18 posts tagged “soap notes”

I've tweaked my frankincense and myrrh blend. I've added a hint of vanilla and a touch of sweet orange. It's amazingly good. Whee!

So, that's what I'm making today. Since the resins tend to make the soap turn anywhere from tan to dark brown, and vanilla always makes things turn brown, I've decided to try something a little different. Rather than adding scent to the entire batch, I'm going to wait until I get light trace, then pull out about 1/4 of the batch. To that batch, I'm going to add the gold mica. Then, depending on consistency, I'll either swirl that back into the main batch, or I may pour it as a layered soap, and just layer the gold on top of the F&M. Either way will look really pretty I think, and I just want to make sure that the gold shows. Whee!

Hee! Yesterday I made Blue Banana Soap. It's still in the log mold, so no pics yet, but I think it's going to be fabulous. Gorgeous creamy yellow, sprinkled with blue scrubby micro spheres. (I originally had 'microdots', but I so didn't want the DEA confiscating my soap thinking I was shipping drugs across state lines. Heh.)

Blue Banana: Top notes of fresh bananas and juicy grapefruit, middle notes of kiwi and strawberries with a vanilla base note. Yum! The soap itself is a cocoa butter laden blend made with all organic, renewable resource oils. The microspheres are the same ingredients used in cosmetic scrubs.

All in all, this one is a treat for body and planet...plus it smells like a fruit salad. Yay, Summer!

Soap batch today: Forbidden Fruit:  Pomegranate, Apples and spices.  Yum!  This is one of my favorite soaps to make because I just love, love, love the smell of Pomegranates.  (And far be it from me to decide deep theological issues like which fruit Eve used to tempt silly Adam, ergo, I'll just use both of the top contenders.) 

Dallas Area: Sunday...Fort Worth Zoo. Caravan leaving my house (Northeast Dallas suburb area) around 10am. Let me know if you want to meet us here, or if you want to meet us there, but let's all grab our kids and go see some Tigers and Lions and Bear, Oh My!  Yes, I know driving all the way to Ft. Worth requires breaking out the passport and getting shots, but really...White Tigers!  

I've been a busy, busy soaper.  Yesterday was all about custom traditional bars, cucumber melon jojoba cream scrubs and Neroli bath salts.  (I smelled like a summer salad by the end of the day.  Hee.) 

Today I'm making lots of Spicy Mint.  Both because I'm almost completely out of stock, but also because the essential oils are fabulous for clearing up allergy sinus and headache issues.  (Always a problem for me in the spring.)  The Spicy Mint has Basil, Rosemary, Eucalyptus, Peppermint and Spearmint.  And it's a heavily scented soap, so it'll make my studio (and possibly entire house) smell like a therapy spa for a couple of weeks while it cures.  Yum. 

Tomorrow I've planned new batches of Forbidden Fruit (Pomegranate, Apple and warm spices), and Clove Orange Green Tea. Then, I might be almost caught up.

I still need to come up with what I'm going make my "Summer Special Soap".  I can't decide between "Bananarama", which is sort of a banana coconut mango thing, or something really citrus-y like Neroli and Litsea. 

Also to do:  Order spritzer bottles and find bath bomb packaging solutions so I can get both of those items back in the shop.

Sandalwood vanilla poured.  The sandalwood from Australia isn't quite as rich as the sandalwood from India, but they're also not harvesting ancient trees and creating a culture of murder and crime...so I can live with it.  Once the vanilla bourbon is added, I think the bars smell identical.  I'll have to wait until they finish curing, as scents tend to change as the soap cures, but thus far, I'm pretty pleased.  If it doesn't work, then I'll probably investigate using a fragrance oil instead.  I just can't, in good conscience use non-sustainable harvest methodologies for one of the most valuable ayurvedic healing trees in the world. 

I made the batch big enough that I had extra to pour in my new silicon logo molds, and those look *so* very cool.  Hooray!

I know it seems quiet on the Western Front, but man has it been hectic behind the scenes.  There has been much packing and shipping and wrapping.  I must say, the gift  packs this year are looking particularly fabulous.  The shiny green paper and the green and ecru ribbons really pop.  I'm quite pleased. 

I got my new sample size molds in...whoo hoo!  I had them custom made from my logo. The guys did an extraordinary job of creating a 3d mold from my 2d leaf.  If anyone ever finds themselves in need of a silicon mold, I can totally hook you up with these guys.  I found them via ebay, and asked if they could create something for me, and a month later, I have the molds in my hand.  Super reasonable prices, and a set up fee for the mold template that was less than I've paid to have posters printed before.  Really, very happy with them.  There are a ton of silicon manufacturers out there, but not so many that will do this level of quality work at such reasonable rates.  Yay, Scorpio Innovations. 

As to soap making, I think I'm probably done doing big batches for the year.  I'm going to run out of stuff, I'm sure, but I don't have time to get stuff cured before the end of holiday shipping...and it's a whole lot easier to count a barrel of coconut oil than it is to count hundreds of bars of soap for end of year inventory stuff. 

That said, I really need to go get cracking on custom order stuff.  Yo Ho Ho, and a bottle of holiday cheer to everyone!

Today I'm making Spicy Mint soap.  This is one of my favorites for winter.  It's got cocoa butter and white kaolin clay for super skin protection during the foul weather, and it's loaded with peppermint, spearmint, eucalyptus, basil and rosemary essential oils for upper respiratory relief.  Nothing is better than a steamy, minty, herby shower when you feel ooky.  

If I've got time, I'm going to try and get a batch of Fire and Ice done too, but that may have to wait until tomorrow.  Also have a ton of bath bombs I need to get made before the humidity gets any higher.  Those things are so temperamental about weather conditions. 

I hope everyone had a happy Turkey Day!  Now that the triptophan has worn off, and my Mother assures me that all is well, despite her house catching on fire, it's back to making soap. (And shipping a ton of Gardener's Delight to my mom to help get all the soot off her and the various workers who kept the house from becoming cinders...)  So, todays batches:

Chocolate Seville (Orange Chocolate)  This soap is a big component of the "Just Desserts" gift basket...it's also one of my faves to make, especially during the "Give me chocolate or you die" week.  I make it with 3 different chocolate oils, fair trade organic cocoa powder and 5x Orange Essential oil.   You know those chocolate oranges you get around the holidays?  The ones where you whack em on the table so they break into little orange slice segments?  (I love those!)  This soap smells exactly like those chocolate oranges.  So yummy!

Jojoba Parfait Scrubs:  Fluffy cream soap laced with emerald jojoba beads.  It's so pretty!

Monoi Whipped Body Butters:  Monoi oil is made in super limited quantities in Tahiti.  It's made by crushing Tahitian gardenias into virgin coconut oil, then steeping the flowers for months until the oil picks up the delicate scent of the flowers.  I melt the monoi, add first press cherry oils, jojoba oils, and shea butter and whip it together as it cools until I get a finely tempered thick creamy butter of oils that smell of island escapes and sunny escapades.  I don't add any scents to this mix, letting the Monoi do all the talking.  (A note for fellow soapmakers...a commercial KitchenAide standing planetary mixer is your best friend for making body butters.  The whipping can take up to 45 minutes.  Commercial chef's tools make that a whole lot easier. Plus, you can do other stuff while your KA is doing the heavy work.)    

Finished pouring the last of the dragon soaps.  Still need to cut and shrink wrap them, but that big ol order is almost out of the studio.  Yay!  It took a lot less time than anticipated, and I couldn't be happier with how they turned out. 

Note:  LabColor emerald green is totally worth the money, but should probably not be diluted fully to get the deep colors in traditional soaps. 

Bathmelts2

Also in production today: Bath Melts...an incredible concoction of cocoa butter, shae butter, steel cut fluffy oatmeal, some other goodies and chocolate oil.  When dropped into a warm bath, they fizz and disperse the oils and the oatmeal.  So yummy. 

More custom orders...yay!

Also, big batches of Chocolate Mint and Forbidden Fruit. (I cannot get over how much I love the blend of ripe pomegranates, red apples and cinnamon...yum.)  Notes on Forbidden Fruit:  Fast tracer.  Work it warm, don't let it cool to room temp.  Hand stir, too delicate for mechanical mixer. 

Need to spend the evening wrapping and labeling bars. 

I'm exhausted. :)  The flu shot is killing me...no more flu shots for me, I tell you what.