Excite, Enhance & Exfoliate!
Our Simply Soft product line was developed for both men and women in matching soap, sugar scrubs and whipped body creams in a comprehensive scent collection.
Cane Sugar Body Scrubs help exfoliate and generate new skin cell growth to help with texture and appearance. Rich in cocoa butter, shea butter and benefical oils our sugar scrubs are an emulsified scrub that turns into a light lotion consistancy when used with water. These are not your typical ‘oil floating on top of sugar’ product!
Simply Soft whipped body creams are rich in cocoa butter, shea butter, squalane and the antioxidants raspberry seed and cranberry seed oils.
Simply Soft products are beneficial to both men and women and we have chosen fragrances that are pleasing to both sexes!
**Almond Mocha
Almond Mocha Soap is scented with a proprietary blend of fragrance oils resulting in a rich, gourmet Turkish coffee scent!
Coffee entered the English language in 1598 via Italian caffe, via Turkish kahve, from Arabic qahwa.
Its origin is uncertain.
One possible origin is the Kaffa region in Ethiopia, where the plant orginated. Coffee beans were first exported from Ethiopia to Yemen.
Consumption of coffee was outlawed in Mecca in 1511 and in Cairo in 1532 but was later rescinded. In 1554, the first coffeehouse in Istanbul opened. Coffee was introduced in England in the 1430′s by the Greek professor Ioannis Servopoulos.
The first coffeehouse opening in London was in 1652, Boston in 1670 and in Paris in 1671. By 1675 there were more than 3,000 coffeehouses in England.
**Brown Sugar & Cinnamon
Brown sugar, cinnamon and a hint of vanilla…smells good enought to eat (but please don’t!).
Brown sugar is an unrefined or partially refined soft sugar consisting of sugar crystals combined with molasses. Brown sugar is produced similarly to white sugar, with two exceptions. Its crystals are left much smaller than for white sugar, and the syrup or molasses is not washed off completely. Brown sugar contains from 3.5% molasses (light brown sugar) to 6.5% molasses (dark brown sugar).
Many brown sugar producers produce brown sugar by adding molasses to completely refined white sugar crystals in order to more carefully control the ratio of molasses to sugar crystals, and to reduce manufacturing costs. Brown sugar prepared in this manner is often much coarser than its unrefined equivalent, and its molasses may be easily separated from the crystals to yield white sugar (which is not possible with unrefined sugar).
All brown sugar produced for retail sale is made with molasses from sugar cane, because the flavor of cane molasses is palatable to humans. No retail brown sugar is produced from sugar beet molasses, because the flavor of beet molasses is not palatable to humans, although cattle like it. The white sugar to which the molasses is added can be from either origin as both are practically 100% pure and have no flavour other than sweetness.
Cinnamon is the inner bark of a tropical evergreen tree. There are many different species, between 50 and 250, depending on which botanist you choose to believe.
In ancient Egypt cinnamon was used medicinally and as a flavouing for beverages, It was also used in embalming, where body cavities were filled with spiced preservatives. In the ancient world cinnamon was more precious than gold.
Cinnamon was known in medieval Europe, where it was a staple ingredient, along with ginger, in many recipes. Since most meals were prepared in a single cauldron, casseroles containing both meat and fruit were common and cinnamon helped bridge the flavours.
In its wild state, trees grow high on stout trunks. Under cultivation, the shoots are continually cropped almost to ground level, resulting in a low bush, dense with thin leafy branches. From these, come the finest quills.
Cinnamon comes in ‘quills’, strips of bark rolled one in another. The pale brown to tan bar strips are generally thin, the spongy outer bark having been scraped off. The best varieties are pale and parchment-like in appearance. Cinnamon is very similar to cassia, and in North America little distinction is given, though cassia tends to dominate the market. Cinnamon is also available ground, and can be distinguished from cassia by its lighter colour and much finer powder.
**Gingerbread
A perfect blend of molasses and brown sugar topped off with cinnamon, nutmeg and ginger! Definately a must have during the holiday season.
Gingerbread is a sweet that can take the form of a cake or cookie in which the predominant flavor is ginger.
As a cookie, gingerbread can be made into a thin, crisp cookie (ginger snap) or a softer cookie similiar to the German Lebkuchen. Gingerbread cookies are often cut into shapes…specifically gingerbread men!
The cake form tends to be a dense, molasses based spice cake with icing, frosting or a warm lemon sauce served on the side.
Originally, the term gingerbread (from the Latin zingiber via Old French gingebras) referred to preserved ginger, then to a confection made with honey and spices
**Honey Almond
A mouth-watering almond scented soap that tastes good enough to eat.
The almond is highly revered in some cultures.
The tree grows in Syria and Israel, and is referred to in the Bible under the name of “Shaqued”, meaning “hasten”, or the literal Hebrew meaning “Awakening One”, an appropriate name since the Almond tree is one of the first trees to flower at the close of winter, around late January/early February in Israel.
While the almond is most often eaten on its own, raw or toasted, it is used in some dishes. It, along with other nuts, is often sprinkled over desserts, particularly sundaes and other ice cream based dishes. It is also used in making baklava and nougat. There is also almond butter, a spread similar to peanut butter, popular with peanut allergy sufferers and for its less salty taste.
The sweet almond itself contains practically no carbohydrates and may therefore be made into flour for cakes and biscuits for low carbohydrate diets or for patients suffering from diabetes mellitus or any other form of glycosuria.
**Orchid Bloom
A complex blend of bitter orange and the rich floral scent of orchids.
At first the nose picks up on the top note of orange which fades away to the rich gentle scent of orchid. A truly womens scent! (sorry guys!)
Orchids (Orchidaceae family) are among the largest and most diverse of the flowering plant (Angiospermae) families, with over 800 described genera and 25,000 species. Some sources give 30,000 species, but the exact number is unknown since classification differs greatly in the academic world.
Orchids, through their interactions with pollinators and their symbiosis with mycorrhizae fungi, are considered by some, along with the grasses, to be examples of the most complex floral evolution known.
Orchids get their name from the Greek orchis, meaning “testicle”, from the appearance of subterranean tuberoids of the genus Orchis. The word “orchis” was first used by Theophrastos (372/371 – 287/286 BC), in his book “De historia plantarum” (The natural history of plants). He was a student of Aristotle and is considered the father of botany and ecology.
These monocotyledonous plants are cosmopolitan in distribution, occurring in every habitat, except Antarctica and deserts. The great majority are to be found in the tropics, mostly Asia, South America and Central America. They are found above the Arctic Circle, in southern Patagonia and even on Macquarie Island, close to Antarctica.
**Pearls of Sand
Pearls of Sand products are made with the naturally scented Monoi de Tahiti Tiare.
Monoi de Tahiti is the product obtained by macerating Tiare blossoms in refined coconut oil. The coconut oil is processed from coconuts grown exclusively in the coral soil of French Polynesia. Only the Tiare flower buds from the Gardenia Tahitensis species and of Polynesian origin are acceptable.
The Monoi de Tahiti that we use carries the Appellation d’Origine seal that protects the products quality and origin.
**Pineapple Express
What more can we say?!
A true pineapple scent in all its tropical splendor!
Native to Central and South America, pineapples also grow in the Philippines, Thailand, India, Malaysia, Hawaii, and other tropical regions. Pineapples have historically been considered symbols of hospitality. Fresh pineapples weigh from 2 to 5 pounds and contain the enzyme bromelain.
Pineapple varieties are plentiful, but only a few leading types travel well and are sold commercially. The Cayenne variety is large, firm, and quite sweet, and is perhaps the one most commonly available.
Pineapples do not ripen after harvest, and are therefore difficult to export. Avoid green ones as they will not be sweet. Inspect the fruit and avoid those with soft or dark spots and mold. The ripe fruit should have a pleasant fragrance; if not, it may indicate that fermenting has begun. Another indication of ripeness is if one of the green spikes can be removed easily from the crown. Fresh pineapple can be stored in the refrigerator up to five days. For longer storage, the fruit may be frozen; just remove the rind and core and cut the fruit into chunks. Fresh pineapples are available year-round, peaking March through July. Canned and dried pineapple are available year-round.
Grilled Pineapple
1 ripe pineapple
1/2 cup melted unsalted butter
3/4 cup granulated sugar
1 teaspoon grated lime zest
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/8 teaspoon ground cloves
Ice Cream
1/2 cup dark rum or 151 proof rum, for flambeing (optional)
Preheat the grill to high. Oil the grate.
Cut the rind off the pineapple, leaving the green leaves intact. Cut the pineapple in half lengthwise through the leaves as well as the fruit to obtain 8 slender wedges of pineapple with leaves intact. Trim the core off each pineapple wedge. Have the melted butter in one shallow bowl; mix the sugar, lime zest, cinnamon and cloves in another bowl.
Dip each wedge of pineapple first in melted butter, then in the sugar mixture, shaking off the excess. Grill the pineapple wedges until browned and sizzling, 5 to 8 minutes per side. Transfer the pineapple wedges to plates or a platter. Serve with ice cream. If using the rum, heat it in a small saucepan until warm, almost hot, but do not let boil. Touch a match to the rum and pour it over the pineapple. Serve at once.
**Pure Xocolatl
Scented with a proprietary blend of fragrance oils resulting in a rich, gourmet chocolate scent!
The name chocolate most likely came from the Nahuatl language indigenous to central Mexico and may have been influenced by the Mayan language. One theory is that it comes from the Nahuatl word xocolatl, derived from xocolli, bitter, and atl, water.
Chocolate residue found in a Mayan teapot suggest that Mayans were drinking chocolate 2,600 years ago, the earliest record of cacao use. The Aztecs associated chocolate with Xochiquetzal, the goddess of fertility. In the New World, chocolate was consumed in a bitter and spicy drink called xocoatl, often seasoned with vanilla, chile pepper and achiote (annatto).
Xocoatl was believed to fight fatigue probably due to the theobromine content. Chocolate was an important luxury throughout pre-Columbian Mesoamerica and cocoa beans were often used as currency.
**Tropical Twist
A delectable tropical twist of coconut, mango and papaya.
Coconut -
The Coconut Palm (Cocos nucifera) is a member of the Family Arecaceae (palm family). It is the only species in the genus Cocos, and is a large palm, growing to 30 m tall, with pinnate leaves 4-6 m long, pinnae 60-90 cm long; old leaves break away cleanly leaving the trunk smooth. The term coconut refers to the fruit of the coconut palm.
The coconut palm is grown throughout the tropical world, for decoration as well as for its many culinary and non-culinary uses; virtually every part of the coconut palm has some human use.
Mango -
The fruit flesh of a ripe mango contains about 15% sugar, up to 1% protein, and significant amounts of vitamins A, B and C. The taste of the fruit is very sweet, with some cultivars having a slight acidic tang; it tastes roughly like a cross between a peach and a pineapple.
The texture of the flesh varies markedly between different cultivars; some have quite a soft and pulpy texture similar to an over-ripe plum, while others have a firmer flesh much like that of a cantaloupe or avocado, and in some cultivars the flesh can contain fibrous material. Mangoes are very juicy; the sweet taste and high water content make them refreshing to eat, though somewhat messy.
Papaya -
The primary use of the papaya is as an edible fruit. The ripe fruit is usually eaten raw, without the skin or seeds. The unripe green fruit of papaya can be eaten cooked, usually in curries, salads and stews.
Papaya is rich in an enzyme called papain (a protease which is useful in tenderizing meat) and other proteins. Its utility is in breaking down the tough meat fibers and it has been utilized for thousands of years in its native South America. It is included as a component in powdered meat tenderizers. The papaya enzyme, papain, is also marketed in tablet form to remedy digestive problems.
Almond Mocha Soap, Cream & Sugar Scrub
Brown Sugar & Cinnamon Soap, Cream & Sugar Scrub
Gingerbread Soap, Cream & Sugar Scrub
Honey Almond Soap, Cream & Sugar Scrub
Orchid Bloom Soap, Cream & Sugar Scrub
Pearls of Sand Soap, Cream & Sugar Scrub
Pineapple Express Soap, Cream & Sugar Scrub
Pure Xocolatl Soap, Cream & Sugar Scrub
Tropical Twist Soap, Cream & Sugar Scrub
Country Meadow Ltd.
www.countrymeadowltd.com
