natural, unscented soap.
Vetiver or coriander, this brand sounds lovely. I have many sensitives, and strive to use natural products.
The chocolate scent sounds delicious!
Coffee! I don’t usually drink it, but I love the smell!
White Eden Meiviolinsar PPAF. I know this sounds strange but it is the scent of my favorite rose.
Citrus and Lavender!!!
I’d love a (lightly scented) rose soap!
lavender and mint!
Ylang Ylang–I love the smell and cannot easily find it
These sound amazing!
I always gravitate to vanilla scents
What a great giveaway!
Fingers crossed!
Lavender always makes me feel very relaxed. Although, vanilla is universally lovely! Hard to choose!
Nice! A cinnamon bar would be nice. ๐
I would enjoy green tea soap.
I think hazelnut and chocolate would be amazing in a soap, like homemade nutella! ๐
So excited I can enter this giveaway, I live in Australia – thank you! ๐
Ylang-Ylang and Rose. Heaven.
My favorite scents for soaps are peppermint and citrus, but I would love a soap that smelled like chocolate, too!
coconut or cucumber-mint!
I love spicy scents, so something with cinnamon and ginger!
I love the scent of grapefruit!
Every time I came across a product that was scented with a mix of lavender and a citrus (neroli, orange, lemon,…), it was instant love. So I guess I could always take more of that lovely combo!
I would love to try a ginger-lemon scent, and avocado sounds simply amazing!
I would love something that smells like a walk in the forest. With balsam and fir and other woodsy notes.
Strawberry and grapefruit would be great!
I will have to jump on the lavender bandwagon for this one! Having spent some time in Provence, the scent of the flower takes me right back to the majestic purple fields, Mediterranean sunlight, and blue skies and seas! I often carry lavender oil with me just so I can waft the scent when I’m in need of relaxation, heh. If I had to choose another soap…I also love jasmine!
great giveaway! the soap looks so nice and smooth to use on sensitive skin
oops sorry forgot to include my scent.I think ocean and coconut mixed together would be an amazing fragrance
I love the smell of freshly ground coffee beans.
I like natural and less fragrant (since my skin is sensitive) – so oatmeal and honey
An almond scent would be lovely!
These look so lovely- I feel like I have the world’s most sensitive skin sometimes…
I am crazy about the scent of almonds, definitely perfect for soap.
Pine
I love natural cosmetic products, these look and sound amazing.
I like lavender, coconut and vanilla.
I’m a flower power person so lavender, honeysuckle and magnolia are what come to mind but not how commercial soaps go about it….I want someone to catch the level of fragrance that one gets when the wind blows by :O)
Following both your twitter and Pinterest pages….Make a note that you put rickheller instead of rickiheller for the pinterest page, anyone else please remember to put the i in so you can like the correct page.
These soaps, butters and balms look amazing! Thanks for doing this giveaway!
I love soaps with oatmeal and/or ginger!
Lemon and vanilla are my favourite scents.
This time of year anything with cinnamon or apple!
Too many choices – I love the idea of coffee though!
I adore lavender soaps, and I love when they have coarse ingredients to exfoliate–sugar, salt, coffee, whatever!!
I’m very curious about the carrot complexion bar and avocado soap.
I’m always on the lookout for natural, gentle soaps. I think almond or honeysuckle would smell heavenly!
Wow, so generous of Karen to open this up to people across the Atlantic! ๐ Hmm I’d love a really juicy fresh strawberries scented soap – maybe even strawberry and mint as a combination!
Since I have such a problem with scents, whether natural or not, I would really prefer to have something unscented or very mild
Lavender is my favourite.
I am ALL about maple, so maple anything would blow me away. That said, my hippie-dom shows when I express my adoration of patchouli… ๐
I love natural products. I have just started attempting to make my own aromatic lotion mixes but I haven’t ventured into soap. I would love to try this product!!!
I like very light or no scent. Almond is one of my fave scents.
oooh maple syrup for sure. And anything cinnamon gets my vote ๐ These products look and sound divine and being in Australia I’m thrilled the giveaway is open to everyone!
honey or lavender
Lavender is always my favorite scent!
Love the Pink Salt!!
This may sound funny, but chocolate/cocoa is a fun thing to add to soap as a scent. A friend of mine makes he own soaps and once she made a chocolate scented one, she gave a bar to my 11 year old son and he absolutely loved it, it was a cool scent and great soap to take a bath with!
Ana
Grapefruit is a really invigorating scent.
I love citrus scents, like grapefruit!
To win soap and lip balms how awesome! I love woodsy smells like sandalwood and patchouli.
Coffee and Lavender sound so good to me!
I would love to try out this natural soaps!
I love lavender! ๐
Coconut and musk
I like spicy scents, something with cinnamon, clove, ginger and cardamom would be perfect!
I love fresh floral scents. Freesia or roses or anything with a sweet smell.
I love natural products and Rose is my favorite scent!!
Fresh orange blossoms on a warm spring night!
Lavender, I love the smell.
I think a coconut vanilla would be fab!
Thanks for introducing me to Bell soaps! I’m always looking for natural and Canadian products and these soaps sound amazing. Vanilla would be my favourite scent.
I love herbal scents. I’d like to have some soap with basil,rosemary, & lemon.
baby powder scent!
I love the thought of natural cleansers on your skin. Thanks for getting her product out there!
My favorite is lime and basil!
I’m following you on twitter. see the RC box for deets!
I’m following you on Pinterest. See the RC box for the deets!
Lavender for me. And the coffee sounds good, too. I’d love to try more formulations.
Lavender is my favorite scent. I love vanilla and coconut, too. Thanks for the opportunity to win these!
Hi Ricki,
Oh my goodness I love natural soaps, especially ones with coconut oil and a coconut scent! I’m on my way over to check out Karen Bell’s site ๐
Laureen
I love the smell of cinnamon! I would love to wake up every morning to the scent of cinnamon.
I’m a BIG fan of lavender and I would love to see it in a soap, although it is pretty common. A more unique scent would be lily of the valley or lilac, those are my favorite flowers.
I love sandalwood!!!
wow that such a great gift, love hand made organic soap.
Cookies would make a fun soap smell.
I love rose…I know that is a pretty common scent in soaps/lotion etc., but I really do love it!
Courtney
I’m sensitive to many scents, but I always like vanilla and it doesn’t bother me, so thats what I’d like.
I love the smell of Baileyยดs ๐ great giveaway!
What a wonderful giveaway! I would love try a soap made with coffee or chocolate , or both!
Call me old-fashioned, but I love lavender.
My all time favourite has to be coconut. It’s such a ‘soft’ scent – not too overpowering.
Well I’m torn between, ginger and peach and coconut and coffee. I LOVE natural soaps and it would be awesome to win these.
Rosemary or peaches and cream or fresh apple! Thanks for the giveaway!
I would like to see an unscented soap.
I love citrus scents to wake up the senses and lavender to relax. I also love fruit smells such as starfruit and passion fruit.
Maple Bacon Pecan? What do you think about that? ๐ Thanks for the opportunity to be part of this contest! I’d love to try those body butters! Just not sure I’d want to smell like maple bacon pecan – but I think my husband might!
Gardenia!
I would love a lilac scent.
I love the fresh clean scent of baby powder, it doesn’t get much fresher and cleaner to me’
This is a wonderful giveaway, thank you! I guess I love anything vanilla ๐ I also love the smell of cocoa butter, though… ๐
Cardamom – sweet and spicy all at the same time.
Almond cake – so warm and sweet smelling
Cranberry and apples.
Maybe Pina Colada or something citrus? Love those scents ๐
We drink wheat grass shots and green smoothies…why not a green-smelling soap?
a herbal mint blend sounds nice to me…like basil mint or rosemary mint
Pine trees
These soaps look wonderful! I love that they are made with all natural ingredients with nothing artificial. Would love to try these and maybe give some as gifts.
The scent I would like is mint or lavendar. Always so relaxing.
Chocolate & coffee sound like the ultimate exfoliate to me too! I have Celiac, and am always looking for all natural, and support the “home” business. Fingers and toes are crossed!!
I love all things citrus, earl grey with double bergamont…the scent is glorious!
Coffee would be awesome in the morning. Smelling coffee from my shower to my cup!
tough choice! i love coconut…but i think cinnamon would be a great, warming scent for the winter!
Chai tea!
Mmmm, I think that apple pie scent would be divine…..warm apples, with a hint of sugary pastry and cinnamon ๐
These products sound so yummy. Now that it’s cold in Chicago, my hands are starting to get so dry. I would love a ginger scent. Thanks for the chance to win!
Vanilla with sandlewood!
I would love a rose scented one. I remember an old family friend would wear a rose/cedar oil that always smelled antique and I adored it!
I love the smell of patchouli. It’s my fave!!!
I only buy all natural soaps, so I would put these soaps to good use. I make my own homemade lotion, but always enjoy trying new all-natural products. My skin gets so dry this time of year. I will give my daughter one of the chap sticks and keep one for myself.
I love the smell of lilacs and think that would be a fun soap scent.
I love vanillia!
These look amazing! I love lemongrass scented soaps; so fresh and refreshing!
i love peach mango smells!
I love raspberry scent ๐
gardenia or baby powder
I would love to have a pumpkin-scented soap.
Imagine you could smell like a gingerbread cookie, freshly baked apple pie or salted caramel all day! Yum! This is so hard. I love the classics like rose and sandalwood also. Luckily there are 8 up for grabs!
I love citrus smells or anything light and refreshing!
Patchouli is my fav but love the sage smell,too
Lavender would be a lovely scent!
I love soaps that incorporate frankincense.
What an awesome giveaway Ricki!
Happy to support a local great company ๐
I would love to try the calendula soap ๐
xox ella
Chocolate Mint or Pumpkin Pie :)!
I love tea-scented soaps- bergamot/ earl grey is my absolute favorite!
The cocoa butter one sounds delicious! I love warmly scented soaps – they are so comforting and smell delicious!
I’m obsessed with anything lemongrass, and I’d love someone to make a soap using COCONUT oil. Combine that with pineapple or banana? Yes, please!
Oooh, I’d definitely go for a lemon, poppyseed and sage one! That would be divine (*goes into kitchen and promptly bakes sage-infused lemon muffins with a sprinkling of poppyseeds*)
Lavender for evening use, but lemon/citrus in the mornings
Cinnamon buns baking!
Coconut, rose, gardenia, i love them all ! Thank you for hosting this giveaway! Hugs, Bianca.
Gourmet blend!
So excited, thank you for this opportunity!!!
I really like the combination of coconut lime! Thanks for the great giveaway!
Wow! they all sound amazing
WOw! Love this! I actually could really use some new soap! ๐
I would love to see a balanced lavender and lemongrass soap!
Thanks for the great giveaway!
I follow you on Twitter as @karmakaytlyn1.
Thanks again!
I follow on Pinterest (organicallyou)
I would love lavender, lemongrass, or vanilla bean!
I love the scent of orange. ๐
Strawberry…