Tom's of Maine Natural Lavender Beauty Bar Soap - Twin Pack (2 Bars) for Relaxing Bath & Aromatherapy | Calming & Moisturizing for Sensitive Skin

I like Tom’s of Maine in general on account of their environmental awareness and no animal testing policy. As far as the soap goes I thought it was pretty good – the rounded shape was nice and easy to hold and wash with, it lathers well and the lavender scent is pleasant and not overpowering. I think it has a reasonably long life span and it contains glycerin, which helps it to moisturize rather than dry your skin. I’ve posted a pic of the ingredients and their sources below.I’m also giving the soap a separate rating of 3/5 “green stars” for social and environmental impact. In general Tom’s of Maine is a responsible company and deserve 4/5 green stars for most of their products. 100% of their energy usage is offset by wind energy credits, they use post-consumer cardboard for packaging and vegetable-based inks for printing, and 10% of profits go to good causes. The “goodness report” on their website expansively covers their goals for energy and water use, recycling and waste generation, ingredients and community impact. However, I’m dropping to 3/5 green stars for two reasons:1. The packaging is a bit excessive. The two boxes are wrapped together in a plastic film. Inside each box the soap bar is wrapped in another kind of clear film, which I’ve read is compostable (PLA-based). They just need to ditch the outer wrap for their 2-pack.2. The primary ingredient is palm oil. Tom’s of Maine is a member of the RSPO and purchase green palm credits, and their palm oil is Rainforest Alliance certified, but not the palm kernel oil. I’d rather be cautious and avoid products made from palm oil where possible (unless a company provides a lot of information to assure customers that the palm oil is truly sustainably sourced). Soap can easily be made from sustainable vegetable oils, for example olive oil or coconut oil.Compared to the competition, I think that if you specifically want a “beauty bar,” this product is much more responsible than Dove. However, I think there are better options out there such as Kiss My Face olive oil soap, Dr. Bronner’s soap bars and Alaffia soap.I've always loved the smell of fresh lavender and I use lavender essential oils too so I thought I would give Tom's lavender soap a try. I have been using Dove and still have lots of bars left but this Tom's lavender is now my favorite. I don't want to throw away my Dove but I will sure be glad when it's all gone so I can keep buying the Tom's lavender. This has a great scent and it is soothing to smell in the shower. This soap also lasts a lot longer than a bar of Dove and keeps my skin feeling soft and smooth. I smell great coming out of the shower too. I will be buying this again!This soap is nice and sudsy and smells wonderful. But I think of Tom's as an environmentally friendly company so I'm a bit surprised that they individually package each bar in plastic. We'll keep buying these though. Great for people who love the smell of lavender.Love Tom's Lavendar but I'll be purchasing locally from now on. I ordered two 2-bar packs but only received 2 bars total. Each box says "2 bars" on the outside but there is only 1 bar inside.Strange! It appears Amazon has opened up the 2-bar packs and is selling the individual bars as if they are twin packs. Very sneaky Amazon! Not worth the hassle of returning either...So: Amazon 1, Me 0. :(YmmvI do love the lavender scent of this nice fat bar of soap. It even smells good just sitting in my bathtub's soap dish! Good smelling soap can be an effective way to get the reluctant-to-wash to actually wash their hands when they're done with the loo. At 3.5" long by 2" wide and 1.5" thick, it might be a bit large for next to the sink, but I have one there, too. Enjoy!Smells "soapy" but with a hint of lavender, can be a tiny bit drying, but overall I really like it and would buy it again.I ordered 2 bars and only 1 came.This is some nice soap. The lavender smell is pleasing, and not too strong. It's just right.