....I LOVE the Soap Opera... I work near there and use it as baby showers/ hosp.gifts/ birthday gifts galore! Also a wonderfull place to treat mysel! staff very helpful and a very fun place to shop...gift wrapping wonderful. If allergic to perfumes...sorry but you should not attempt it. only negative is finding parking as state street is emergency vehicles only, worth the walk,the street is a very cool street to shop. read more

This place has soap. And oils. And bath herbs. And foot scrubs. And, and, and..... This place rocks. You can smell the store from down the street and I mean that in the best way possible. The prices are very reasonable. The staff is VERY friendly, and can help you locate anything. They offer free samples, and can even customize lotions, soaps, ect to your liking with a fragrance you choose. read more

I've been coming to the soap opera for years and they've always been amazing. Amazing products, amazing customer service, and amazing quality. It's a great place to shop for yourself or to pick up a creative birthday/holiday gift. If you're in the area you have to stop by! read more

I've been coming to this store since I was ten years old. It was a magical place that a special aunt would take me, and I was instantly in love. A heavenly cloud of magical scents for a girly girl. Years later, I brought my own little daughter here, and one of her favorite activities was sorting all the shaped soaps into their correct locations. This place has barely changed in all that time. A million choices in soaps, lotions, perfumes, massage oils and tools, every imaginable bath product to delight the olfactory and tactile senses, custom blends made to order, what's not to love? 'Tis the season, go get a special person something delightful here. You'll love it as much as they will. read more

I've never seen a specialty soap store that has this much selection! The owner was there and he was so friendly in showing me their great stuff. I'll be back as often as I can on my business trips to Madison. read more

mmmmmmmmmmmmmmm. i have the best smelling hands ever now. there is a HUGE variety of soaps, as well as other products, here. for someone that doesn't even own a soap dish, i really really really enjoyed this store. it was fun to smell all the different scents. i finally settled on a beautifully scented soap and a beautiful rose-shaped soap. everything here seems very natural, and i overheard an employee helping someone pick out a soap specifically to her organic-soap tastes. the only con is that, though i know soap can be expensive, it seemed a little overpriced - but well worth it. read more

I've been ordering from The Soap Opera online since 2002 and the service, prices and selection is remarkable. The Chucks have done an amazing job year after year and The Soap Opera has become the first place I look online for bath & body products. (They are my Pear's Soap resource!) Great work Chuck & Chuck! read more

My favorite store on State Street. It smells amazing, the service is great, and the products are incredible. The prices are reasonable for a store on State Street, and the location is convenient. They have more than just soap, so I go there to get makeup as well. read more

I was quite overwhelmed with the amount of soap in this store. I'd hate to see the bubbly mess if the store was flooded. Whatever it is you are searching for it has to be in this store. It has many of your natural brands that can be hard to find in certain towns. read more

I am almost sure one would be able to bathe with the amount of rmicro soap residue fumes on one's body after you leave this store...I am not girly and I have to say I adore this store. A friend works here and I try to avoid going in to distract her but oh hell...the soap is so yummy. Ask for a smell of the Rubber Ducky soap you will not walk out without buying some...you can buy it by the slice. Some reviewers on here have said you must park the boyfriend outside but not true ( especially not in the age of the metrosexual man mind you) the diverse selection of products for men is wonderbar!!..I insert my German here because most of the men's product tend to hail from Germany-- and smells come from trees and bars of soap shaped like a pine cone and what not ( park your filthy thought on what to do with that pine cone please)... Check out their website and please tell them to update --the owners think it's fine. SOrt of like telling your parents dial up is out :) The story of how they started selling out of a dresser on wheel-lies is an interesting one to be sure! Stop in if you are here in Madison --not to be missed!!! Prices are good even for a cheapo like me! read more

A lovely business with knowledgeable staff. They stock a plethora of high quality and natural cosmetics. I'm most impressed with the selection of pure oils (more than the standard jojoba and sesame oils you'll see at Whole Foods). Prices are great. One of my favorite places to shop when visiting Madison. read more

This place is excellent. The people they chose to work here are awesome. Good choice. The selections of soaps and oils that you can personalize is amazing! read more

This is a great local soap store/apothecary that's been there for years. I used to shop there in high school, which, for me, is a long, long time ago. They have all your bathing, shaving, and perfume needs. The essential oils section is epic. You can make your own blends, scent your massage oils and what have you, and it's kind of fun! It is a bit pricey, but they are one of the few 'old school' businesses that have managed to stay open on what is now a mostly corporate outdoor mall full of chain-store shit. If you smell bad, I highly recommend you go visit this place. read more

I only happened to walk into this store because I thought the store name was cute! When I waltzed in, I was extremely impressed with the quality and quantity of sudsy products and fragances. If I had stayed any longer, I might have bought a bunch of soaps! read more

Love walking through here to check out all of the fun stuff. They always have great window displays!

I'll stop by this place pretty much any time I find myself on State Street. It smells nice. And they wrap your presents real pretty.

Great selection, they have all the good stuff - even all natural brands. It's difficult to resist the smell walking by. Sometimes I've gotten free samples of their soap bars tucked inside my shopping bag. read more

Kids, if you take your mother here to browse you will know EXACTLY what to get her for holidays and birthdays. The selection here is fabulous and varied. There's lots of fun things to buy for both yourself and any other bath-product loving person. Additionally those that work here can take ANY scent you find anywhere (not sure about brand name perfume) and do wonders to copy it and then you can have you own personalized lotion, body spray, etc. read more

So cute!! I couldn't resist all the little rubber duckies in the window. There was such a great assortment of stuff, and pretty reasonably priced from what I can see. The only downside I saw to this store was the fact that they group everything by brand rather than by function... I was looking for a foaming bath wash and ended up being rather discouraged, so we left empty-handed. read more

this place is great for any gifts for the ladies. You can choose from a variety of soaps, lotions, etc. or make a custom scent of your own. They wrap the gifts super well too. The staff is very friendly, knowledgeable and the prices are reasonable. read more

Such a cute place! The Soap Opera was such a great little shop and had wonderfully scented lotions, soaps, shampoos, body wash, everything you could ever want. It was a little pricey, but worth it! Great gift items and kind, open staff. Heading back soon! read more

The SO is a great store but they aren't perfect. They are crowwwwded. And I mean crowwwwwded! The help is sort of there and not so cheerful. I have not been there in quite a while so things may have improved. We have always loved the selection and magnificent perfumes and scents but this place needs to be larger and the staff needs to be more helpful. read more

I love, love, love this store! Some of the most amazing lotions and potions can be found in here. Customize them too to include your signature scent or even shimmer. They have the full range of Burt's Bees as well as Mason Pearson hairbrushes (expensive sure, but it is the last hairbrush you will ever have to buy!). read more

There is nothing bad to say about this store. Last time I was there, an hour passed and it seemed like 10 minutes. I always walk out with something decadent that my body and all my senses love. You can spend $10 here, or hundreds. Love it love it love it. read more

They have the best gift packages, also they are local and can strike up a conversation. Are willing to answer any questions and help you. There products are always good and act how they are told too. read more

I have been coming to this store since the early 1980's, and really love what they sell. Although the store is small, my favorite items are the unscented lotions, soaps and shampoos that they sell. They have a wall full of scented oils from which to choose, and one can scent them any way one chooses. I prefer my tangerene and lemon scented shampoo. At $13.95 per bottle, it sounds expensive. It is so concentrated, however, that using it every day, it lasts for 6 months. The one sad point about the store is that it is looking rather run-down, both inside and out. It appears dirty as well. It gives the impression that the owner(s) just don't seem to care. This is sad, as it is a local treasure... read more

I have shopped at Soap Opera since they first opened. They are the best. No other body products store in the area has the warm atmosphere and range of product that I am looking for (and the other shops tend to make me sneeze). I also like the staff. I shop internationally, and Soap Opera is one of my world-wide favorites. read more

Soap Opera is place I enjoy visiting seasonally. Their selection is enormous, and the staff is knowledgeable and helpful without being annoying. If you're getting overwhelmed sniffing the soaps (trying to make decisions), they'll let you go into their small courtyard to get some fresh air & resniff the soaps out there. :) The soaps are pricey, but the quality and longevity of the products make them worth the price paid. These soaps aren't going to disintegrate after a week! I'm thrilled that a local soap store is still in business on State St. There are too many chains on State and too many local businesses that close each year. read more

This place is a joke. The fact that it has a five star rating is even more of a joke. The reviewers have given a dumpy store five stars that stocks nothing unique, but rather a few bars of L'Occitane, a limited supply of Crabtree and Evelyn, some Alba and Kiss My Face? The actual L'Occitane is at Hilldale, Crabtree and Evelyn can easily be purchased over the web, their entire collection and both Kiss My Face, Dr. Bronner's and Alba can be bought anywhere, from Target to Whole Foods. There is absolutely nothing unique about this store and it definitely is not worthy of five stars. While it tries to be similar to a Lush, it falls very short. "Doctress Julia B" and "JoJoF" actually said Apothecary? Not even close. Go to Beverly Hills, drop into Mickey Fine, that is a drugstore but also maintains a sense of an apothecary. C O Bigelow in NY is still in the vane of an apothecary, but this place, no way, not even close. read more

On 3/12, I wrote a very negative review of the Soap Opera about a recent order that was shipped to me in Denver, comparing that experience with previous experiences I had with the company. Well, they took the time to figure out who I was, and contacted me directly via email in addition to addressing the issues on Yelp. I have to say I was most impressed! They specifically addressed each of my complaints, and explained why things were packed the way they were. They offered to replace my complete order, and apologized for the problems. So I have to revise my last review. As I did mention in my last review, I love most everything about The Soap Opera (except my last experience). Mistakes do happen to anyone, and The Soap Opera has shown me that indeed they are still customer focused and do care about details and keeping their customers satisfied. Based on their very positive followup, I will definitely give them another try. read more

Stocking stuffers. Great gifts and absolutely beautiful gift wrapping! Everyone is always extremely helpful and patient.

I just received my delightful package of soaps and lip treats, after having just ordered them 5/29/17! Thank you for not using packing peanuts in the shipment, as there is no place to recycle them around where I live - I have tried! I want to say thank you for the excellent customer service. In a world where customer service is an endangered species, your store and employees exist like an oasis. We first visited in person on a trip to Madison, and I was overwhelmed in a good way by all the choices. Your staff were helpful and not at all pushy, which I greatly appreciate. I have sensitive skin, and there were still so many options for me! We bought what we could afford on that trip, and the soaps that I purchased have lasted a long time. It was time to replenish, so I ordered online, and I'm trying some of your own store brand in conjunction with some of my stand-by favorites. I'm also giving some lip treatments a try. I look forward to many months of scrubbing and sniffing in the shower, as well as soft, hydrated lips! Take care and love and light to you and your employees! Thank you for being excellent! read more

I am a person who sneezes whenever I walk by a soap store or one with strong scents. However, I found this store not overwhelming. I was able to walk around the store without getting a headache and really enjoyed the variety or products! read more

One of my favorite businesses on State Street - I always feel like I see products and brands I've never seen before when I go inside. It can be a bit pricey, but it's a fun place to go when you're looking for a gift or a treat for yourself... or, when you're in need of a specialty rubber duck. Always a stellar choice when you're in need of an interesting bath and body-type gift, right? :D read more

Their products are beautiful enough to display and gentle enough for frequent use. I love the Primal Elements Soaps for their scent and design. Great for when you want to give friends a quality soap that works as well as it looks. read more