The Emperor's Soap

This brown bar looks very plain and simple and basic, but it is a superior soap with an extraordinary scent and an even more amazing story.

This is The Emperor's Soap, based upon the classic 19th century English soap known as Windsor soap, and a secret favorite of Napoleon.

Scented with the identical essential oil blend used during Napoleon's time, this soap also recreates the famous brown color and creamy lather of the original. 

Because he had created the Continental system to prevent the rest of Europe from trading with the English, Napoleon didn't want anyone to know that he used an English soap. 

But he did use an English soap--and he loved it. He just didn't want anyone else to know that he loved it.

And when you sniff the same wonderful soap scent that Napoleon adored, you'll love it too.

The Emperor's Soap brings back the memory of a ruler who controlled most of Europe, but one who still had to sneak his small, secret pleasures on the side.

Weight 10 oz /  283 grams

Ingredients

Olive oil, water, coconut oil, shea butter, sodium hydroxide, cocoa butter, babassu oil, almond oil, argan oil, vegan cane sugar, castor oil, kaolin clay, molasses, Mediterranean sea salt, essential oil blend (essential oils of petitgrain, clove leaf, caraway, cassia, lavender, bergamot)  

History

He wasn't in the best situation when the news hit.

It was after his defeat at Waterloo. Napoleon was a prisoner on a ship, bound for his island jail of Saint Helena, and suddenly the world knew too much about him.

After the battle of Waterloo, his horses, his carriage, and his luggage had been captured by the allies. And what they found was embarrassing to Napoleon.

The Emperor was very vain about his hands and fastidious with his hygiene, so he had always traveled with a set of manicure and grooming tools known as a nécessaire. The victors found this beautiful set of grooming tools but they also found something else--Napoleon's favorite soap.

And it wasn't a French soap. Turns out that Napoleon loved to use an English bar called Windsor Soap.

It was downright embarrassing to the conquered leader, a man who had prevented everyone--including most of the nations in Europe--from buying goods produced in England.

But the effect of the discovery was even more astounding.  It seems the English people were absolutely fascinated with the Emperor. Before Waterloo, the British  were terrified of him and what he could do.  They imagined Napoleon flying balloons over the channel to attack England or Napoleon tunneling underneath the English channel to invade with his army.

But once they were assured that he was safely contained, folks flocked to London to view the exhibit with his belongings, his carriage and his horse, Marengo. 

And after the former Emperor's fondness for Windsor soap became known, it became suddenly more popular throughout England. 

Napoleon's reaction to this phenomenon is not recorded. Although the discovery of his betrayal of his own Continental system may have been embarrassing, it must have been a small problem for a man who had just lost an empire.