Before the summer, I had the chance to explore a nice store that featured all kinds of stuff, from hand painted tiles to meteor shards, from fake antiques to second hand clothes. The gemstone section was particularly interesting. I left the shop with a bag filled with white and purple quartzes, also known as amethysts, and I already had a soap-making idea taking shape in my mind. The story goes that white quartzes are the souls of ancient wise people that returned to earth in the form of stone to act as a spiritual guide to the lost souls who find them. Such a precious way of thinking of these transparent gemstones. Amethysts tell a different story, in which injustice, transformation, regret and mercy are intertwined. The wine god Bacchus, angry at an insult and determined to revenge, decreed that the first person he should meet would be devoured by his tigers. The unfortunate one was a girl named Amethyst, who was on her way to pray at the shrine of Diana. As the ferocious beasts pounced, she sought the protection of the goddess and was saved by being transformed into a clear, white crystal. Bacchus, regretting his cruelty, poured the juice of his grapes onto the stone as an offering, giving the gem its beautiful purple hue. The white quartz soap has cold and bright colours, the lather is creamy and recalls sea breeze and crisp winter mornings. The amethyst soaps have different shades of purple and a sweet smell of ripe fruits and summer flowers. The soap's design recalls geological layers or the cross-section of enchanting, magical trees, with streaks of black and gold.
