Review and Giveaway: Great Cakes Soapworks (US only)

I'll be honest; I love supporting home based businesses. It's an added bonus if they are faith based too! I'm always on the look out for companies that encompass both ideals so when I heard about Great Cakes Soapworks, I couldn't wait to do a review and giveaway with them!

Great Cakes Soapworks is a faith-based company in Olathe, Kansas, a suburb of Kansas City. Amy began making cold-pressed soap in 2002 as Christmas gifts for her family. Her love for soap making grew and in 2005, Great Cakes Soapworks was born! Amy’s soaps are made with natural ingredients so that even I, with no knowledge of soap making or what goes into soaps, can tell what is in them!

The Great Cakes Soapworks web page is fun and easy to navigate. She has a section entitled “News” where customers can view items that are on the curing rack. Check out her new Americana Soap that is coming July first! Wouldn’t that be a lovely, useful  hostess gift for a Fourth of July party?

If you aren’t sure what kind of soap you need, check out her “Handmade Natural Soaps” page where she lists each soap and a suggestion for use. I thought the coffee soap would be a fun, decorative soap but no, it’s actually to help neutralize odors in the kitchen!

Amy doesn’t sell just soaps, though. She also has a line Just for Lips, Natural Insect Repellent (in spray, soap, or stick forms) and, of course, Lotions and Butters. Everything is simply but attractively packaged.

Interested in soap making and just how Amy’s soaps are made? Check out her blog. It’s full of fun pictures of the soap making process, tips and tricks and link-ups for other soap makers. I really enjoyed seeing all the colorful patterns she can make. Some  look good enough to eat!

Review:
For this review, I was given a bar of Creamy Castile Goat’s Milk Soap (ARV: $6.50) and a small tub of Whipped Shea Butter (ARV: $7.00). Both arrived in Great Cakes Soapworks’ attractive yet simple packaging.

When I first smelled the soap, I thought it smelled a bit like Whole Foods- all earthy and clean. However, when I got it wet, it ceased to have any smell at all. It doesn’t smell like chemicals or oils or even olives . . . It smells like nothing. Really!

We have hard water in our house, yet the thick, sturdy bar of soap foams up well. I scrubbed it on my body scrub poof and got a nice, thick lather. The lather stays on you until you wash it off, making it perfect for shaving.

A little goes a long way for this soap. I find that I don't need much to get a nice, strong lather. Because of the oil in it, there's a "skin" or "film" that comes off the top when it first gets wet. It's my understand that this is because of the fat content of the soap and the fact that it does not have any unnatural products in it; it is really just goats milk and oil!

This soap left my skin feeling soft and smooth. I love that I don't smell like perfumes or oils when I use it! Cole, my two year old, is sensitive to most soaps and has been known to break out in full body hives even when I use "gentle" or "all natural" products. When I use this one his skin, he didn't break out- there was not one blemish on his delicate, soft skin!

The Whipped Shea Butter is another one of Great Cakes Soapworks unscented products. It is a lovely, thick butter. A little bit goes a long, long way. I've been using it everyday for two weeks and you can barely tell. The label says it is great as a barrier against the elements or to soothe your skin after shaving. I used it after a sunburn and it immediately soothed the burn and stopped the itching.

I found the Shea Butter difficult to smear all over my legs or arm the same way I would lotion. It was too thick for that but it was perfect for "spot moisturizing" dry patches on my ankles. I think this lotion would have been great when my son was in the NICU and I had dry, cracked spots on my hands. I could have used the super moisturizing powers of the shea butter. The fact that it is unscented would have been perfect because my son didn't like strong perfume-y smells.

I would have loved to have both these products when my son was in the hospital. Because they were unscented, they would not have masked my natural scent, so my son would have been able to recognize me by smell easier. The super moisturizing power of the shea butter would have been perfect on my skin that was suffering from such abuse due to the frequent hand washing. Again, the fact that it is unscented is perfect for delicate little noses!

Don't have a baby or child in the hospital? Anyone who needs to wash their hands frequently or suffers from dry skin would LOVE these products. These are perfect for people with sensitive skin or those who simply want to avoid fragrances. Coupled with the Natural Insect Repellents, this would make a lovely gift for someone who enjoys being outside in all kinds of weather!

Want to keep up with Amy and her soap making business? Like her on Facebook or follow her on Twitter.
Buy it!
Head over to Great Cakes Soapworks to purchase these or any of Amy's other wonderful soaps!

Win it!
To enter to win this product, please follow the directions below. The winner will be announced on Slaying Dragons and WaldenMommy: Life Behind the Red Front Door. You MUST respond within 48 hours of the announcement or another winner will be picked.

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Disclaimer: I was given a free sample of the products for review. Opinions are my own.