Why one Allure editor loves the heart-shaped Love Beauty and Planet Beloved Floral Cherry Blossom & Tea Rose Vegan Bar Soap so much.
A little soap and water are all you need for a shower — but exactly what you suds up with transforms those five to 10 minutes into something slightly more special than just a daily habit. Love Beauty and Planet’s Beloved Floral Cherry Blossom & Tea Rose Vegan Bar Soap was one (very charming) little change that upgraded my routine.
It was love at first sight when I started testing the heart-shaped bar soap for Allure’s 2023 Best of Beauty Awards. And after using Love Beauty and Planet’s Beloved bar soap again and again (and again), I realized there was a lot more than its adorable shape that made it so lovable.
When I massaged the bar on my damp skin, it immediately bubbled into a lush, foamy lather, and simultaneously, I got a whiff of its delicious floral fragrance. A delicate blend of sweet cherry blossoms and refreshing tea roses is what piqued my senses, and unlike many body products that are strongly scented, this pleasant aroma was more like smelling hints of fresh flowers while walking through a garden. My colleague and a fellow tester, Jesa Marie Calaor, Allure’s senior editor, had a similar experience when she gave it a try: “I love this bar's scent and it lathers nicely,” she told our team at one meeting, when we were discussing our favorite contenders to win the category.
What’s more: My skin felt fresh and hydrated, not squeaky-clean and stripped after each use. This is because Love Beauty and Planet’s Beloved bar is powered by sodium palmate (from palm oil) and sodium cocoate (from coconut oil), and “both act as gentle surfactants making it less harsh than typical body washes,” says Ron Robinson, cosmetic chemist and founder of BeautyStat. Plus, it’s packed with nourishing ingredients — including shea butter and glycerin — so the feeling of dryness gets quenched.
Mona Gohara, MD, a board-certified dermatologist and associate clinical professor of dermatology at Yale School of Medicine, emphasizes the importance of looking for potent humectants and ceramides on your cleansing product’s ingredient list to keep your skin barrier healthy — and both can be found in Love Beauty and Planet’s Beloved bar. Instead of rinsing it off right away, Dr. Gohara recommends “leaving the product on the skin for a minute or two to allow time for the ingredients to make it deeper into the epidermis.” In doing this, you are maximizing the benefits of a formula, versus washing it down the drain — literally.
And while it is important to exfoliate the skin from your neck down (just as you would your face), you shouldn’t be scrubbing your body as aggressively as you would the floor. “Our skin naturally turns over about every 28 days, which loosens millions of dead skin cells a day. So, while it is important to help these keratinocytes get liberated, it has to be done in a gentle way that won't disrupt the barrier,” says Dr. Gohara. “Coarse tools, such as loofahs, are a sure way to compromise the skin barrier, leaving us susceptible to dry, irritated skin.” Knowing this, I prefer a soft washcloth when I want to lightly buff away rough patches; however, I found that Love Beauty and Planet’s bar soap also cleanses effectively on its own.
Love Beauty and Planet’s Beloved Floral Cherry Blossom & Tea Rose Vegan Bar Soap
For such a pampering formula, I was pleasantly surprised to discover that it is only $5. You’d hope a necessary good like this would be affordable to rebuy every month or so, but that’s not always the case. And the fact that it performed so well, rivaling prestige products I often reach for in my shower — that can cost 10 times its price — made it a 2023 Best of Beauty Awards winner in the Drugstore & Steals category . Allure editors pride ourselves on recommending products we have tested and loved, but also ones (like the Love Beauty & Planet Beloved Floral Cherry Blossom & Tea Rose Vegan Bar Soap) that are worth every penny.
Even better? It’s the total package — with less packaging. The soap comes in a simple paper box, and that’s it. Because of the Love Beauty and Planet Beloved Floral Cherry Blossom & Tea Rose Vegan Bar Soap, I have been able to make a clean break from body wash bottled in plastic. Talk about raising the bar.