What's your favorite?

I get asked this question almost every single day that I am out selling the soaps - in reference, of course, to which scent or bar of soap I personally like best. I still haven't come up with a good answer for that one. Even after all this time. Every. single. time. I stammer out a response along the lines of well, I'm using this one right now, but erm that one's good too, and uh this one is really popular . . . um, ahem.

Because it's a toughie. I mean, I can't say, "I like all of them" because it's just too cheesy. And it wouldn't be true anyway. As much as I hate to admit it, there are a few that I don't really care for all that much and have never taken in the shower with me more than once or twice for testing purposes. But I won't say which ones, heh.

Scent is such a personal thing. What one person loves, another hates. And it doesn't say anything about their personality or character - it just is what it is. That's why over time I have made so many different kinds, and not all of them are about me. And it's also why I like to do the seasonals. It's fun for me to try new things, but also to see what kinds of scents are more popular and with whom.

And to be really frank, the ones that I truly have a little crush on (and it changes a lot) are usually the ones that nobody else likes, and when I've said it aloud in the past, the earnest, happy customer picks up that bar with eagerness, and then squinches up their nose, looks uncomfortable and mumbles out a "ah, ok" and it's an awkward moment as they decide if I'm joking them or just plain weird. Then I tried the method of just picking out one of the best sellers of the moment and pretending, but that felt dumb to me too. And again, it's always a crapshoot, whether they will agree with you or not.

I think what folks really want is a good recommendation, not that they really care what I'm sudsing with. So I've been trying to ask what kinds of scents they prefer, or texture . . . and kind of point out a couple that might suit them, without getting into the whole mess about me. I need to work on a better line to use. One that's kind of ambivalent, but doesn't sound like I'm evading the question, and then turns it into something useful for them.

But anyway, if anyone truly cares, I really, really, really like the Candied Ginger. And as per usual, it's clearly not popular with anyone else. And every version I've ever done of the Orange Blossom. Love it. But that one sells quite nicely. I almost always have a bar of Beach House in my shower in the summer. And the whole lot of top 5 selling soaps of all time that are always on the menu? I am just plain tired of after 10 years, so they don't make it into my soap dish any more. But you didn't hear that from me.