Shea Butter Lotion Fruit Slices / Goats Milk Glycerin Soap Orange Sherbet

When you unwrap a package made, wrapped, and tied by another person’s hands, it’s immediately evident. It might be a splatter of color where there wasn’t one intended, or a crooked label, a smudge. But whatever the indication, it has always given me a moment’s pause and endeared me in a special way to whatever it is I’m holding. So it was with Norma’s Bath and Body Products—a sense of the person who’d put something of herself into making the thing I was about to enjoy. You just don’t get that fuzzy feeling in the health and beauty section of your local chain drug store!

The Orange Sherbet Goats Milk Glycerin Soap was instantly appealing with its peachy orange color and smooth texture. I resisted my generations-old instinct when confronted with nice bath products, to set it unmarked and perfect in a bowl with some potpourri or decorative stones. I reminded myself I had a job to do and not to worry—I could order more! Unwrapped and sitting out on my desk, waiting to get lathered up for the first time, this little bar got my attention with a subtly persistent fruity scent, fresh and light and not at all overpowering or irritating to my allergen-sensitive nose.

The package promised a “creamy and high lathering goats milk glycerin soap” that would both soften and moisturize. I, no stranger to the wares of a farmer’s market or craft fair soap stand, was skeptical. The glycerin soaps I’ve tried have been low to nonexistent on suds and thin in texture, leaving my skin neither moisturized nor particularly clean. The Orange Sherbet soap knocked all contenders out of the ring. Bubbly and rich, it smoothed out my skin but washed off without any filmy residue. The scent was light and pretty, not lingering for long, just long enough to make you come back for more.

The Fruit Slices Shea Butter Lotion punched up the color and scent factors of its demure companion Orange Sherbet. Bright notes of citrus came bursting out of the lemon yellow lotion, one of those good smells that give you a little mind-freshening kick when you need it, a fresh-squeezed smell. The lotion itself had the look and texture of a thick acrylic paint, and rubbed onto my skin in a thin yellow layer. It turned colorless after a few swipes with my fingers and left behind the faintest bit of shimmer. My skin felt soft but not greasy, and the lotion absorbed quickly enough to resume daily activities without leaving fruity smudges on everything I touched.

Norma’s Bath and Body Products scored high with me, with bonus points for being homemade, and extra super bonus points for working just as well, if not better, than a major manufacturer’s product. A sweep of Norma’s online store inventory was delightful, chock full of soap creations: cupcakes, fudgesicles, Pop Tarts, as well as plenty of options for those with a less demanding sweet tooth. These handcrafted soaps and lotions are as whimsical and cute as they are functional, and gave me plenty of fun and frugal gift ideas.

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