Issue 08 – Bar Soap

Starting the new year with a clean slate, literally

Unbox Inbox is a weekly newsletter packed with packaging inspiration and observations

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A Bar Soap Deep Dive

Hey friends! Hope you’re feeling in the 2024 groove this week. I love using the new year (and birthdays) as a time to take stock of things, reflect, and center myself in a realistic and kind way. I say kind because it’s easy to guilt your way into new behaviors, and that’s a sure-fire way for them not to stick. We all know by now the whole “new year, new me” thing is just a marketing strategy, and doing the work to be our best selves is a year (and life) long practice. All to say, when I thought about what to focus on in this first issue of the new year, my first thought was “health!” Should I go down the supplement rabbit hole? Functional beverages? Something related to clean eating? And then I caught myself getting sucked into that whole toxic mindset and thought nah, I’ll focus on something else that feels clean and like a “fresh start” to me. So that’s how we got to saop. Bar soap specifically. There’s no shortage of goodness in this category, and I have a feeling we’re going to be seeing more and more of it as it’s far more sustainable than shipping around the pre-watered stuff packaged in plastic. Let’s get to it.

1. Bar soap for the person who sets a reading challenge on Goodreads

Can you tell I’m running short on ways to describe people who love words and/or type? Soap equals clean so it makes sense a lot of folks go for minimalist, clean design here. Have you ever read every word on a bottle in your shower while you wait for your conditioner to do its thing, or because you simply aren’t ready for the post-shower shock of cold that comes with this time of year? There’s so much room for brands to have fun with type on packaging in places where we don’t have our phones to occupy us.

Penny Frances Apothecary, Corpus, Wonder Valley, Malin + Goetz, Maison Frances Kurkdjian, Mirlo, Dr. Bronner’s, Rudy’s, Clean O2, Nudy Rudy (Rudy is a popular in soap)

2. Bar soap for person who would be thrilled to receive a cute bar of soap as a gift

As a child I remember being baffled by how my grandma could have so many scented candles and fancy bars of soap in her house, and now I…get it. You’re [hopefully] washing your hands many times throughout the day, so why not make an otherwise mundane task a little special if you can? Everything in this category feels like something I’d take home from a trip to Paris as a gift to whoever watched my dog while I was gone. I am especially smitten with Archivist’s designs, which to me hit that perfect crossover of slightly vintage with a modern sensibility.

Archivist, Saipua, Savon Stories, Santa Maria Novella

3. Bar soap for the person who appreciates when things are black and white

Whether you buy into astrology or not, you can’t argue that the copy on the Horosoaps boxes isn’t enjoyable (I should get over it). One day I’ll do an issue on copy as it relates to packaging, which I think at times can do more than design can. But I digress. I think what the creators of these bar soap boxes know is that when people think soap they think clean, and there’s nothing wrong with the packaging reflecting that. This is just soap after all, and hopefully this is something you’ll be buying over and over again, so nothing needs to be *too* precious.

Horosoaps, Aesop, Mater, Not A Bar, Alder, Humanrace, Megababe, The Soap and the Sea, OffCourt

4. Bar soap for the person who keeps the plastic on their new iPhone screen for a week

Who, me? I’ve certainly never done that…(not recently at least). You get my point, similar to category #2 up above, these are gift-able, slightly too-pretty-to-open, albeit with more of a Shoppy Shop vs. Crabtree & Evelyn vibe. The Le Baigneur bars are largely responsible for this issue’s existence, as they’ve been living rent-free in my head since I first spotted them at The Quiet Botanist in Hudson, NY in 2020. I love how those in particular feel equally masculine and feminine, in a category that otherwise goes much harder towards the feminine.

Topettes, Nopalera, Arômelle, Cow Brand, Le Baigneur, Meow Meow Tweet

5. Bar soap for the person who loves funky shapes and colors

I don’t know how to describe these other than fun. For some of them, that extends beyond the box and to the bar. Who knew a bar of soap could be such a vessel for creative expression? Wary Myers is leading the pack in that regard by collabing with many other creatives. I also love the names behind some of Soapy Faith’s bars: joy ride, morning cereal, peace of mine (not to mention those die cut windows that showcase the beautiful bars).

Foekje Fleur, Bathing Culture, Way Myers, Cleo + Coco, Soapy Faith, Ursa Major

Time Travel Time

Can you imagine there being only eight skincare brands vying for your attention and money, and they all only had one product? I’m sure it wasn’t quite that simple, but I got the sense combing through old issues of LIFE that many women’s skincare routines consisted of washing their face. And maybe moisturizing. Simpler times. But let this be a reminder that 10 step skin care routines are just a way for brands to make 10x more money off of you. I have to relearn this lesson myself every few years. Ok rant over. Please enjoy these soap bar designs and ads from the days before “glow” was synonymous with faces.

If you, like me, are now compelled to google “toilet soap,” I’ll save you 2 seconds. Look here.

All this time I’ve been collecting matchbooks from restaurants and hotels when I could’ve been collecting branded bars of soap (image via etsy).

Chatterbox

This week we’re sitting down with Lucy Litman, a Brand Marketing Consultant focused on helping early to mid-stage companies. Lucy and I met when we were both new to SF nine (!!) years ago and have remained close over a shared love of Erewhon and F1, among other things. Lucy is one of the most creative, generous and well-dressed people I know, and I’m sure you’ll discover something new through her answers below. You should also definitely hire her. Reach out at hi.lucyandyou@gmail.com)!

What are 3-5 items that are always stocked in your home?

• Aman Bath Salts: I take a bath every day and these are so luxurious and something I use after an especially hard day.

• Staff Lint Roller: My hair sheds a lot and I'm a messy eater so feel like I always am getting crumbs all over my clothes. This lint roller is the cutest one I've ever seen.

• YuzuCo Juice: I love sour things and find that I use this more than most things in my pantry. I mix it with sparkling water for a refreshing drink, and cook with it a lot.

• Fatty15: The first supplement I've tried that I fully believe in and know it works.

• Merit Signature Lip Lightweight Lipstick

Why are you loyal to those brands or products?

Some of them just bring me joy (like the bath salts) and some of them are products that I've tried a bunch of brands to determine which one is the right fit for me (like the lipstick). I always have lipstick near me during the day when I have lots of zoom calls if I need something bright to make myself look more alive, and I found that the Merit one stayed in place the best and gave me just enough color without it looking like I was going out to the club after my calls.

What was the last thing you bought because it stood out to you on the shelf?

Castillo De Canena smoked olive oil. I love olive oil and have a small collection of it at home, and this bottle stood out to me because the bright matte turquoise wasn't a color I'd seen on an olive oil product before. I also was curious about smoked olive oil.

What was the last thing you bought because someone you know recommended it?

Comme Si Socks. I wanted a fun pair of colored socks to wear with loafers and asked around and got this recommendation. They're great and come in all sorts of fabrics, lengths and colors.

What was the last thing you bought because of an algorithm? 

A Pucci skirt. I'm not really compelled to buy a product that gets served to me that I've never heard of before, but the retargeting ads that continually show me items I've previously looked at always work on me. Especially when they say “only one item left.” I will click the buy button so quickly.

Favorite place to shop irl?

The Saint Ouen flea market in Paris. I'm less excited about shopping IRL these days because most of what I see in person, I've seen online, but I get excited walking into a vintage store because you never know what you're going to find so it feels like treasure hunting.

Favorite place to shop online?

Houses and Parties. In my mind I have an apartment that's actually big enough to host...but I love the curation on houses and parties. So many things you just don't see anywhere else that bring joy.

Someone is visiting where you live for a day, what are 3 musts?

Yo Tambien Cantina for a rice bowl or tamale, Bar Iris for a cocktail, and the Spruce bar for a glass of wine and a burger.

Thank you Lucy!

Packing Peanuts

(Those loose leftover pieces at the bottom of the box)

An easy-to-use-at-home soap kit where your breast milk is a main ingredient (it’s chock full of nutrients, antibodies and other antiviral agents). A bar of soap that doubles as a massage tool. It sold out, but I will never be over this mortadella soap my friend made in collaboration with Wary Myers. An adorable tiny travel cork case to hold your tiny french soap. No issue would be complete without some food-centric things: lemon shaped soap, a box of soap that reminds me of a sleeve of french macarons, and watermelon, crumpet and pizza shaped sponges. The most thoughtfully and sustainably designed soap dish I’ve ever seen (you can grate bars of soap to create soapy water!). Crystal bar soap for the woowoo in you. “It worked fine; it was fast; it was economical.” And soap it goes.

If you made it this far, thanks for reading, I love you. If you’re feeling generous or inspired, please forward this newsletter to a friend and encourage them to subscribe too <3

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