We are taking our first trip to Provence in October, and I%26#39;m dying to bring back lavender and verveine soaps made in the region. But we won%26#39;t be going to Marseilles -- just starting in Aix and then roving around the region (small towns only, really) for a week.
Can anyone recommend an actual soapmaker, or soap %26quot;factory%26quot; in Provence? I found one posting about a shop in St. Remy, but would love to get someone%26#39;s insider tips if you%26#39;ve found a great place.
Many thanks!
Kirby
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We just buy soaps in a local supermarket--Auchan has a good selection. You%26#39;ll be able to find the lovely Marseille olive-oil soaps just about everywhere, and lavender/verveine as well. You really don%26#39;t need to go to a factory, as soaps are readily available.
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We always buy our soaps at one of the daily open-air markets. There is a large number of vendors who set up near the Church at the Sunday market in Isle-sue-la-Sorgue. These vendors have especially large selections of Marseilles style soaps in a great variety of both scents and sizes. You will not have any difficulty finding either scent that you have mentioned and will also find many more that are rarely, if ever seen outside of Provence. Keep in mind that the lavender Savon de Marseilles is availbale either with lavander buds or just scented with lavander.
I always pick up a years worth of these soaps for us as well as 8 or 9 to be used as gifts throughout the year until we return.
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Thank you SO MUCH for these tips. Awesome. I saw on a travel show that they%26#39;re extremely inexpensive when purchased there, so I planned on buying a LOT of soaps, and bringing back a bunch for gifts as well. Is it true that they%26#39;re only a few euros per bar?
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They are quite cheap there as compared to the prices here at places like l%26#39;Occitane, Sephora etc. But you have to keep in mind that these soaps are relatively heavy AND with the baggage weight/size restrictions that are currently in effect as the result of the surge in the cost of airline fuel you may want to reconsider bringing bask bunches of tehse soaps.
Make sure to buy the soaps with the highest % of oil
- it is stamped into each bar. All of my soaps are stamped 72% and I believe that is the maxmum.
Happy Shopping!
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Besides the soaps, look for olive-oil and lavender-scented bath gels. Wonderful for the skin!
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We%26#39;re actually bringing a separate small suitcase to bring back goodies we buy. Here%26#39;s the wonderful thing though: we%26#39;re using frequent flier miles to go via First Class on Air France (FC for the first time ever!! it%26#39;s awesome because we%26#39;re both tall!) but here%26#39;s the little bonus: I learned from their website that when you%26#39;re traveling in Business Class, you%26#39;re allowed 2 checked bags at 70 lbs each. Since there are two of us flying... we can bring back LOTS!
Thanks again for the tips. I%26#39;m really excited to see Provence for the first time. And I%26#39;m guessing it will be the first of MANY times!
Kirby
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You are a traveller after my own heart! We have a good-sized rolling bag that folds up, and we check it through to use for all the stuff we buy to bring back home.
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