Soap might not seem like a subject to get in a lather about, but it’s one of those everyday essential items that to me typifies how over-complicated our lives have become.

Throughout the decades, we’ve all used soap to keep ourselves clean, and during the pandemic, we panic-bought it by the bucket-load as a way of limiting the spread of germs.

In truth, the reason I felt inspired to put this humble cleaning product in the spotlight is that my cousin Suzanne recently told me she’d been searching for a particular soap for her dad, who is in his late 80s. It had to be a bar, not liquid, and the brand he wanted was Imperial Leather.

First made in 1938 by manufacturer Cussons, Imperial Leather is certainly a brand that has stood the test of time. The ‘scent’ for the soap was initially commissioned in 1768 by a Russian nobleman as a type of perfume, hence the name.

Suzanne said: “Imperial Leather soap always seemed so luxurious as a kid in the 70s, with its regal shape and little gold paper label on the bar. I bet we kids were not supposed to use it!”

The opulent image of the soap was heightened by the TV ads, featuring a vx#wealthy family enjoying a luxury bath – with Imperial Leather of course – on a private plane.

It’s comforting to know that many of the soap bar brands we had as children are still being made today, including one that my mum remembers from her childhood in the 1940s.

As a child, Emma remembers receiving Bronnley Lemon Soap, in the shape of a lemon, which she usually stowed away in a drawer to keep her clothing smelling nice (Image: Jim Keenan)

She said: “Us kids only had a bath once a week as it was such a palava, and we all used the same water. I can remember we had Palmolive soap (which dates back to 1898). They were always tarring the road somewhere and we’d come home with tar all over our knees, so it took a lot of soap to scrub us clean!”

My mum bought another heritage brand for us when we were kids – Pears Glycerin soap, which was first produced in 1807 by Andrew Pears at a factory off London’s Oxford Street. It was billed as being gentle and kind on the skin, and had a translucent quality – much like your skin was supposed to look after using it.

The product had celebrity endorsement from characters such as socialite/actress Lily Langtree, and the company’s advertising posters featured........

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