Remember that bar of soap?

The Princess Bride

Back in the day,most families shared a bar of soap,before shower gels became the norm.

Lifebuoy seemed to be very popular when I was growing up in the 80s.
That industrial strength soap with the strong smell.Am sure it's still around somewhere.


My personal favourite was Cleopatra-a highly scented soap which was around in the late 80s-no longer available,alas.


Anbody got any favourites?

Quazzie

Imperial leather with the piece of paper stuck to the side of you, that used to cut you if you rubbed too aggressively.

Also it had really sharp corners when first out of the pack. Did Imperial Leather have a range of plasters that they were also trying to promote perhaps?

clappyhappy

+1 for imperial leather, that used to be the "good soap", lifebuoy was used for every day use.

A big treat was "pears" soap, think it was almost clear, such a novelty for us.

Then in the bath, 4 kids in together, we used to try and copy the palmolive ad, where the bar of soap would go flying out of our hand singing the "splish splash I was taking a bath......". Good memories from something so simple as a bar of soap. :-)

EchoO

Nice smell.

Dr.Zeus

Yeah, Imperial Leather could actually hurt....I remember those pointy corners! I remember we'd go on holidays to Salthill in the 70's and stay in odd guesthouses...with very odd owners.....with very "used" bars of Cussens in the baths...no showers! (Did anybody take a shower in the 70's in Ireland?)
The first bar I ever bought for myself as a teen was Old Spice (The Mark of A Man), sometime in the 80's.

But......are bars of soap like Bic pens? Has anyone, ever, completely used up a bar of soap? From start to finish?

You can still get Cleopatra soap, btw. Most Middle East or Asian places have it. If you know someone who travels a lot they should be able to pick it up.

Mr_Spaceman

Speaking of soap, here's a thing. Has anyone used Irish Spring?

It's very popular in the States, nice smell, but it's unavailable in Ireland!

I tracked down a pack of eight bars in a London shop a few months back, which cost about £7.50 or so.

Maybe it's me, but you'd think producers would introduce it to the Irish market!

rubadub

Quazzie wrote: »

Imperial leather with the piece of paper stuck to the side of you,

Dr.Zeus wrote: »

But......are bars of soap like Bic pens? Has anyone, ever, completely used up a bar of soap? From start to finish?

I remember as a small kid using the imperial leathers down to the bitter end, sort of a game, there would be a new bar at that stage but I would be still there with a "bar" of soap which was like a postage stamp, just consisting of the paper logo and a thin strip of soap on the other side. Other people squish the small leaf of soap onto a new bar.

Its a weird name thinking of it, "lather" makes more sense. It thought it might have been an early marketing type, like "monkey kong" vs "donkey kong".

The name dates back to 1768!
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Imperial_Leather

kitakyushu

The trick with Imperial Leather is you take the sticker/paper bit off as soon as you open the bar and throw it away with the wrappings. Then you can use the bar right down until it disintegrates into nothingness.

I can only imagine if you were to add up all the slivers of normally discarded soap that I've been able to actually use that it has probably earnt me millions of euros in savings down the years.

christmas2012

I remember pears alright i thought it was a magical soap as a kid as it was somewhat transaprent and almost glowed when i took it out of the box..

uch

We just had the Generic 4 pack from HWilliams

The Princess Bride

Dr.Zeus wrote: »

But......are bars of soap like Bic pens? Has anyone, ever, completely used up a bar of soap? From start to finish?

My dad- both with BIC pens and bars of soap!

Dr.Zeus wrote: »

You can still get Cleopatra soap, btw. Most Middle East or Asian places have it. If you know someone who travels a lot they should be able to pick it up.

mmmmm,I wonder who I know?:rolleyes:


rubadub......the most appropriately named poster in this thread!

Amalgam

msthe80s wrote: »

mmmmm,I wonder who I know?:rolleyes:

I think some of the 'Ethnic' shops in Dublin could have it.

I loved Wright's, it used to be far more umm.. 'pungent' years ago, when it actually had Tar Oil in it. Sadly, the EU has eliminated it from anything but medicinal soaps.

Now it is just a fragrance.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wright's_Coal_Tar_Soap

Same goes for the Dettol soap. Seems to have been toned down as well.

Mech1

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HpTzDRhMqHo

Ann22

Yeah, we always had Imperial leather in our house.

What about Shield with its green stripiness It smelt lovely, I remember having it in my gym bag for our showers after p.e..the ad showed a side view diddy-a bit x-rated back in the day.

Then Camay, remember the ad where the woman washes half her face in Camay and half in some other brand (or was that a Benny Hill sketch?)

As for Lifebuoy, my uncle always used that. I remember the smell of it on a Sunday morning before mass when I was there on my holiers. My cousin lifted a bit of it off the kitchen table thinking it was a piece of corned beef and popped it in her mouth:P.

EZ24GET

when I was young we used Ivory soap- 99.9 per cent pure- pure what I don't know. It also floated so was easy to find in a bath tub. I think it was created by accident when someone let the batch of soap cook a bit too long. Somehow this made the soap float.
It is still around as it's a good soap for little ones rarely is anyone allergic to good ole Ivory.

jupiterjack

used loved the smell of that lifebuoy, just got a flashback..

sudzs

Does anyone remember Shield ?? It was stripey I think, the stirpes were supposed to be deoderising...?! I think it cam in blue and green variieties!

Ann22

sudzs wrote: »

Does anyone remember Shield ?? It was stripey I think, the stirpes were supposed to be deoderising...?! I think it cam in blue and green variieties!

I was talking about it 3 posts ago:)

washiskin

We used to use Shield too. But as a treat, maybe once a year, we got Lux -which was lovely. My gran used to buy Camay but I think only the occasional bar of Camay Chic turns up in shops these days. I have 3 bars of that Pears soap in the bathroom and yesterday I found a bar of Yardley Lavender in Euro 2.

The Princess Bride

rubadub, sudzs and washiskin- all posting in this thread.

Pinch me,quick-this is too good to be true !!!

L1011

Lux was my mothers soap of choice, she only converted to liquid soaps quite late when a Lidl opened across the road and she deemed theirs suitable value.

washiskin

My gran used to hand wash all her laundry with Sunlight Soap. It was a lovely clean smelling household soap. I found it in Dunnes about 8 years ago but haven't seen it since

Rubecula

Knights Castille was what my mum and my sisters used.

Us lads (Dad included) just grabbed what we could and used that, usually a bar of Fairy Soap.

As a kid I remember my mum often got a bar of Carbolic Soap and the smell still takes me back, although not seen it in ages, Coal tar soap too.

kelle

My cousin had just qualified as a beauty therapist and got work. Her mum and grandmother called to see her, and she introduced them to her boss. The very posh lady (ie the boss) was very impressed with granny's youthful skin and asked her what combination of creams she used on her skin - she was taken aback when answered "I use Lifebuoy soap and water on my face every day" then hushed granny so the other customers wouldn't hear her!

I had forgotten about Cleopatra soap, I absolutely loved the smell - Dove arrived on the shelves not long after and smelled good too, but not as nice as Cleopatra!

BluesBerry

Palmolive soap (always just the green bar for some reason) and imperial leather was always in our house sometimes my mam bought a marble effect bar of soap could have been shield
There was always a rose shaped soap put out if guests were in the house but we were never allowed use the fancy one

puzzle factory

every time i cursed when i was a nipper i was made3 take a bit out of it, so i remember

kitakyushu

kitakyushu wrote: »

The trick with Imperial Leather is you take the sticker/paper bit off as soon as you open the bar and throw it away with the wrappings. Then you can use the bar right down until it disintegrates into nothingness.

Oh no, that is so wrong.

The trick with Imperial Leather is that you leave the sticker on, and then when you have used the soap you leave it sticker side down - that way the soap never sticks to the sink or bath.

BlaasForRafa

Deleted User wrote: »

Oh no, that is so wrong.

The trick with Imperial Leather is that you leave the sticker on, and then when you have used the soap you leave it sticker side down - that way the soap never sticks to the sink or bath.

Yeah, thats what we did with Imperial Leather, till you were just left with a sticker and a tiny sliver of soap.

I remember my dad used to have a tin of Swarfega for washing his hands messing about with the family car's engine or changing the oil or whatever, weird stuff

Amalgam

BlaasForRafa wrote: »

I remember my dad used to have a tin of Swarfega

We had a tub of stuff that looked like sugar or a bit like fiber glass, it was a granular type soap, used by painters?

For the life of me I can't remember what it was, it hung around the house for years.. Not Swarfega mind you.

Didn't Cusson's have a 'soap on a rope' version of their classics at one point. Didn't everybody..

Soaps on ropes, it was a big phase.

I think, in the bowels of the Dun Laoghaire Shopping Centre, as a kid, someone talked me into buying my Dad a Paco Rabanne soap on a rope for Christmas, it just seems like a weird combination, thinking back, nice brand, on a tampon like flannel rope. Manly.

ComfyKnickers

EchoO wrote: »

Nice smell.

Have to say this is one of the nicest soaps around, my mother uses the liquid version and it's just gorgeous, I was smelling my hands for ages afterwards and they were really really soft!!

ComfyKnickers

BlaasForRafa wrote: »

Yeah, thats what we did with Imperial Leather, till you were just left with a sticker and a tiny sliver of soap.

I remember my dad used to have a tin of Swarfega for washing his hands messing about with the family car's engine or changing the oil or whatever, weird stuff

My dad worked on the railway for over 50 years and Swarfega was part of our household for years and years, it really reminds me of my dad's working days, his hands used to be pure black coming in!!

BlaasForRafa

ComfyKnickers wrote: »

My dad worked on the railway for over 50 years and Swarfega was part of our household for years and years, it really reminds me of my dad's working days, his hands used to be pure black coming in!!

At various times we owned a Hillman Hunter, Renault 4, Opel Kadett, Ford Escort Mk 2 and Mk3 so there was regularly a need to fix things and a need for a regular supply of swarfega, aside from the mk2 it was a real collection of crap cars!

Stavro Mueller

I remember lifebuoy was the soap of choice in primary school. Going to the jacks back then was certainly not much fun. They used that awful grease proof paper stuff instead of proper toilet paper. Then when you went to wash your hands the water was freezing cold and they had bars of lifebuoy soap. When I was in fifth or sixth class they went upmarket and got Palmolive instead. Sheer luxury :eek:

gammygils

Used to love Shield. Have it now in a pump. There was a great ad for that in the 70's involving an Air Hostess. Sorry A Flight Attendant!
And a really catchy tune. Can't remember it though

vektarman

gammygils wrote: »

Used to love Shield. Have it now in a pump. There was a great ad for that in the 70's involving an Air Hostess. Sorry A Flight Attendant!
And a really catchy tune. Can't remember it though

Is this it?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HpTzDRhMqHo

miss choc

I rem the lux in our "avocado" bathroom there used to be different coloured wrappers on them with the pic of the lady on the front. My dad swore by Sunlight for doing a bit of handwashing he was of the war generation. He also used to use sugar soap for as a domestic cleaning product dont think you could get it in Ireland though I dont rem buying it here.