CHIANTI CASHMERE • ITALY

It all began in the 1970s. Nora Kravis, an “idealistic young American with braids down to there” was offered a job training horses in Tuscany . So she quit her job as a New York fabric designer and bought a one-way ticket to Italy . (Can you blame her?)

Then she bought the farm …Literally. While galloping through the Tuscan countryside, she came across a little farmhouse. It was totally dilapidated, but the view was 360° and spectacular.

… and a couple of goats . People didn’t think you could raise Cashmere Goats in Italy . That didn’t stop Nora. In 1988, she bought two. She now has the only herd of Cashmere goats in Italy .

Why Cashmere Goats? They’re beautiful, intelligent, and quirky. But most importantly there’s that legendary Cashmere fiber. And, remember, Nora started as a fabric designer…

The wonders of goat’s milk . Mother goats have plenty of extra milk. And it’s loaded with nutrients that are as good for human skin as they are for baby goats. So Nora worked with skincare specialists to develop fine soaps, lotions, and bath products.

Enter Baudelaire . Chianti Cashmere is a diversified, bio-sustainable, ethically correct business (and destination B&B); i.e., Nora is a walking, talking, goat-raising, exemplar of our mission: “to support small, family owned, artisanal business.” So we’re pleased (actually, totally psyched) to have her choose us as her exclusive US importer. (Can you blame us?) 

PROVENCE SANTÉ • FRANCE

In the south of France, where endless fields of lavender fill the air with fragrance, Provence Santé has earned a reputation among connoisseurs for this superb collection of authentic Provençal bath products.

According to people close to the source, the founding fathers of Baudelaire spent a past lifetime growing lavender together in France—undoubtedly in the Provence region. Probably they intended to do the same thing this time around but ended up being born American wiseguys instead. Go figure. Fortunately for them, in the course of human events, they discovered a small family company making exquisite soaps and bath products in the south of France, right near those very same lavender fields.

Is that karma, or what?

Now, these luxurious soaps and bath products have become wildly popular with everyone from chic urban masses to suburban families with 2.5 kids to old hippies still living off the land (with a little help from a trust fund, suv, and tangerine-hued computer, of course). Is it the pure vegetable base? The soothing shea butter? The beautiful, natural colors? Yes, yes, and yes, but mostly it’s the authentic Provencial fragrances—the same fragrances that led our very own muse, Charles Baudelaire, to write:

Long let me inhale,
deeply the odor of your hair,
into it plunge the whole of my face,
as a thirsty man into the water of a spring,
and wave it in my fingers like
a scented handkerchief, to
shake the memories into the air.

JARDIN DE L'OLIVIER • FRANCE

Our new Jardin d’Olivier line has been has been developed, formulated and blended for us in Provence — where olive oil is cultivated and produced with the same obsessive French dedication as fine wines. Each product features the highest-quality olive oil and a light, distinctive fragrance that evokes some of our favorite flora…lavender, artemisia and lemon, punctuated with tarragon and oak moss accents. Slather on! (And go in peace....)

Why is olive oil as good on your skin as it is in your pasta d’olio?? Well, it has been slathered on the skin of the rich, famous (and not-so-of-either) since ancient times—when being a virgin still meant something. Its soothing, healing power has been appreciated ever since intrepid Phoenician seafarers brought some cuttings from the Middle East.

You see, early cosmetologists recognized that the abundance of glycerides and fatty acids in olive oil make it gentle enough for use on even sensitive skin, and its anti-oxidant properties take your breath away when it comes to making skin look more glowing and youthful. (That sounds even more impressive when you say it in ancient Greek or Latin.). Click here for the full story on olive oil or here for an olive oil overview.

APIANA • SWITZERLAND

These elegant products come from the village of Erlenbach, high in the Swiss Alps, where the air is crystal clear, the views are breathtaking, and wildflowers fill the fields with fragrance. It's a paradise for bees...and beekeepers. Honey gathered from these Alpine hives is the key ingredient in all Apiana soaps and body care products. For details, check out our story Honey in Skin Care, or you can look up honey, royal jelly, and/or propolis in our glossary.

ESSENCE • FRANCE

Essence bath products are formulated based on the different essential sources of their fragrances and ingredients: e.g., earth, sea, herbs, flowers, wood, and spices.

Now, as our loyal fans are well aware, we find most of our products by travelling the highways, by-ways and websites of Europe. But sometimes we have our own ideas: in this case, a line of bath products based on the different essential sources of their fragrances and ingredients.

So we partnered (is that really a verb?) with one of our favorite French soapmakers to create a soap so natural you could literally see the difference. Essence soaps range from the traditional (lavender and sandalwood) to the trendy (sea mud and green clay) to the truly bizarre (cardamom and sea loofa) to the terrifically intelligent (sage) to the by-any-other-name rose, to the chips-off-the-old-block sandalwood and rosewood. Each soap has a distinctive fragrance, and features a dash of the natural ingredient that gives it its name.

ACCESSORIES • UNITED STATES

Sink into a bath with a natural sea sponge, and you’ll understand why it’s a perfect bathing accessory. Our sponges are carefully harvested by hand so they’ll grow back—ensuring a good supply in the future. Click for details on The Sex Life of Sponges and other deep-sea legends and lore.

Other accessories and miscellany include superb shaving supplies, subtle shampoos, smooth-as-silk soap dishes, and even the occasional t-shirt, umbrella, and anything else that comes to mind.