The 10 Best Luxury Hand Soaps, According to a Beauty Editor
1 min readAt COQODAQ, a Korean fried chicken restaurant in New York City, the first thing you see when you walk in isn’t the golden, perfectly crisp chicken, nor is it anything food-related at all. You’re actually greeted with a long, dark sink, lit up with LED ovals, a hand-washing station adorned with fancy hand soaps like jewels on a crown.
For hand wash aficionados, it’s enough to make you feel like a kid in a candy store. There’s a Loewe soap in a sculptural bottle. You’ll find a glass Diptyque option. And there are even bottles of Maison Francis Kurkdjian’s fragrances in cleanser form. It sets the tone for the rest of your visit to the restaurant: something mundane can be a luxury.
I don’t think you should limit yourself to restaurant visits to use luxury hand soaps. My apartment, if I do say so myself, might even rival COQODAQ’s selection. I rotate through the ones that make every sink experience feel like a trip to the spa, and over my many years as a beauty editor, I’ve tried just about every luxury soap on the market. In order for one to make my favorites list, it needs to lather well, smell like a fine fragrance (and linger on your skin), and absolutely never dry out your skin or leave it feeling tight. Keep reading for my favorites.
The first time I smelled Homecourt’s Steeped Rose scent, I couldn’t believe I was smelling a hand soap. It smells better than most rose perfumes I’ve tried—there’s no hint of powder and it isn’t at all sweet. It smells like a fresh-cut rose, full stop.
Key notes: Rosewater, geranium oil, ylang-ylang oil, guiacwood, vanilla
It’s apt that Oak Essentials would name its new soap Cashmere Musk, since it’s the cleanser equivalent of one of Jenni Kayne’s cocooning cashmere sweaters. The musk and lavender scent is calming and soft, and the formula has a gentle lather that feels silky on your skin. It turns every time you wash your hands into a moment for yourself.
Key notes: Lavender, musk, vetiver
One of my favorite things about this one is the fancy bottle it comes in. It’s solid glass and an easy way to infuse opulence into your bathroom or kitchen. The soap itself is so moisturizing that it makes your hands feel like you put lotion on rather than just washed them. It’s refillable (and refills are $30 less), or you can do what I do and fill your empty vessel with dish soap to zhuzh up your sink.
Key notes: Lavender, rosemary, amber, ylang-ylang
Growing up, my mom had a tub of hand scrub that I used to steal to make my skin feel baby soft. This soap feels like an elevated version of that—it’s made with ground pumice to gently slough off dead skin. And while it’s become something of a bathroom status symbol among tech bros, the fragrance, which is a grounding blend of vetiver and bergamot, is still one to beat.
Key notes: Vetiver, petitgrain, bergamot
Evolvetogether’s Havana hand soap reminds me of sitting next to a fire wrapped in a warm blanket—it’s a cozy blend of cardamom, vetiver, and cedar. I can’t stop smelling my hands when I use it. And it’s also made with glycerin, so it keeps your skin moisturized. Plus, it doesn’t hurt that it comes in a larger-than-average glass vessel that looks stunning on any counter.
Key notes: Cardamom, vetiver, cedar
Unfortunately, Loewe’s Tomato Leaves doesn’t come in the form of a perfume. If it did, it would be my signature scent in 2.5 seconds (I’m a tomato lover and Loewe’s fragrance blend is verdant and lush). But for now, the closest I can get is this soap, which also looks like a sculpture on my bathroom sink and is so good that I find myself wanting to use it sparingly and taking it out only for special occasions. It now also comes in scrub and cream formats.
Key notes: Tomato leaves, fir balsam, oak moss
There was a time when Le Labo’s Santal 33 was virtually inescapable on the streets and in the subways of New York. Now, it’s slightly less pervasive, but the scent still brings me back to dark bars and stiff drinks. My favorite way to smell it is in hand wash form. In this soap, it lingers afterward for hours, leaving just a whisper of santal and spice on your skin. It’s a status symbol that isn’t too showy.
Key notes: Australian sandalwood, cardamom, violet, leather
Flamingo Estate products always feel like a little slice of luxury, but its Heirloom Tomato fragrance in particular is as good as it gets. The scent is truly amazing—like slicing into an August tomato—but the formula is what really gives this one its stripes. Avocado oil and olive oil work to keep your hands moisturized, far more than a typical soap would.
Key notes: Tomato leaf, tarragon, black pepper
Not only does Nécessaire’s soap look incredibly sleek, but it is also loaded with vitamins, minerals, and omegas, which usually get depleted when you wash your hands. It’s nourishing on its own, but the matching lotion is the cherry on top. Not to mention that it smells like sandalwood and white florals and stays on your skin for hours.
Key notes: Sandalwood, black pepper, iris, jasmine
Sisley’s hand soap smells like a summer garden at peak season. It’s somehow managed to blend in tomato leaves, citrus, basil, and plum without any of the notes feeling overpowered. The exfoliating particles are actually pieces of volcanic lava, which help make your hands feel incredibly soft after using it.
Key notes: bergamot, lemon, basil, plum, tomato leaves, jasmine, oak moss, patchouli, vetiver