My sister-in-law turned me on to these amazing handmade organic soaps by Abbey Brown, a Chicago-based soap artisan, and I guarantee they will make a great gift or stocking stuffer for anyone on your holiday shopping list—especially friends who are passionate about being green. My sis tells me that when Abbey became a mom, she had trouble finding natural soaps that didn't severely irritate her young child's skin. So she took matters into her own hands and began experimenting with her own homemade soaps, which turned out to be a huge success.


I've tried Fields of Lavender, a smooth fragrant soap handcrafted with pure, unrefined and organic saponified oils of olive, coconut, palm kernel, shea butter, castor bean and apricot. Distilled water, and a natural blend of essential oils of lavender, lemon and rosemary round out this recipe, which results in a soap that's great for the face, hands, body—even hair. My other favorite is Chamomile Babe, which is actually intended for babies but I figure my skin can use some TLC, too. Freshly dried chamomile, macadamia nut, and Vitamin E star in this soap.

You can buy Abbey Brown soaps at my sister-in-law's amazing online store, bebybaby.com for $5.95 each or 3 for $15.