FASHION Magazine

Strange textures and multiple steps may be what define Korean beauty these days, but it’s the culture’s bathhouse rituals and the minimalism of a soap-and-water routine that inspired Karen Kim when she was creating her sculptural soap line Binu Binu. “I just think there’s something really beautiful about a bar of soap,” says Kim, who […]

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Question of the day: Do you prefer bar or liquid soap? While both effectively wash dirt, bacteria and oil off your skin, bar soap is the reigning champion when it comes to being more environmentally friendly, concentrated and generally cheaper in price. Why else are bar soaps oh so good? They are typically made with […]

The post How to find the best bar soap (yup, you read that right) for your skin type appeared first on FASHION Magazine.

A photo posted by Fresh Beauty (@freshbeauty) on Feb 2, 2015 at 1:31pm PST Well, this is delightful. Fresh, the brand that makes the cult favourite lip balms that everyone’s obsessed with, has teamed up with Susan Miller (a person everyone is also obsessed with) to create a limited edition line of zodiac sign soaps. […]

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When you think of luxury items, certain things come to mind: cars, jewellery, handbags…soap? This holiday, you could give the gift of Clé de Peau Synactif soap for a cool $100 or, if your budget is more modest, a $28 Chanel No 5-scented bar. These prices put bar soap squarely in the realm of objet—clearly not Dial territory. But it brings up the question: Who even uses bar soap anymore? Nearly 70 per cent of Canadians don’t, according to market research, and that number is growing. Body wash has become our cleanser of choice.

When and how did this humble workhorse fall so far out of favour? It’s certainly come a long way from its noxious past. Soap recipe, circa 1600s: Throw some animal fat, lye and ash into a big pot, boil, let it harden, carve off a chunk, and enjoy your quarterly bath. It wasn’t until the 1800s that it was sold at stores. “The soap manufacturers of that era were the first really lavish advertisers,” says Lori Loeb, a professor of history at the University of Toronto. “They marketed soap as a luxury product.”

The real shift in bathing was the notion that everybody should do it regularly. “By the 1840s, public health advocates were saying that people should have a bath at least once a week,” Loeb says. “The idea that we should bathe every day, and especially the idea that we should take a shower, is a product of the 1950s and 1960s and the affluence after World War II. Showering is very new.” Cut to 1992, when low-flow showerhead regulations were introduced in the U.S., which drastically lowered water usage and bills for most households.

From perfume and mascara to sunscreen and shampoo, we reveal your favourite beauty products. Plus, after a decade of divulging what you can’t live without, we introduce FASHION’s Beauty Hall of Fame to pay special tribute to your most-loved products from the past 10 years.

See all the winners »

Our picks for those who appreciate a bit of luxe this time of year.

View the gifts now »

With four weddings on my summer schedule, I’m checking bathroom linens off every registry and tossing in cheeky, Vancouver-made Grandiose Lab soaps. Nothing says “Till death do us part” like an all-natural, grapefruit-scented skull ($16, $38 with coffin) or a set of teeth ($7).

In its early days, Lush couldn’t afford bottles for its shampoos, so it made a hard copy of its hair wash that didn’t need a vessel. The brand’s latest compact offering, Tiny Hands Solid Serum ($6, lush.ca), features a skin-softening trifecta—shea butter, aloe and argan oil. We were skeptical, but when we rubbed the bar between our palms, it totally worked.

You spilled the contents of your makeup bag and medicine cabinet to divulge your obsessions. Check out the winning polishes, products and beauty must-haves as chosen by you.

Illustrations by Coco, cocopit.biz

See all the winners! »

If the phrase “guest soaps” conjures up an image of hard pastel roses and seashells collecting dust in the loo, these fruit-coloured (and scented) cuties from Joe Fresh Beauty ($2 each, joe.ca) will provide a fresh alternative.

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I’m not one to get fanatical over a bar of soap; I generally prefer body wash to avoid the goopy mess that collects in my soap dish. But I tried these Harnn & Thann rice grain soaps ($9 each, thann.ca) and fell instantly in love. Besides being all natural–rice bran oil is the main ingredient–there […]

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I’m not always the most original hostess gift-giver (a nice bottle of ice wine or champagne is almost always my fallback), but this season, I’m going to have these gift sets from Beautymark (beautymark.ca) ready to go instead. The Fresh Hesperides Collection set of body lotion and soap ($40) looks classy and appears more expensive […]

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