Ooh You Naughty Soap-Come To Mama!!!

I've been a little frisky lately with my blog posts, but I've gotta keep reeling you in somehow:-D!

The other day I vaguely hinted about a small soap disaster I had, and here is the end result. Let me preface this by saying I am so done trying to achieve the perfect swirl or color. I've wasted so much time and supplies trying to get it right, that I'm just going to let my soaps be. It's what's on the inside that counts right? Let me introduce you to Rhubarb Al Fresco. I bought this scent blindly from Brambleberry because I just love the word rhubarb. Of course I didn't read the notes in the soap description. I just wanted the fragrance. Anyway, my intention was to "swirl" this soap in various shades of pink and red, but of course it didn't go down that way. No sooner than I added the FO at a light trace did that sucker seize on me (Disclaimer: The Brambleberry description clearly states that this scent superheats, but this bad boy was smokin'!) It was practically solid, so I was moving with the quickness! My whole swirl intention was shot to hell, so I poured the colored soap into the seized soap and tried to salvage some semblance of a swirl.

Well this is the final result. Not bad, huh? I kinda dig the funky, pale pink topper. And, the scent? O-M-G! It is dying, no begging to be showered with-only 4 more weeks til cured! Oh, and it's my first palm-free batch. Yay!!!

One Step Ahead...

I always pride myself on being one step ahead of the game (or at least on pace). Case in point: I received my download of the Jan/Feb '09 issue of Saponifier Magazine the other day, and one of the articles was Product Reviews. I was surprised to see that one of the products being reviewed was Brambleberry's Holly Berry fragrance oil. I was so excited because I bought this FO back in November as my one true Christmas fragrance. It's a limited edition FO, so I'm not sure how long it'll be around. The reviewer used her Holly Berry in body cream and MP soap, but I used mine in CP soap. The scent itself is a combo of holly, pine, and red tart berries with supporting notes of cinnamon and cardamom. There was a disclaimer that the soap would discolor to a peach/gold after 8 hours. That would have been so cool, but it didn't happen for me. My soap stayed the red and green I colored it. I really smell the cinnamon and pine more than anything making it perfectly unisex. I sprinkled a little gold soap glitter on it for effect. Believe it or not, I haven't used this one yet. It's going in the shower tonight. Bottom line: It is a nice addition to your holiday/winter collection.

Turning Trash Into Treasure

Okay, maybe that's a little harsh, but is it me or do companies send out freebies of their least-selling product or overstock? Case in point, I ordered some stuff from Brambleberry recently, and I got this soap mold of a bear. My first response was "Ugh!!! I don't want this crap," and I tossed it to the side. Three weeks later, I'm cleaning my work space, and I find this mold buried under some bubble wrap, and a light bulb goes off: Add it to your Soapy Critters collection dummy! Well, a bear is a hell of a critter, but I'm now in love with this mold. It holds a whopping 6+ oz of MP soap, and I love the look of this bar! I decided to stick with Brambleberry throughout this creation, and I used their Almond fragrance oil. This thing smells so good, I want to bite it. I'm using an olive oil soap base. The pigments are from Peacock dyes. I used Paula's Tool Kit from PJ soaps. As a MP soap artist (as I like to refer to myself,) you must have this kit. It has everything you need to color all those little crevices of your soap mold. It's a time-consuming process, but the end result is so worth it. I use it on my Monkey Bars and all my other little critters.

So, in parting, I say "Thank you, Brambleberry for unloading (or bestowing) your extras on me." Honestly, it was a nice departure from the mini FO sample I usually get.

Worth Mentioning

In the previous post I revealed the winners of the annual top suppliers according to Saponifier magazine. Before I do my "Honorable Mention," I will reaffirm why the top overall faves are so deserved of this honor:

1. Brambleberry: If you want superior quality with superior customer service, then you have arrived! The old adage proves you get what you pay for. Brambleberry aint cheap compared to the many suppliers you can find online, but their fragrance oils are un-beatable. What I love most about them is the descriptions are dead on! I also love the fact that they tell you how the FO performs in the different soap- and bath and body-making processes. There are also many useful tools on the site such as a lye calculator, links to affiliate sites, recipes, scent-blending options, and pre-made kits. No, I'm not on the payroll. My one little poo-poo: They need an east coast distributor!!! My favorite scents: Relaxing, Oatmeal, Milk & Honey, and Orchard (discontinued I think because I don't see it on the site anymore.)
2. Elements Bath & Body: Elements is a modge-podge of a supplier, if you will. I buy my labels from them as well as some containers and dry additives such as rose petals and lavender buds. They constantly run specials on their entire product line, and the shipping is quick! My recommendation: the labels!
3. Southern Soapers: I love SS because they're in Virginia which is "around the corner" from me, so the shipping and service is quick and efficient. More importantly though, they carry some of the best-smelling FO's out there. When I'm looking for something truly unique, I go to SS first. I also like the fact that Kelly, the owner, often holds free online classes. I'm also a member of her Yahoo group, SouthernSoapers. My favorite scent? Spiced Orange!

Now, for the honorable mentions, and I have two:

1. Sweet Cakes: I cannot stop raving about this supplier. Her designer dupes are dead on!!! Even the most discriminating nose would have a hard time picking the real scent from the faux one. I highly recommend SJP Lovely.
2. Day Star Supplies: I buy many FO's here as well, and I love DSS for the variety. I swear there are over a hundred different scents available on this site. What I love most though is you can buy five 2-oz samples for $25.00. They too are very concentrated and you can get a fragrant batch of 3 pound soap with one 2-oz sample. I recommend Iced Lemon Biscotti, Cherry Meringue Bites, and Cranberry Yuzu.

I've Been Vindicated!!!!

It's just another Manic Monday....Remember that song from the Bangles? Did you know that Prince wrote that? Anyway, the meatloaf soap kinda bummed me out yesterday, so I decided to give it another shot. I changed the formula because I have absolutely no soaping oils in the house so I had to improvise. I call this soap Yahoo for Yuzu. Here's the recipe:

• 24 oz. hydrogenated soy
• 8 oz. cocoa butter
• 10.56 oz water
• 4.142 oz lye (5% superfatted)
• 2 oz Yuzu
• Orange zest dye from Peacock Dyes
• Silicone loaf mold

(Shout out to Brambleberry for having a handing lye calculator on their site)

I have a confession to make: I do not calculate the temps of my oils and lye. I have had really good success (the meatloaf soap doesn't count) adding the lye straight to my liquified oils. One lesson I've learned is once you've added your fragrance, do not use your hand mixer to incorporate the scent. It could accelerate trace. Simply fold the fragrance in with your soaping spoon or spatula (never metal-wooden or plastic is best). Oh, I forgot to mention that I poured about 8 oz of the unscented raw soap in a separate container. I color that with my dye to create swirls (I have yet to master the art of the swirl, but that's another blog post in itself.)

To make a long story short, my Yahoo Yuzu turned out pretty good. My swirls leave little to be desired, but you will probably be seeing this soap on The Soap Seduction. Here is the final result.