Fern & Nettle – Geranium + Calendula

“Can of Geraniums”

Once, a few years back, I got a little obsessed with geraniums—not to the point where I really did anything, like grow them, or even learned anything about them—I just thought a lot about them—kind of in a different way—not taking them for granted. When I was a little kid my parents had geraniums in the built-in flower bed in the front of the house, so I guess I considered them the most boring flowers of all time—also, because they didn't have a striking fragrance, like the roses they had around to the side, and the lilacs out back. So, now again, I just looked up something about geraniums and saw the phrase “often confused with” (regarding the confusion with pelargonium) and stopped myself right there, at that particular rabbit-hole warning. I've spent entire days that way—starting with an interest, and then that phrase—so at this point, if I'm going to learn anything about these flowers—maybe any flowers—it's got to be from a person. Almost the same experience with calendula, just now—something about marigolds—okay, I'm rushing out to breakfast (not literally, that's an expression). I've had some calendula soap in the past, I think? There is some medicinal value, maybe, good for your skin.

I bought this soap at a craft fair—you can find it around Milwaukee—Fern & Nettle is a local company, handmade skincare products. It's a simple, rough, rectangular, beige bar with a very subtle fragrance. I suppose I picked this one, among the many options, because that geranium obsession came back into my mind. And now I've used my first-ever geranium soap. There is a fragrance, though almost not there, and I'd never be able to identify it—but I'd call it floral. If you're someone who is afraid of perfumes and likes a light touch, you might love this soap. I love it, actually—sometimes I'm in that mood. It feels soft and trustworthy. The ingredients are organic palm, coconut, and olive oils and goat milk, as well as calendula flowers and essential oil of geranium. This is someone's favorite soap, I'm sure, and I'm happy with it. Of course, I can't settle, and most of the time I'm in the mood for something that spins my head around, even if occasionally that means not being able to outrun it.

Soap Review No. 85