Epically Epic Soap Haul

No soap today. Just tons of lip products and solid lotions.

I really wanted to try some vegan Etsy stuff for awhile and finally made an order about a month or so back. I initially intended to purchase a few lip products from Ophelia’s Apothecary, but ultimately filled my shopping cart with products from Epically Epic Soap. My thinking was that I could buy more for less.

I tried a couple of sampler sets to get an idea of what was available. I choose not to buy any soap this time around. The pumpkin pie soap I wanted isn’t vegan, as a good number of the soaps at Epically Epic contain goat’s milk. Bar soaps usually dry out my skin anyway.

Solid Lotion

I remember when I first became vegan, I tried making my own lotions and lip balms to save money. While that didn’t really work out as anticipated, I’ve since been interested in homemade body products, lotion bars (or solid lotions) in particular. Though I’ve bought a lot of lotion in my day, this is the first time I’ve purchased some of the solid variety.

Epically Epic Soap Many Purpose Solid Lotion:
Basmati Rice, Green Tea, Midnight, Nag Champa, and Pumpkin Pie-Red Apple

Not knowing how the scents would smell, I decided to take the sampler set of five. The full size versions contain 2 oz, while these are smaller, 1 oz versions of the larger containers. They are all lightly tinted and do not contain any mica (shimmer). The solid lotions come topped with a mini version of the full sized labels and the name handwritten. They are shipped individually wrapped in plastic and collectively placed in bubble wrap.

I have really dry skin and am always on the look out for hard core moisturizing products. The lotion leaves a very oily film after application, but absorbs into the skin after a few minutes, like the product description says.

I really like the idea of solid lotion, especially for keeping in my purse in place of the trial sized Giovanni lotion I carried (I’m afraid of spillage). Because the tins are small in size, it’s not so easy to apply the lotion. I had a difficult time getting enough product out, resorting to rubbing the whole tin across the dry parts of my arms and elbows. Obviously, this only works when the container is either full. I imagine this isn’t as much of a problem with the larger tins. After using the solid lotions for some time, I’ve gotten used to the weird application.

Epically Epic Soap Many Purpose Solid Lotion:
Basmati Rice, Green Tea, Midnight, Nag Champa, and Pumpkin Pie-Red Apple

Basmati Rice

As a vegan who makes a ton of Asian food, I eat a lot of rice—a lot. I admit that I am quite the fan of rice aroma and was very curious as to how this would smell.

This scent doesn’t smell that much like actual basmati rice, which is a pity. It is, however, a very nice scent and my favourite of the five. The scent is sweet and reminiscent of rice, even if not wholly accurate. The lotion is tinted a light purple/grey shade.

Green Tea

I love green tea, especially the smell of matcha, even if I’ve never had it by itself. Only in foods like soy ice cream and cakes/icing.

As with the Basmati Rice lotion, this doesn’t exactly smell like green tea. But again, this scent does smell nice, is sorta similar to green tea, and my second favourite scent of the bunch. It is tinted a pale green.

Nag Champa

I was intrigued by this scent from the reviews online. It sounded like something I would like since it was described as an oriental scent.

I’m not even going to try explaining the scent due to my lack of fragrance experience. I will say that I wouldn’t call it an oriental scent. I’m on the fence at the moment. I sort of like it, but it’s very different from what I usually wear.

My husband finally put his finger on the scent when he said it smelled like incense. And that’s exactly it. Very heavy stuff. Not for those fond of light clean scents. I noticed later that the description mentions that champa is the base for incense.

So, if you like incense and rich, Eastern fragrances, you may want to give this a try. I don’t think this lotion is tinted. I think it’s naturally a cream shade.

Midnight

I was torn between this scent and Married to the Sea. Again, this sounded like something I would like, as it is a blend between jasmine and sandalwood. In person, this has a powerful fragrance. I took my time trying it, but have yet to warm up to Midnight.

This probably has one of the strongest tints, but not enough to make your skin blue.

Pumpkin Pie & Apple

This was one I looked forward to trying most as it was the only vegan pumpkin product available at Epically Epic Soap. I did not see any mention that it contained apple. I am not a fan if fruity scents. Unfortunately, the scent of apple completely overpowers the pumpkin. That’s a bummer.

I went back to the Etsy and re-checked the description for Pumpkin Pie. It mentions pumpkin pie, clove and coffee, but no apple. I’m not sure what that means, but now I’m kicking myself for not contacting Epically Epic Soap earlier. When I received my order I thought I had made a mistake, but apparently not.

This lotion base is red and has one of the strongest tints, but not enough to change your skin tone.

Lip Balms & Tints

This is what I really wanted from Epically Epic Soap. I purchased four tints and two balms. The formula is really luxurious and glides across the lips. Vegan balms can be all over the place in terms of consistency, so I never know what to expect. At first I thought these were a little too soft, but after using them a bit think the formula is perfect. I do find that the moisturizing effect doesn’t last as long as I would like.

The balms and tints come in standard balm containers with well crafted labels. As far as I can tell, the tubes are fully filled. All of the lip tints I tried were shimmer, with moderately sized glitter. Lip balms do not contain mica and are lightly tinted. They are shipped collectively in bubble wrap.

Epically Epic Soap Lip Tints & Gloss:
Red Clove, Chai Tea, Passionfruit Rose, Wassail, Mint Chocolate Espresso, and Pistachio

Mint Chocolate Espresso (Lip Balm)

Total win. This is totally three of my most favorite scents in one package! Throw in some pumpkin and I’d about keel over from excitement. I don’t know how many coffee flavoured lip balms I’ve purchased over the years. I just can’t resist.

Smells like it should, though the chocolate is a bit strong, but no complaints here. Tinted a very pale green.

Pistachio (Lip Balm)

I find that matcha (green tea) flavoured products taste a lot like pistachios. I love pistachios. I almost didn’t get this flavour, but put back a lip tint instead. By the way, Pistachio is not a lip tint, though it would be sort of nifty if it was. It is a very pale, mint green.

Tastes and smells close to the real thing. I think the flavor could be a bit stronger, but that’s about my only complaint. Pistachio is currently in my nightstand drawer.

Epically Epic Soap Lip Tint Swatches:
Red Clove, Chai Tea, Passionfruit Rose, Wassail

Red Clove (Lip Tint) [sheer]

I knew I had to pick up this shade when I saw it. By far, the darkest shade of those I purchased. I was surprised by the colour since it appears to have warm undertones in the pictures, but has purple undertones in person. Red Clove shows up strongly on me, but I think for most individuals it would be just right. If I apply it lightly, the purple undertone isn’t overwhelming.

As with the other lip tints, this has a shimmer base that’s fairly noticeable.

Chai Tea (Lip Tint) [glitter]

I was very excited to try this colour. It is a lovely bronze shade with copper sparkles. It’s supposed to smell like chai, though I’m not sure if it succeeds, given that I don’t like chai and haven’t had/smelled it in years.

It’s the second strongest colour payoff of the four lip tints, though that’s not saying much. The colour is noticeable on me, but in a natural way. I’m not sure how Chai Tea would appear on someone with darker skin tones. This shade probably works best on those with warm undertones.

It’s my favourite if the lip tints and the one I wear most.

Passionfruit Rose (Lip Tint) [shimmer]

I don’t smell any passionfruit. Just rose. Lots and lots of rose. Don’t get me wrong, I really love the scent of roses. I’m just not into lip balm flavored like roses. I also don’t like rose water put in my food. Yuck.

The colour is sheer, giving my lips a faint pink glow. While it’s a bright pink, it is also very sheer. I wish the colour was a wee bit stronger because I think it would look better. The sparkles are noticeable too, though not overwhelming. Passionfruit Rose is probably neutral enough to be flattering on most skin tones.

Wassail (Lip Tints) [glitter]

I love wassail, or what at least passes for wassail here in the U.S. Scent-wise it’s reminiscent of–but not exactly identical–to wassail. I keep thinking to myself that it smells like orange juice…and tea…but that’s kind of what wassail is. The issue is that it has two distinct flavours, instead of a cohesive one.

This is a yellow lip tint with lots of gold sparkles. I decided on this one because I love wassail, but also because I had been dying to try Ophelia’s Apothecary’s 24K Lip Tint, but couldn’t bring myself to pay $8 for what is inevitably a sparkly lip balm. Judging by the pictures online, I think this is very similar to 24K. It’s faint, but there is a wash a golden sparkles. I’m not sure how happy I’d be after paying twice as much.

A word of caution. The yellow base colour can transfer to the lips, so be careful. Wanton application can lead to a yellow lips.

Goth Girl Roll On Perfume

I waffled a bit before snagging this new roll-on perfume. I’m trying to learn more about perfumes, but I’ve still much to learn. I am also very picky about scents; which is a problem.

Epically Epic Soap Roll On Perfume in Goth Girl

All of the perfumes are available in glass, roll-on bottles. They are very good quality and I have not had any leakage. The perfumes sport a similar label design to the lip balms/tints with an ingredients list. Goth Girl came wrapped in a zebra print tissue paper further packaged in bubble wrap.

The description sounded like something I would like (I usually like spicy oriental fragrances, but I do love the smell of roses). On me, this has strong rose and powdery overtones. As mentioned before, I don’t know much about perfume, so I can’t give an accurate description.

The powder scent was a little off-putting at first, but after some time I’ve grown to like the scent. Since purchasing, I have worn Goth Girl nearly everyday, though I doubt it will ever be my go-to perfume.

I must say that it is more powerful than I expected and really long-lasting. I mean seriously long.

Images

Bottom Line

Pros: Lip balms have great consistency, lip tints have good assortment of shades, Many Purpose Solid Lotions is very moisturizing, wide array of scents and flavours for all products, varied selection of vegan products
Cons: Lip tints could have a wee bit more colour payoff, roll on perfume could be less potent

Epically Epic Soap has a plethora of vegan products in a wide variety of scents and flavours. All of the ingredients are stated in the product descriptions and those that are vegan are stated as such.

Thee were a couple of red lip tints that I didn’t get because I worried they would be too dark. After trying the tints, I see those concerns were unfounded. Three of the four I bought were too light, in my opinion, and could have had better colour payoff. I had expected a product more similar to Hemp Organics Lip Tints or Silk Naturals Vegan Kisser Slicker Gloss Stix. But for the size and price, it’s difficult to complain.

I can’t wait to make another order. I already have a list of what products I want to try next.

Due to the Pumpkin Pie Solid Lotion fiasco, I’m going to try a custom blend. For $1 more than the regular price of a full 2 oz size jar, Epically Epic Soap will whip up a custom scented solid lotion and can provide a personalized label. Normally I’m terrible with perfumes, but this time I have a better idea of how to get the scent I like.