Rainy Day Soap

Scents: Peppermint, Orange, Anise, & Clove

Features: Coconut milk and cocoa butter for slip and creamy skin feel

Originally titled "Blame it on Lorraine" soap, this product and painting is an homage to my dear little sister. The mischief and talent that she corrals inspires great creativity in all she meets. 

Lorraine never liked it, but as a child I would sing: "blame it on Lorraine" and not "blame it on the rain" as the Milli Vanilli song suggested. Her non-verbal response looked of a cabbage patch kid who had been played with too hard and had had enough. Eyes would slit, brow would furrow, lower lip protrude, fists stuck under each armpit in a cross of arms.

"Stop it" through tight lips and teeth, she would warn. I would (and probably still do) get caught up in the thrill of feeling clever. Of word play, of rhyme, and of feeling the importance in the shift of meaning with simple sound alterations. I would keep going. Not even knowing what we were blaming. Maybe the barkdust in my shoe, maybe the friction burn on my leg from the metal slide. Lorraine was always to blame.

To this day she dislikes the reference, the simple 80's pop ballad that formed the butt of her torment. Of course she dislikes it. But to me it is a symbol of youthful reminiscence, of playful jeers, and anise, and puddles of oregon rain. Lorraine will always be my little, and I her middle, and this soap is but one small reminder.

The grayish-blue and white colors in the soap are the Oregon sky or the ocean waves on a cloudy day. 

As children, our mother insisted on an all-natural anise-flavored toothpaste in a metal tube--environmental and health consciousness was her bag. Thus the hint of anise in this soap is reminiscent of reluctant bedtime routines. The anise is rounded out by clove, peppermint, and orange for a truly decadent combination of aromas - one of my favorites to date.

Ingredients: Olive oil, sunflower oil, coconut oil, and castor oil; cocoa butter. Additives include white kaolin clay, and coconut milk. Colored with indigo.

Weight: 4.7 oz

Label art credit: Sally Lavin, Newport, Oregon