Olive Oil

 

Since I spend a lot of time with my soaps, I think of them as my friends. I give them different personalities and I thought you may like to see them the way I do. Meet Francesca, my Olive Oil soap.

 

Francesca rushes into her front hallway carrying five or six shopping bags. Carefully placing her Luxottica sunglasses in their case, she unwraps the bright yellow jaguar-designed Hermes scarf around her neck and puts her bags down on the sofa to answer the buzzing phone in her purse. 

Her day began in New York City, meeting with friends from the Italian embassy for lunch at Marea, where, over a few glasses of Barolo nebbiolo and a dish of her favorite Gramigna pasta with fresh focaccia dipped in extra virgin olive oil, they launched into an animated chat about the most chic European city to visit this summer. Of course Francesca was partial to the fashion center—Milan–while the others debated Barcelona vs. Budapest, eventually settling on Lisbon.  When the group finally dispersed, Francesca decided she was too close to pass up a visit to Bergdorf Goodman and Henri Bendel to see this season’s new arrivals. 

Sticking to her basic, yet stylish wardrobe, her finds had been mostly some on-trend accessories—a black Gucci bag for an upcoming dinner, a new pair of Jimmy Choo dress sandals she’d had her heart set on since she first spotted them in Vogue, and, of course, the Greek patterned Versace lingerie she’d been eyeing as a nod to her mother’s heritage. 

 

 

Her mother was the one calling to tell her about her younger cousin’s engagement—with a not so subtle hint about the ten-year age difference between Francesca and the bride-to-be. 

“Mom, I have everything I want, and I can take care of myself,” she defiantly reminds her.  “Besides, I like making my own life.  I can travel where and when I want, I have my own home in my own particular style, and most importantly, I get the entire closet to myself!” 

Her mother cannot help but agree—if anyone needed a custom walk-in closet all to herself, it was Francesca.  It was only with some very careful consideration and organization that the new Gucci bag and Jimmy Choos would be able to find a home among her many other belts and bags, scarves and shoes.

 

As she talks, Francesca walks over to the mirror and checks her face and hair.  As usual, her perfectly combed, long, shiny dark brown locks curl sensuously down her back and on either side of her neck.  Her lipstick and blush look natural yet picture-perfect, and her lilac eye shadow and long lashes give her half-moon eyelids an elegance that definitely does not say “girl next door.” She does everything to look her best and to impress –whether it be the mailman delivering a package or a blind date set up by her best friend’s boss. 

 

 

Her olive skin is as soft and creamy as the caramel lattes she loves to order at the coffee house in town.  She does not take that for granted, and her evening bath and morning showers include a loofah, perfect temperate water, and soaps that massage her with the soothing fragrance and moisture of olive oil.  

“Take care of your body, and your body will take care of you,” is her mantra, and she always does everything necessary to treat herself in the best way possible, and for Francesca, that’s just the way she likes it. 

I hope you love Francesca as much as I do.

Yours in Gratitude,

Angela