Exactly, bluenan!

ha! Good point. I guess the secondary question would be, Are people allowed to use them?

I've received them as gifts, but didn't want to use them because I wanted them to stay pretty and then they get coated with dust, so I throw them away. :D

I love pretty soap. Yes, I put them out. And yes, I expect guests to use them. That's why it's soap.

Me too raineycarole! I love buying pretty little soaps when I am travelling to put out especially for guests. The only problem is I don't like how they look once they have been used so I have to constantly put out new ones. Ha! It doesn't go to waste though because then I get to use it in the master bath.

I guess, if you don't leave any other soap for guests to find, they will be forced to use the decorative soaps if they want clean hands! lol.

Yep, but when I'm forced to use decorative soaps I can never get a lather because they're so hard and then when I try to dry my hands on the fancy monogrammed linen towels, they have absolutely no absorbancy, so I walk out of the there with wet and not so clean hands! :)

No decorative soaps for guest at my house, but I do have nice " regular" soap and soft towels. I also keep a roll of paper towels handy, much more sanitary and guest do use them.

HI -- Any decorative soaps I have used have been terrible soaps, so no ,I would not buy any . I have a soap foam pump that serves the purpose . I have regular good quality bar soap for our and house guests use .

No. You use these things once and they look bad. I would never touch someone else's cute little set up. I don't want to be the first person to mess it up! I'm into aesthetics, but when people place appearance before function I find it uncomfortable and unwelcoming. There are plenty of artisanal bar soaps out there that are both very pretty AND functional.

I totally expect them to be used! That's the whole reason I put out my nice soaps and guest towels (monogrammed or not)! If that's what's on someone's sink when I'm visiting them, that's what I use as well. Although to be more realistic, I tend to prefer the soap petals instead of fancy soaps. That way someone can grab just enough to actually use and they tend to dissolve better than the fancy soaps that get petrified after awhile.

I do use the decorative soaps that are put out but find that they are very hard and hardly lather at all. For my guest bath I have both a hanging guest towel and some pretty paper hand towels in a nice container. For soap, I use the pump soap which is also in a pretty container made just for the pump bottle. I have a small bottle of nice hand lotion for the ladies ( or men, lol). I try to make sure the fragrance for the soap is not to "girly" so men don't feel uncomfortable using it. I really strive to make my home as welcoming as possible for all my guests.

Jessica, love the idea of the petals.

Sharon1ha you can also get soap "confetti" now to match your bathroom decor. I saw some at Bed Bath & Beyond that looked like rubber ducks...

This is totally off topic and I like the idea of decorative soaps but I much prefer the packaging of regular shaped soap. You know those very pretty papers that cover the soap themselves, or the pretty boxes that they come in. Some are just gorgeous. Next time you are in TJMaxx, Ross, etc. check them out. I think they would be fun to collect for a display.

I used to do the decorative soaps in the bathroom. But no one used them. I didn't really like the idea that no one was using soap to wash their hands at my house (gross) so I added a liquid dispenser and left the soaps for decorating. Then they got dusty, ever try to dust a bar of soap? Trust me, not an easy task...at that point I said "forget it" and went for a more uncluttered look! Actually, I liked when people stock the paper guest towels in a basket in the guest bath instead of the soap. So clean and sanitary!

Totally off the subject, but does anybody remember these? I had one!

I have both liquid soap and a cool rock like soap in my powder room. It gets a lot of comments.

I have decorative soap dispensers (my favorite is the globe you tilt at 180 degree) for the bathrooms and a soap on a metal bar like we used to have at school (the yellow one) for the laundry room

soap pumps for me. the decorative soaps don't look so decorative after a few uses.

Funny you ask. My SIL's parents gave us this for Xmas several years ago and, yes, I placed it in the guest bathroom. It's not my style at all, but it's weird that I kind of like it and I'm having a hard time removing it. No one seems to ever touch it except the grandgirls move the eggs around a bit. I have liquid soap on the other side of the sink:)

@An: are you sure the hen is a soap? I almost want to eat it, it looks like a white chocolate hen I got as a kid for Easter :-)

Along the same line though, wouldn't you love to get this Williams Sonoma set as a Xmas gift. This might just have to be my gift idea for those "hard to shop for" people next Xmas. The monogrammed paper hand towels in a basket would be awesome.

I have decorative soap in my bathroom. They are about 4" x 2.5" x 1", and they are functional too!

Ann, I love those! I don't normally use decorative soaps but am tempted to order some from WS.