From New York to Tel Aviv; My Love of Sabon is Truly Transatlantic

Exploration in New York

I discovered SABON during my first stint living in New York. It is no secret that I love New York. That whilst I love London, New York is the place I call home.

I could write a book about my time in New York. In fact, I could write a number of books, but to keep it brief, life was incredibly crazy in the Big Apple and unbelievably fulfilling. I worked hard and played even harder. Long work days was balanced with evenings spent indulging in everything that New York had to offer. With such jam-packed weeks I loved nothing more than spending my weekends chilling out, brunching and exploring the city by foot.

One of my favourite walking routes was down Broadway from 34^th Street, into Union Square Park and through to Soho. I loved exploring the different neighbours, side streets, independent boutiques, restaurants, brunch clubs, if it was open, I would walk on in.

I have walked down Broadway countless times over the years and during each trip, on arriving at the corner of Grand and Broadway, I have always been met by the smiling faces of SABON’s shop assistants handing out samples and inviting me into their store.

Noteworthy, as a general rule, I do not allow myself to be lured into a shop by the offer of a free sample. However, I never say no to a free SABON sample and an opportunity to wander around.

The Beginning

I initially thought SABON to be a New York brand and was surprised to find that it is in fact an Israeli export. It was started by two childhood friends who built their business on a native Australian recipe for soap. Today, the range has expanded to include all manner of body and home care products.

Unique to SABON, the commitment to source high quality natural ingredients such as salt, mud, algae (weeds) from the Dead Sea. Further, they select botanical elements from the Mediterranean and beyond. I love nothing more than natural products and have, for many years, been keen to use more products containing the benefits accredited to the dead sea:

• The salt stimulates blood circulation
• The magnesium and bromide in the salt can alleviate common skin ailments like acne and psoriasis
• The sodium chloride hydrates skin cells and removes toxic substances
• The sulphur, in its natural form, cleanses and detoxifies the skin

It is for the above reasons and the general quality of their products, that I have been using SABON products for over 10 years.

Globalisation

SABON has grown over the last 20 years and currently operates in over 180 locations worldwide. Click here for a list of international stores and stockists.

Whilst I can purchase SABON almost anywhere, I had never thought that I would have the opportunity to visit a store in Israel. Well, this was until April this year when I was invited to attend Forbes Magazine’s female summit. This was a week-long event held between Jerusalem and Tel Aviv in Israel. I plan to write a blog post about this trip, watch out for the announcement on my instagram page @thescentexplorer.

Israel

Israel was a whirlwind week of networking, education and inspiration. Whilst we had a crammed itinerary, there was scheduled down time and in my mind, down time is a synonym for shopping. First on the list, SABON.

I love a body scrub, I always have. I use specific scrubs and scents to wake me in the morning, to send me to sleep at night, to uplift me and to destress.

Sugar-based scrubs are perfect for my upper body but I use harsher salt scrubs on my legs. The coarser scrubs are used weekly, gentler scrubs are used daily. Most importantly, I prefer scrubs that have a moisturising element, natural oil based products. I appreciate that scrubs aim to exfoliate but I do not want to strip my skin of all moisture. Yes, I am serious about my scrubs!

I need to take a moment to thank my mother for not just my love of body scrubs but cosmetics in general. She had me hooked on cosmetics from an early age. By cosmetics I do not mean make-up but rather, skin washes, masques, creams, lotions, perfumes and potions. We use to spend countless hours flicking through the Avon catalogue and our Saturdays in the local Body Shop sniffing every tester within reach. Thank you Mummy McDonald!!

SABON Store

As a body scrub addict, imagine how happy I was to me confronted with a body scrub testing bar on entering one of the SABON stores in Tel Aviv.

Body Scrub Bar

I tried each and every scented scrub but it was the Vanilla Coconut scrub that provided the best balance of scent, oils and texture, in my opinion.

Vanilla Coconut Body Scrub

I should start by saying that you can only purchase SABON’s scrubs in a glass containers. This is good from a plastic perspective but bad with regards to weight and potential of breakage. These are all things to bear in mind if purchasing whilst on holiday, you will need to wrap and pack it very very securely.

Back to the scrub, the majority of the glass jar contains salt but it also has an unusually high amount of vanilla and coconut essential oils. The high oil ratio is one of the main reasons why I use SABONs scrubs. The sea salt exfoliates whilst the oils moisturise the skin. Noteworthy, the essential oils have been diluted in soya and sweet almond oils, oils known for adding moisture.

SABON Body Scrub

I use this body scrub in the evenings as the soothing scent of vanilla promotes stress relief and relaxation. Further, vanilla is known to have a sedative effect on the body, perfect for getting me into sleep mode.

The coconut essential oil aims to alleviate a number of skin issues including eczema, psoriasis and dermatitis. It is also known to reduce damaging inflammation and to facilitate quicker healing. Perfect for helping with trapped hairs and shaved legs.

Scented Memories

This scrub reminds me of so many experiences. Most notable, my time in the Caribbean and treasured moments as a child with my mother.

In Barbados we have sweets called ‘sugar cakes’. These homemade sweets consist of nothing more than boiled sugar, fresh coconut and water.  During the cooking process, the pot of molten sugar and coconut would flood our house with the smell of coconut, sugar and vanilla. Once cooled, the cakes harden and become a crunchy sweet guilty pleasure.

Every time I open the lid of this scrub I am taken back to my childhood. It is strange and fabulous how scents can do this, transform to a former happy place.

Where does the smell of coconut and vanilla transport you?

Whilst writing this blog review I realised that I have everything I need make my own coconut and vanilla scrub. Looks like I have even more content for a future blog post……..