Exotic packaging: National Trust Melon Flower Soap

This Melon Flower soap was made for the National Trust by Yardley of London.

Not perhaps a very pretty soap box and very thick card, but my mother bothered to collect it.

I wonder what Melon Flower smells of?

Exotic Packaging: Taylor of London Cucumber Foaming Bath Seeds

I think I remember these packets of "foaming bath seeds".

I think the outer paper packet had a plastic packet inside and you used half that packet at a time. You might think it would be easier to have two smaller inside packets perhaps, but they didn't. Just thinking about this reminds me of the bathroom in my mother's house with fish and flower transfers on the tiles, fish patterned fablon (sticky back plastic) on the panel along the side of the bath, and initially, at least, fish patterned black towelling curtains.

I had forgotten all about those curtains. They were OK when the bathroom walls were green, but when I got a bit older and painted the walls a primrose yellow (my mother let me paint the walls whatever colour I fancied), I got some pretty curtains from John Lewis with a wild flower design instead. And spent ages trying to scrape the transfers off the tiles. It never really happened. Those transfers last forever.

I wonder if anyone still has patterned towelling curtains in the bathroom?
Probably only grannies and grandpas who haven't change their bathroom decoration for 50 years, or supercool people from Hackney at the cutting edge of a trend no-one has yet caught up with.

Exotic Packaging: Caswell-Massey Orchard Soap Plum

This is another of the soaps I bought for my mother in New York City in late autumn 1993.
Lovely soaps, wonderfully wrapped in richly coloured tissue paper inside beautifully designed boxes.

Caswell-Massey were the oldest chemists and perfumers in America, established in 1752. Amazing! I remember it was a wonderful shop and I am delighted to report the company is still going strong. Although nothing on their website today is quite as lovely to look at as this packaging... but you can't smell the products online can you? Well, perhaps I should take myself off to Fortnum & Mason because apparently you can buy their products there. OK.

Exotic Packaging: Applewoods of Devon Ltd Brambly Hedge Fine Soap Primrose

I can't help feeling that someone bought this primrose soap simply because the box was so pretty. And Brambly Hedge was an utterly charming series of (I think) four books, one for each season. Subsequently Brambly Hedge went on to take over the world of novelty plates and probably calendars and stuff. And, as you see, soap.

And here's another wonderful image from the talented Jill Barklem who created Brambly Hedge. I just love all the details. No wonder I remember the soap box, but not the soap itself!

Exotic Packaging: An Original Formula Bluebell & Mistletoe Soap

It's great that one of these An Original Formula soap boxes has a date on it: 1983. So long ago!

I remember An Original Formula products (for No:7 at Boots) very well. They were always beautifully designed and the brand was all about using natural ingredients.

Exotic Packaging: Scottish Fine Soaps Ltd Wood Hyacinth

I'm not mad about the brown packaging here but this little image of bluebells or wood hyacinths is charming; there's a lot of detail you won't notice unless you peer at it quite hard.

Exotic Packaging: Bluebell Guest Soaps

I have no idea who made this little box of guest soaps. You might say that it must have been a French company but many soaps, face creams and cosmetics are labelled in French as Paris is universally seen as the capital of the beauty/perfume industry.

So a mystery maker but rather a charming design.