Alreef – Ocean

“Devil’s Urinal”

That “tagline,” Devil’s Urinal, is a bit harsh—I apologize to Alreef—but it came to me instantly while taking a whiff of the freshly opened soap 4-pack—and like I said before, that little slogan is the hardest part of the review, so I’m going with it. I’m fascinated with this soap, though. I bought it at the same Middle Eastern market where I bought my last Aleppo olive oil soap (which is the best), but this caught my eye—a plastic oval tower of four bars, the Alreef logo on top, and a photo on bottom of what looks like roiling surf with a variety of glowing seashells. On the English language side it says, “Ocean” and “Special Perfumes,” and there’s a lot of small print I’m not even going to attempt—so I’ll leave the ingredients a mystery. It does say: “Product of Turkiye.” The fragrance alone is so pronounced that I worry it’ll be harsh on the skin, so I’ve only used it as a hand soap. I’m too paranoid to give it the bath test, but so far so good, on my hands, but then, my hands can put up with a lot. I’m guessing some of my lady friends wouldn’t care for the smell—dudes as well! It could possibly evoke a “masking” style air freshener—but then again, I’m somewhat of a fragrance pirate. What I like most, though, is the absolute charm of appearance—the four identical bars each look like oval seashells, with ridged edges, and they are absolute 2-tone—top half stark white, and the bottom half a kind of very pleasant sky blue—an automobile color back in the day. Or, the blue might be top and the white bottom, it’s up it you. Like two half-shell soaps fused together. As the soap withers, it retains its shape (but smoother) and proportions, and total color separation—really quite beautiful.

Soap Review No. 225