Soapary is a British fragrance and wellbeing brand founded by Lisa Barnaby and based at Elvaston Castle in Derbyshire.

We specialise in beautiful botanical fragrance for home, body and sleep. We combine beautiful scent with genuine wellbeing benefits, creating collections that become part of everyday rituals.

Here, we answer questions about Soapary, our fragrances, our four collections and the inspiration behind the brand.

About Soapary

What is Soapary?

Soapary is a British fragrance and wellbeing brand founded by Lisa Barnaby and based at Elvaston Castle in Derbyshire.

From the beginning, Soapary was created around scent, aromatherapy and botanical wellbeing. Our first collection was based entirely around aromatherapy, before developing into the wider world of fragrance for home, body and sleep that Soapary is today.

Our products are designed to complement and enhance everyday life, whether through the fragrance worn on the body, the atmosphere created within a home or the aromatherapy blend used as part of an evening ritual.

How do you spell Soapary?

Soapary is spelled S-O-A-P-A-R-Y.

It is the distinctive name of our British fragrance and wellbeing brand.

Why is it called Soapary?

When Lisa was searching for a name for the brand, it proved surprisingly difficult to find something distinctive that had not already been used or indexed on Instagram.

Soapary, spelled with an “a”, emerged from that search and gave the brand a unique and recognisable name of its own.

Who founded Soapary?

Soapary was founded by Lisa Barnaby with her twin sister, Michelle.

Lisa brought more than 20 years of experience in senior design, product development, sourcing and commercial roles within British fashion. That career gave her a detailed understanding of product, materials, manufacturing and the importance of balancing quality, performance and design.

During the Covid years, Lisa and Michelle missed many of the premium fragrance and wellbeing brands they had previously enjoyed. As they looked more closely at those products, they also realised that many were not as natural as they had assumed.

They set out to develop products that could deliver the same beautiful fragrance, quality and performance as established premium brands, but with a more natural and considered approach. This remains central to Soapary, from choosing organic ingredients and essential oils wherever possible to ensuring that products such as our hand cream and candles perform beautifully.

Where is Soapary based?

Soapary is based at Elvaston Castle in Derbyshire.

Our shop can be found in the Lower Courtyard, within the original stable buildings of the wider Elvaston Estate. Current opening hours can always be found through our Google business listing.

Elvaston is much more than the location of our shop. The landscape, gardens and time spent within the estate have become part of our daily wellbeing and an ongoing source of inspiration for the brand.

What is Soapary’s connection to Belvoir Castle?

Soapary’s first experience of physical retail began at Belvoir Castle, within what is now known as the Belvoir Retail Village.

It was our first venture into a standalone shop and remained Soapary’s home for more than 12 months. It was here that many customers first experienced our fragrances in person and where we realised that Soapary was never meant to exist only online.

Although our own shop is now based at Elvaston Castle in Derbyshire, our connection with Belvoir continues. Soapary can also be found within the Duchess Collection at Belvoir Castle through our collaboration with the Duchess of Rutland.

Are Soapary products made at Elvaston Castle?

Soapary is based at Elvaston Castle, but our products are not made at the castle.

Our collections are developed by Soapary and made in England by specialist manufacturing partners. We work closely with them on our fragrances, formulations, ingredients and finished products.

Are Soapary products made in England?

Yes. Soapary products are made in England by specialist manufacturing partners.

Our products are developed with a focus on ingredient integrity, fragrance performance and refined everyday use. Working with experienced British manufacturers allows us to combine our own product and fragrance direction with specialist knowledge and properly tested production.

Soapary Fragrance

What does botanical fragrance mean at Soapary?

Botanical describes the natural, plant-based foundations of the Soapary brand.

We choose natural and naturally derived ingredients, organic ingredients and pure essential oils wherever possible. Where essential oils provide genuine functional wellbeing benefits, we describe the fragrance as aromatherapy.

We also use high-quality fine fragrance oils where they allow us to create greater scent definition, complexity, character and longevity. Fine fragrance enables us to create a particular atmosphere or mood beyond what can always be achieved through essential oils alone.

Both approaches sit within the wider botanical world of Soapary, but we are always clear about where a fragrance is aromatherapy and where it is fine fragrance.

Are all Soapary fragrances made with essential oils?

No. Soapary works with both pure essential oils and high-quality fine fragrance.

Our aromatherapy blends use essential oils chosen for their genuine wellbeing benefits. We state clearly when a fragrance is aromatherapy and explain its intended purpose.

Fine fragrance allows us to create more complex and beautifully immersive scents. These fragrances are composed for their character, elegance, scent performance and ability to create atmosphere and mood.

Our Better Sleep Collection is entirely centred around aromatherapy. Within our Signature Scents Collection, En Provence, Santorini and Geranium are also genuine aromatherapy fragrances.

What inspires Soapary fragrances?

Memory sits at the heart of the way we experience fragrance.

A scent can return us to a particular place or moment, or take our imagination somewhere entirely new. Some Soapary fragrances begin with real places, experiences or memories. With others, it is the finished fragrance itself that suggests a place, atmosphere or feeling.

The Garden Scents Collection is rooted directly in our allotment and the changing seasons of the British garden. The Heritage Scents Collection reflects our connection with heritage settings and our love of richer fragrances inspired by place, memory and atmosphere.

Across every collection, fragrance is designed to complement and enhance everyday life. It can change how a room feels, become part of how a person is remembered or hold the memory of a particular place, event or moment.

Why is scent connected to memory?

Our sense of smell is closely connected to the parts of the brain involved in emotion and memory. This is why a familiar fragrance can bring back a particular person, place or moment so vividly.

At Soapary, this connection influences the way we think about scent. Fragrance is not simply something pleasant in the background. Over time, it can become part of the memory of a home, an everyday ritual, a celebration or a period in someone’s life.

What is beautifully immersive fragrance?

Beautifully immersive fragrance is designed to become part of the way a space, ritual or moment feels.

It might fill a room with the green freshness of a summer garden, bring depth and atmosphere to an evening at home or help signal that it is time to slow down before sleep.

As a fragrance becomes familiar, it can also become connected with memories of the places and moments in which it was experienced.

What is fragrance layering?

Fragrance layering is the considered use of the same or complementary fragrance across several products and touchpoints.

On the body, this might mean using a body wash, lotion and hand cream in the same fragrance, allowing the scent to build gently and last throughout the day.

Within the home, fragrance can be layered through a diffuser, candle and room perfume to create a more consistent atmosphere. At an event or within a hospitality setting, it might flow from the entrance and gathering spaces into guest bathrooms through candles, diffusers and hand care.

Rather than relying on one product to carry the whole experience, each layer contributes to a cohesive fragrance that surrounds you without becoming overwhelming.

What is the Soapary Fragrance Wardrobe?

The Soapary Fragrance Wardrobe belongs specifically to the Signature Scents Collection and the way its fragrances can be worn and layered through body care.

Build your fragrance wardrobe by choosing the fragrances that become part of your everyday ritual. A hand wash by the sink. A body lotion after your shower. A hand cream in your handbag.

By using matching products in your chosen fragrance from the Signature Scents Collection, you can build a natural layer of scent on the skin and genuinely wear that fragrance throughout the day.

The fragrance wardrobe. The scents you live with every day.

The Soapary Collections

What are the four Soapary collections?

Soapary has four principal fragrance collections, each with its own role:

• Signature Scents Collection: The fragrances that define Soapary, moving across home and body.

• Better Sleep Collection: Purposeful aromatherapy blends created for different evening and sleep needs.

• Garden Scents Collection: Fragrances inspired by our allotment and the changing seasons of the British garden.

• Heritage Scents Collection: Our richest and most sophisticated fragrances, inspired by place, memory and atmosphere.

Together, they bring beautiful botanical fragrance into home, body and sleep.

What is the Soapary Signature Scents Collection?

The Signature Scents Collection contains the fragrances that define Soapary.

It is where Soapary began and remains the foundation of the brand. The collection began in aromatherapy before expanding into fine fragrance, bringing together timeless scents designed to be enjoyed throughout the year.

It is the only Soapary collection to offer a complete range across home and body. A chosen fragrance can move from hand wash, body wash, lotion and hand cream into candles, diffusers and home fragrance.

Each fragrance is layered by design, allowing customers to build a complete ritual around one scent without it becoming overwhelming.

One scent, multiple rituals. These are the scents customers discover, make their own and return to again and again.

What is the Soapary Better Sleep Collection?

The Better Sleep Collection brings together purposeful essential-oil blends created to support different evening and sleep needs.

Rather than assuming that every sleep difficulty or evening ritual requires the same fragrance, the collection offers three distinct approaches:

• Deeper Sleep is for those who find it difficult to settle into sleep.

• Pure Sleep is designed to help quiet a busy mind before bed.

• Rest Well creates moments of pause and helps support the transition from a busy day into a calmer evening.

Every fragrance within the Better Sleep Collection is an aromatherapy blend, created with pure essential oils and genuine wellbeing benefits. The products are intended to become part of a consistent evening ritual, without making medical claims or promising to cure sleep problems.

What is the Soapary Garden Scents Collection?

The Garden Scents Collection contains fragrances inspired by our allotment and the changing seasons of the British garden.

Fresh, full, crisp and naturally uplifting, the collection captures the abundance and atmosphere of the garden throughout the year. It brings the character of fragrant vine tomatoes, garden herbs, ripe fruits, elderflower, rhubarb and blooming roses into the home.

The collection grew from Lisa’s own allotment, where the scent of plants, fruit, herbs and changing seasons naturally began to influence the way she thought about fragrance.

Designed to bring the outdoors in, the Garden Scents Collection works beautifully with open windows and doors. Its candles are also fragrant enough to be enjoyed outside on a summer evening.

The Garden Scents Collection includes fragrance for the home through candles, diffusers and room perfumes.

What is the Soapary Heritage Scents Collection?

The Heritage Scents Collection contains Soapary’s richest and most sophisticated fragrances, inspired by place, memory and atmosphere.

Soapary’s own story has been shaped by heritage settings, from our first shop at Belvoir Castle to our present home at Elvaston Castle. A genuine love of grand buildings, layered interiors and the atmosphere held within historic spaces helped shape this collection.

The fragrances are fuller, deeper and often muskier than those within our other collections. Complex in structure, they sit closer to the intricacy of a personal perfume than a traditional home fragrance.

Created principally for the home, the Heritage Scents Collection includes candles, diffusers and room perfumes. Marseille is the exception, having expanded into hand and body products following demand from our hospitality partners.

What is the Soapary allotment?

The Soapary allotment is Lisa’s working allotment and the place where the Garden Scents Collection began.

More importantly, it is Lisa’s personal retreat. It provides a place to step away, switch off and follow the slower rhythm of growing, tending and gathering throughout the seasons.

It is often in these quieter moments that Lisa’s clearest thinking happens. The scent of herbs warmed by the sun, tomato leaves, fruit, flowers and freshly cut stems naturally began to influence the fragrances she wanted to create.

The allotment connects scent with the wider Soapary belief that everyday wellbeing does not always need to be complicated. Sometimes it can be found through time outdoors, caring for something and making space to notice what is already around us.

Products, Ingredients and Values

Are Soapary products natural?

Soapary is rooted in a natural and plant-based approach.

We choose natural and naturally derived ingredients, organic ingredients and pure essential oils wherever possible. Our aromatherapy and wellbeing collections use 100% natural ingredients, while high-quality fine fragrance is used within selected products to provide greater scent definition, complexity and longevity.

As product formulations can develop, customers should always refer to the ingredients listed on the individual product or current product page for the most up-to-date information.

Are Soapary products vegan and cruelty-free?

Soapary products are never tested on animals.

The majority of our products are vegan-friendly. Where an ingredient such as beeswax is used, as in our Botanical Balm, this is clearly stated within the product information.

Is Soapary a sustainable brand?

Sustainability has been a working principle for Soapary from the beginning.

Products are made in small batches at solar-powered premises in England. We choose reusable, refillable or recyclable packaging wherever practical and use paper-based packaging for online orders to help reduce unnecessary waste.

We continue to review materials and packaging as the collection develops. We also support tree-planting initiatives to help address the impact that cannot be avoided.

Our approach is not about claiming perfection. It is about making thoughtful decisions, continuing to improve and creating products intended to be used fully, refilled, reused or recycled wherever possible.

What is a Soapary Forever Candle?

The Soapary Forever Candle is a ceramic candle vessel designed to be kept, replenished and enjoyed again and again.

Once the original candle has finished, a Soapary Signature Candle Tin can be placed inside the ceramic vessel as its refill. The Signature Candle Tin can also be burned and enjoyed beautifully on its own before being recycled.

The Forever Candle is designed to become part of the home and the life lived around it. Through the Milestones Collection, each new candle or refill can also mark another meaningful moment, allowing the permanent vessel to gather memories over time.

What is the Soapary Milestones Collection?

The Milestones Collection brings together candles created to mark life’s meaningful moments.

Fragrance has a powerful connection with memory, making a candle a particularly personal way to celebrate, remember or acknowledge an occasion.

The Milestones Collection also sits naturally alongside the Soapary Forever Candle. The ceramic vessel remains, while a new Signature Candle Tin can be chosen as life moves forward and new milestones are reached.

Are Soapary Signature Candle Tins recyclable?

Yes. Soapary Signature Candle Tins are made from recyclable aluminium.

They have been designed to work as the refill for the Soapary Forever Candle while remaining beautiful enough to be burned and enjoyed on their own.

Once the candle has been fully enjoyed, the aluminium tin can be cleaned and placed in the appropriate household recycling.

Does Soapary make products for sleep and wellbeing?

Yes. Wellbeing has been an equal part of Soapary from the very beginning.

Our first collection was based entirely around aromatherapy. Today, the Better Sleep Collection offers purposeful essential-oil blends for different evening and sleep needs.

Wellbeing is not limited to the Better Sleep Collection. En Provence, Santorini and Geranium within the Signature Scents Collection are also genuine aromatherapy fragrances:

• En Provence is designed to help you relax and unwind.

• Santorini brings a sense of calm clarity.

• Geranium supports everyday balance.

Soapary is not a clinical wellness company, and we do not make medical claims. We create beautiful fragrance with genuine wellbeing benefits where they genuinely apply.

How do I choose a Soapary fragrance?

Fragrance is personal, so begin by thinking about the scents and atmosphere you naturally enjoy.

You can explore Soapary through the four collections, by fragrance character or by the ritual you want to create.

For the home, consider how you would like a room to feel. For the body, think about the fragrance you would like to wear and layer throughout the day. For sleep and wellbeing, begin with what you need from the ritual, whether that is winding down, quieting a busy mind or settling into rest.

If you visit our Elvaston shop, we can help you experience the fragrances in person and find the one that feels right for you.

Scent Your Event

What is Soapary Scent Your Event?

Scent Your Event helps create a beautifully fragranced atmosphere for weddings, celebrations, gatherings and hospitality spaces.

A fragrance is chosen to reflect the mood of the occasion, then layered throughout the space using candles, diffusers and guest touchpoints such as hand wash and lotion.

Each product can work individually, but together they create something cohesive and memorable. From the entrance and tablescape to guest bathrooms and quieter corners, fragrance becomes an invisible thread connecting the different spaces and moments of the day.

Why should I scent a wedding or event?

Scent has a powerful connection with atmosphere and memory.

While flowers, styling and lighting shape how an event looks, fragrance helps shape how it feels. A consistent scent used throughout a venue can add warmth, continuity and a sense of care that guests remember long after the occasion has ended.

The chosen fragrance can also become personally connected with that day, allowing it to bring back the memory whenever it is experienced again.

Scent the moment. Scent the memory.

Which Soapary fragrances are available for Scent Your Event?

All five fragrances within the Signature Scents Collection are available for Scent Your Event, alongside Marseille from the Heritage Scents Collection.

Rhubarb from the Garden Scents Collection is also available, offering a fresh, uplifting choice for celebrations and seasonal gatherings.

Holkham Bay will join the Scent Your Event fragrance selection in 2027.

The chosen scent can be layered through an event using the most appropriate combination of candles, diffusers, hand care and body products available within that fragrance.

What products can be used to scent an event?

Soapary candles, diffusers and hand care can be layered throughout an event or venue.

Candles bring fragrance and atmosphere to tablescapes and gathering spaces. Diffusers provide a consistent background fragrance, while hand wash and lotion carry the chosen scent into guest bathrooms and quieter touchpoints.

For those wishing to extend the experience, candles or other fragranced pieces can also be given to guests, allowing part of the atmosphere to be taken home.

How far in advance should I plan event fragrance?

For larger quantities, Soapary products are made to order to ensure consistency across the event.

We recommend allowing approximately six to nine weeks, particularly for larger celebrations or venue projects, so everything can be prepared with care.

Hospitality and Venue Fragrance

Does Soapary work with hotels and hospitality venues?

Yes. Soapary works with a considered number of boutique hotels, inns, holiday accommodation, restaurants, wedding venues, spas, retreats and other hospitality spaces.

Our approach goes beyond simply supplying products. We help partners consider how fragrance can become part of the guest experience and the identity of a space.

A consistent fragrance can flow from arrival areas and shared spaces into guest rooms and bathroom touchpoints through candles, diffusers, hand wash, lotion and body products.

Can Soapary help a venue choose its fragrance?

Yes. Each partnership begins by considering the space, where guests arrive, where they gather, where they pause and where moments of rest are found.

From there, a fragrance can be selected and placed with care. The intention is not to overwhelm a space, but to create a beautifully consistent atmosphere that becomes familiar over time.

Ongoing scent care, replenishment and gentle adjustments can also form part of the relationship.

Which Soapary fragrances are available for hospitality?

All five fragrances within the Signature Scents Collection are available for hospitality, alongside Marseille from the Heritage Scents Collection.

Rhubarb from the Garden Scents Collection is also available for selected venue and event scenting.

The chosen fragrance can be layered through a venue using the most appropriate combination of home fragrance, hand care and body products available within that scent.

Does Soapary offer co-branded products?

For selected partnerships, Soapary can add a subtle co-branded detail within our existing labels.

This may take the form of a venue name or a small printed element designed to sit quietly alongside the Soapary identity. Our vessels and core design remain unchanged so that the finished product remains consistent and recognisably Soapary.

Co-branded pieces are produced in considered quantities and are subject to a design fee.

Visiting and Shopping with Soapary

Does Soapary have a shop?

Yes. The Soapary shop is based in the Lower Courtyard at Elvaston Castle in Derbyshire.

It is a place to experience our fragrance collections in person, discover new products and receive help choosing fragrance for home, body or sleep.

Current opening hours can always be found through our Google business listing.

Can I buy Soapary products online?

Yes. Soapary products can be purchased online at soapary.co.uk.

Our online shop includes home fragrance, body care, bath products, aromatherapy, sleep rituals and gifts.

Where can I find Soapary?

You can shop online at soapary.co.uk or visit the Soapary shop in the Lower Courtyard at Elvaston Castle in Derbyshire.

Soapary also attends selected markets and seasonal events throughout the year.

Products are available through a growing number of considered retail collaborations. Selected Soapary products can currently be found within the Duchess Collection at Belvoir Castle.

Beautiful Botanical Fragrance for Home, Body and Sleep

Soapary brings together fragrance, body care and botanical wellbeing through products designed for everyday rituals.

From the fragrance worn and layered on the body to the atmosphere created at home, the memories held by a celebration and the aromatherapy blend reached for before sleep, our aim is to make beautiful fragrance part of the way you live.