Things I Love Thursday: Consonant soaps and a contest!

Over at The Diaper Diaries, it’s time for Jill’s weekly “Things I Love Thursday” blog carnival. A couple of months ago I did my TILT (Things I Love Thursday) posting and held a contest to give away what I loved. It was a success, so I did it again, this time using a huge messenger bag from Teletoon, stuffed with Teletoon-themed DVDs, books, travel mug, school supplies, and the winner is HenniPenni! You can read all about this uber-cool great-grandmother who loves the Simpsons in this post. And I’ll be doing a giveaway on the fabulous line I’m talking about today!

While I am the first person to scoff at hokey ad come-ons, “Change your TV, change your life,” and the way they drill concepts into the brains of our kids (and us!), I am a sucker for well-written, clever copy. Hence my very first impression of Consonant Body Organic Skincare’s body soap. I picked up the box, turned it over in my hand and read:

“Well look at you, you unapologetically discerning shopper. you. Holding this bar of organic body soap just inches from your meticulously groomed face. Examining every last detail. Ensuring it contains the finest quality natural ingredients. Wondering whether it’s safe for all skin types and hoping you are right for such a great product.

“Well, it does. And it is. And you are.”

Obviously this has to be a superior soap, because it has superior copy! How clever, how tongue-in-cheek, how presumptuous! I loved it before I even opened the box, which, when I did, let escape a wonderful “eat me, chew, me, spread me on your skin” fragrance of spearmint and sage. Folded carefully into the box was a slice of loofah, all the better to exfoliate, and a bonus since I had no idea it would be there.

I received three soaps, and have tried all three. Warm, gentle and rich describe them. The scents are subtle, and even the exfoliating soaps feel soft and gentle. The slogan for Consonant Body is “What goes on your body goes in your body,” and so only the puest and fewest ingredients are used. The president of the company, Bill Baker, says “Our bodies can’t process all the chemicals we absorb. They are ‘persistent bio-cumulative,’ and as they build in our bodies they are irritating at best; toxic and dangerous at worst.” Consonant Body products have no parabens, sodium lauryl sulfate, sodium laureth sulfate, artificial colours, dyes or synthetic fragrances—all those things you usually see on the shampoo bottle if you can focus your eyes in the shower.

I have tried the body wash and the body moisturizer too—both are amazing—but I’m stuck on the soaps for now. These are the types:

• clove (organic vanilla, buttermilk and clove oil)
• goat’s milk (organic vanilla and goat’s milk)
• goat’s milk and hemp (organic oatmeal, shredded hemp and goat’s milk)
• olive oil (organic beeswax, spring water and glycerin)
• spearmint and sage (organic citrus oil, spearmint and sage)
• spearmint and sage with exfoliating sage (hominy grits, dillweed, polenta, oatbran, spearmint and sage)

This company is Canadian (yay!), and just starting out, with plans to expand its line of soaps, body washes and body lotions to products for the face (double yay!).

And the best news for you: Consonant Body Organic Skincare is providing me with a giveaway of items from the Pure collection, perfect for babies, children, pregnant women and anyone with sensitive skin or a sensitive nose, because this line has no added colours or scents, organic or otherwise.

The giveaway consists of a full-size Pure Unscented Body Wash, Pure Unscented Body Lotion and the Organic Olive Oil Pure Unscented Soap. And all you need to do is answer one of my questions (or more, if you’d like).

QUESTIONS FOR YOU: on a scale of 1 (not important at all) to 10 (vitally important), how imortant is organic purity in what you put on your body? How important is organic purity in what you put on your face? How important is organic purity in what you put IN your body? Would you buy a skin care product from the internet after researching it and finding good reviews? Or would you have to be able to try it, or at least examine it, in store before buying? And last, but not least, who would you buy a $12 bar of organic soap for: yourself? your partner? your teen? your grade-schooler? your baby?

That’s it! Post an answer and maybe you’ll be loving your skin with Consonant Body products. Contest closes January 30th, so spread the word, get your mum to enter, your sister, your friend—just decide ahead of time if you’re sharing!

You can buy all the Consonant products online from Consonant Body, or in Toronto at Delineation, Lileo, Outer Layer and Pir Cosmetics.

Good luck!

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