I use both, but would never display decorative soaps. I don't do that with towels either.

Used to buy homemade soap from an Etsy vendor, when she was still doing the arts/crafts show circuit. Now I buy (Whole Foods) 365 Chamomile almost exclusively.

As someone with super sensitive eyes - I wouldn't give scented anything as gifts - and that includes soaps, candles, flowers (if bouquets come into our house the eucalyptus will send my eyes into tear over-drive), hand cream etc.

We have liquid soap at the kitchen sinks and the main bathroom sink for guests but good old unscented Ivory bar soap in the master ensuite. (My DH and I don't mind sharing the same bar).

I've almost totally switched to liquid soaps. But, not the high end stuff. We buy a gallon of good quality liquid soap at Costco for my refillable dispensers. I'm weighing options for liquid soap and dispensers in the showers. At the moment we still use Dove soap bars there. Although I wouldn't ever consider using a harsh drying kind of soap, I've never been overly concerned about the moisturizing qualities of soap and am too cheap to buy the very expensive ones (LOL!). With this being a dry climate here in New Mexico, we just make sure that we buy ~ and use~ good quality moisturing lotions (Eucerin, Aveeno, Neutrogena) and sunscreens. I have bottles everywhere !
Lynn

Lynn, as much as I hate and complain about the humidity down here I could never live in an arid climate. I totally understand the need for lotion bottles everywhere, lol.

We were advised bar soap wasn't good for our slate shower and had to switch to liquid. When we did use bar soap though, we each liked a different brand so we never shared. My go to brand was Ivory because it worked the best with our well water.

Now I like to use Neutrogena liquid soap in pear scent for the shower. I get a big pump bottle of it at Costco and it lasts for months. I also use to love Satsuma liquid body soap sold at The Body Shop but when the bottle shrunk by 2-3 oz. and the price went up considerably, I stopped buying it. It smells good but not that good. LOL

Liquid soap at all sinks. Bar soap in our tub/shower. Hubby prefers bar soap (he likes dial) and i like it myself if i've done something where i'm really hot and sweaty (yardwork, exercise, etc.). Otherwise i use a moisturing body wash. It's only hubby and me and we dont mind sharing soap.

We use liquid soap at the sink and different kinds of bar soap in the tub and shower. Oakley, I think decorative/scented bar soaps would make a very nice gift. I love that caswell-massey catalog.

Natal, why wouldn't you display decorative (still in the package) bar soap? I've seen some beautifl apothecary jars full of that kind of soap in bathrooms. I think it's pretty!

Blf, I only give scented gifts if I know the person well.

Lynn, the only high end liquid soaps I've used (Philosophy) were always gifts. The soaps I buy from Bath & Body Works come in 8oz bottles with some sort of grit in it to deep cleanse.

You can buy 4 for $15 or $5.50 a piece. It sounds like a lot of money but the soaps last a long time.

Not only that, the colors are beautiful and they have wonderful scents which actually scents up a room!

Nancy, I think I will give some scented soaps! I'm off to look at Caswell-Massey now. I remember them from a long time ago.

Natal, I'd display this in a heartbeat! Especially during the Winter.

Here is a link that might be useful: Soap display

I switched to liquid at all the sinks, I've got a thing for the dispensers. But in the showers, we use bars. We only buy our soap from small vendors. We've got a specialty shop here in town that makes great soap, so we stock up there, and there is another small vendor that we order from for soap for DH to use while shaving. He's found that since using their shaving soap, he gets a great shave and no more ingrown hairs.

I can't use commercial soaps, even Ivory. My skin is super dry and I developed a terrible, ahem, intimate area issue when using commercial soap. So now only the hand made stuff for us. I love that they're made with special oils and natural ingredients. And they smell soooooo good!!

Oakley, if you like that sort of thing, fine. Not my taste.

Truth be told, I have two glass jars in the garden shed ... one is more than 30 years old filled with ears of popcorn my dad grew. The other holds dried whole veggies someone gave me as a gift.

We only use liquid soap at all bathroom sinks. I just find it neater than a bar which leaves a mess. In the powder room, that is often used by guests, I would only ever have liquid soap. I have a germ thing and the thought of using a bar soap that a non-family member has used just grosses me out. I really hate it when I go to someone's house and they only have bar soap in their powder room. I don't even know who has used that! Eeewwww. I also have a problem with the shared hand towel in powder rooms. Yuck. I will dry my hands on my clothes or use tissues/toilet paper before I use a shared guest towel. But, I digress.

In the shower, we have bar soap. I do not like showering with liquid soap. I know that it would be better for scum buildup in the shower, but I never feel clean after showering with liquid soap. I know, I'm weird :-) Don't mind sharing bar soap with DH. Kids have always used liquid soap in their shower. They just preferred it and I liked that it wasn't so messy with the kids.

I prefer liquid soap at the sink but bar soap in the shower. One of my big pet peeves in my house is that my powder room pedestal sink is so small, there's no place to put a liquid soap container. There is a little indent next to the faucet where a bar of soap can sit (and does) but it annoys me that I can't use a liquid there because I agree, an old icky bar of soap sitting on the sink isn't appealing. Whenever we entertain, I often end up tossing out a half-used bar of soap so I can put a new one out. (I use the little bars of soap that I take from nice hotel rooms!)

VoilÃÂ

Here is a link that might be useful: Wall mount soap container

At least after touching the pump handle, I wash my hands. I just don't like washing my hands WITH something that everyone and their brother has touched.

I clean the pump handle (and everything else) very often.

OTOH, I know I am NOT the norm. A bit of a germaphobe. But, I do try to keep it under control. My DH always tells me that when the superbug hits, I'll die within days while he will be able to fight it off. He's probably right.

Jill, I keep a decorative tray of paper handtowels in the guest bath. I have a cloth towel there also, but that's just for dh and I.

I think they sell paper hand towels now at Walmart, but online you can buy the most beautiful colors and patterns to match any bath.

And as soon as company leaves, almost before they're out the door, I put the cloth towel in the dirty clothes so neither of us uses it. I'm with you, it grosses me out.

My DIL does the same now.

Cam, I bet it's the perfume in the liquid soap. Most of them are scented so I wonder if you tried scent free it would be okay? I say this because one day my ds (in high school at the time) showe me his hand and they were peeling really bad. Then I saw him sprinkle his cologne in his hands and not washing them afterwards, and we figured out it was the cologne. It was kind of a funny moment.

Last year I tried to save money by buying a name brand liquid soap from the grocery store, after using B&BW for so long, and they don't even compare. So I went back to B&BW. With just the two of us, they last quite a while. Except my SIL always begs for a bottle when she comes over. lol

Oak - I do exactly the same thing! Glad to know it's not just me :-) Have a decorative wire basket on the vanity in powder room with pretty paper hand towels. We do not use them. They are just for guests. Also have a hand towel that we (DH, DS and myself) use. While guests are here, if I use the bathroom, I go upstairs to the master bedroom bath. And, as soon as they are out the door, the towel goes in the laundry and is replaced by a clean one.

If we are having a large party and guests may use the main hallway bath upstairs, I put pretty paper hand towels on vanity there also. And replace hand towel after party.