all-day delish (sans calories)

all-day delish (sans calories)

by marian wolbers

caribbean coconut, clary sage & vanilla, 
chocolate cherry, sweet pea…

or what about the cucumber & melon ?

the vetivert & grapefruit ?

fresh ginger lime silk ?

white raspberry truffle ?

ummmmm.

hard choices on this menu: all together, 165 selections, in fact, simultaneously stimulating nostrils and salivary glands, and juicing the mind. the senses unite and converge to select the most tantalizing offering du jour, according to mood, according to desire.

and skin—oh, happy epithelial cells thirsting to be slaked !—the skin wins. that‘s because it‘s a feast for the body (sorry—you can‘t actually eat this stuff !) at amber hills herbs & gifts, which rests in the middle of pennsylvania cornfields and pastureland, amid the flavor of newly mown grass in every breeze this nearly-summer day. tammy abraham, owner and body-care-products chef extraordinaire, smiles broadly at her array of natural soaps, body butters, misters, and lotions.

standing before the soap shelves, she urges: "go ahead ! smell them !" reveling in the beauty of each softly scented soap, reliving every ingredient as she explores each item, she slips a 5-ounce bar of 'chamomile & neroli' soap out of its pretty cardboard box. placed in a bath at night, she says, "this really relaxes."

the next box abraham pulls off the display is decorated delicately, with the words 'cherry blossom' adorning its label. "nice and fresh ! it‘s prissy," she smiles. she takes one more whiff, then adds: "what a fairy would wear—fresh and sweet !"

"the 'raspberry & lemonade' soap has lemon butter in it," abraham explains. "makes me want to drink some !"

as for 'chocolate cherry,' "that‘s just fun!" (of course, it‘s real chocolate.)

savoring one soap after another, discussing each in culinary details, much as a master chef would discuss balance and tone and texture from appetizer to luscious dessert, abraham patiently, happily guides her uninitiated, soon-to-become-devotees of natural soaps, into the sensuous world of old-fashioned, handmade, food-and-herb-filled suds.

( all soap-happy photos by marian wolbers ) 

speaking of suds, she illuminates what the big soapmakers don‘t really want consumers to realize. "when you stop to think about it, sudsy doesn‘t mean cleaner. sudsy means drier ! the more bubbles you have, the drier your skin gets." the big soapmakers, she asserts, strip natural oils in their manufacturing process—forcing us to then buy toners and moisturizers (which is where they re-insert the glycerin).

supermarket soaps were, in fact, the reason abraham began making body-care products in the first place. she was itchy—all the time. "i tried all the commercial soaps. and i got tired of itching." with such sensitive skin, prone to allergic responses, she knew cooking up her own soaps would prove to be a magical solution.

so all her products are made with ingredients like goat‘s milk, and fragrance oils, calendula oil ("good for healing burns"), cranberry butter, and even blueberry seeds (as exfoliants). carrot-seed-oil is the secret to her 'mature woman' soap, smoothing out fine lines and tightening up pores.

for oily skin, there's 'lemon verbena,' which has a deliberate drying effect, and a character that‘s "bright and ―very happy !"

for the kitchen there's a coffee soap, to neutralize all scents. 'gardener‘s soap' is created with orange peel for a gritty feel on one side, plus rosemary, an antibacterial.

the scents of all these products are tender, subtle, never overwhelming, even in the body butters, lotions, and fine mists, reflecting the exquisite sensitivity of their maker. her olfactory powers appear to be an inherited gift: "my father was part american indian," explains abraham. "he used to say he could smell the snow coming…and there was hardly a day he wasn‘t right."

identifying the scent of her cranberry fig milk and honey lotion as "not fruity but home-y," abraham suddenly looks up, a revelation complete: "it smells like grandma‘s kitchen. candy apples ! she used to make candy apples."

ummmmm.

imagine—smelling like candy apples ! all. day. long. (who needs food ?)

find these delights at 105 fisher mill road, oley, pa 19547, usually tuesday through saturday, 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. call ahead at 610.689.0025. also search for amber hills herbs & gifts on facebook.

p.s. oh, and two cups of catnip (to tuck your cat in).

amber hills also sells the wickedest gift ever for puss ‘n boots—a 'kitty blanket' which is basically a mini-quilt chockfull of premium-grade, long-lasting catnip from the high mountains of canada. absolutely affordable at $6 each, these are cute beyond repair: they‘re sewn with print fabrics that kitties would choose themselves, if they cared about such things. which they don‘t.

just remember what one customer said: "i had to put the darn thing in the refrigerator overnight in order to get some sleep !"