Fine Italian Soaps

"What is elegance?" asked famous photographer, Cecil Beaton. "Soap and water!"

Elegance takes much more than this, of course, but fine soap helps. Italian soaps have a high reputation, and many luxury brands are available. Famous Italian cosmetics companies such as Borghese, Cali and Perlier, as well as the Italian perfume manufacturers all make soaps. Other renowned Italian soap manufacturers include Gavarry, Valobra, Gori 1919. Olivella and Cucina are two American companies which use Italian olive oil to make their soaps.

Soap making has a long history. The Romans used olive oil to wash themselves, but they made soap for washing clothes. A soap factory was found at Pompeii. In the Middle Ages the centre of soap making was Marseilles, but Italian soap made with olive oil gained a high reputation even then. In the eighteenth century using soap for bathing became popular, and many soap factories were established in Europe.

Gavarry

Gavarry originated in the eighteenth century in Le Ciotat, France, but later established a soap works in Arma di Taggia in Italy. In 1929 the company was sold to the Italian Dominico Sguerso who also decided to add an Italian element to the original name. The new name was Stabilimenti Italiani Gavarry.
In 1956 Gavarry added the original L'Armande soap of Marseilles and Italy to its company when it bought the manufacturer. This lovely pure soap is still made with the nineteenth century recipe used to make the Huilerie & Savonnerie de L'Amande and the pretty packaging used then is also used today.
Gavarry now make many other soaps, as well as skin care creams, shampoos, bubble baths and the famous Fleuri perfume, based on the natural scents of Liguria.

Valobra

Virgilio Valobra established his soap factory in Genoa in 1903, where he also used eighteenth century recipes to make his products. This luxury soap manufacturer still uses the boiling method of making soap to preserve the natural ingredients and then seasons it for at least six months. After that the base of the soap is milled several times to make it beautifully soft. The ingredients include virgin coconut oil from an island in the Indian ocean, vegetable oil, lecithin and Vitamin E.
Products include lavender, rose and violet toilet soaps.

Gori Soap

The Gori Soap works were established in Tuscany in 1919. It uses pure vegetable oils, olive oils, and coconut oils to make its soaps. Olive oil shampoos, shower gels and hand creams are also available.

Olivella

Olivella's soaps made with 100% Italian virgin olive oil don't leave any oily residue on the skin and contain lots of vitamins, antioxidants and fatty acids. Olive oil soaps are anti-ageing and soothing to the skin.

Cucina

Cucina's products are made with cold-pressed olive oil and some have other extracts, such as rosemary and sage.
Most of these soap manufacturers use ingredients which are not tested on animals and Cucina is also Kosher. The soaps all have beautifully designed packaging, come in gift sets and are specially created to pamper the skin!

By Lisa-Anne Sanderson