New Soap: Adore

It's been a whirlwind week! I've been featured on Art Fire, and I made my very 1st sale on

1000 Markets-whoot! Well, it's back to business as usual, and that of course means new soap! How did I come up with that name? It's really simple: I love Prince, and it was a toss up between Soft and Wet and Dirty Mind. I'll keep those two for later projects (wink.) Besides, Adore is my favorite Prince song.

"Until the end of time, I'll be there 4 U. U own my heart and mind, I truly adore U. If God one day struck me blind, your beauty I'd still see. Love's 2 weak 2 define just what U mean 2 me ."

The scent of this soap reminds me of raw passion and profound adoration for the one you love (or have an insane crush on at least....) So what does it smell like? Lemongrass, verbena, driftwood, sandalwood, narcissus, amber stone, tonka bean, and musk. It may sound complicated, but isn't that what love is? Complicated....

Soap components: soybean oil, castor oil, avocado oil, coconut oil, and cocoa butter. I'm countin' down the days til this one is ready to use! Your man (or lady) will surely dig it!

Power Balls!

I'm so silly that I crack myself up! If you can't laugh at yourself, you've got issues!

Anyway, I made a batch of soap about a week and a half ago with the leftover Summer Rhubarb fragrance, and it tanked! I completely forgot how that this fragrance super heats your soap mixture, so the soap batter seized halfway through the mixing phase. But never you worry! I used the botched batch to make power balls! I call them power balls because they're much larger than my regular ones. They remind me of meatballs (in part because I equate almost everything with food.) I'm also thinking of a way to incorporate a few of these into my next batch.

I've got to order some new fragrance oils. I'm running really low....

New Soap: Mintal Case

If you haven't guessed it by now I am a mintal, not mental, case, and green is my favorite color-all shades of it. Even my birthstone is green (peridot), and my theory was right: I added the mica before I began mixing the oils and lye, and it worked! The color blended smoothly, and I did not get a super-thick trace. Of course I scented the green half in Garden Mint and the other half in Bourbon de Vanille. I didn't even bother coloring the vanilla half because it's gonna turn brown anyway (vanilla browns for ya'll who didn't know that).

The mint portion of this soap is very strong. I can barely smell the vanilla so I look forward to seeing how this soap plays out.

Ingredients: soybean oil, rice bran oil, coconut oil, castor oil, avocado oil, and cocoa butter. My apartment was so friggin hot that my coconut oil liquified and dripped all over my counter!

Bergamot & Mandarin Soap

I was really nervous about buying this fragrance oil. In the black community there is a hair grease called Bergamot. It's an aquamarine blue and it has a very distinct smell. It doesn't stink, but it doesn't smell great either. My mother would grease my scalp with it weekly. One thing I never understood was why my mother would "scratch" the dandruff out of my scalp then put grease on top of it....I digress. You should know by now that I always start my posts with a personal story. I'm the female Cliff Huxtable...LOL.

Here's my Bergamot & Mandarin soap. Loves it! I smell the citrus, but the bergamot keeps calling me: "Patrice. Time to get your scalp greased....." I made this one with rice bran, coconut, and olive oils with shea and cocoa butters. I'm really loving my oxides ya'll! The colors are really rich, and you don't need a whole lot either. I literally sprinkle it like pepper into my soap batter and give it a few whizzes with my stick blender. I've learned my lesson by adding the fragrance LAST. I can't wait til this one's ready. I'm reserving one of these for my shower. Happy Friday!

Grapefruit Lily Soap: Which Version Do You Prefer?

Before I go into the tale of my soapmaking disaster, I'd like to officially welcome all of my new followers. Thank you and welcome to the madness! You'll never know what to expect on any given day. This blog has been so cathartic for me.....okay, now I'm rambling, see what I mean?

Getting back to the soap: I bought this fragrance Grapefruit Lily on a whim from Brambleberry about a year ago, not knowing if I'd love it or hate it. I'm not a floral gal at all. I like earthy, fruity, or foody scents. Anyway, I was still very new to making cold processed soap, and this was probably my third or fourth batch, but only my second successful one. I did no research on color or anything. I had some pink Peacock Dye and said to myself, okay, grapefruit is pink, so I'll go with pink. I attempted to do a swirl which looked great on the top, but I didn't hold my pour high enough, so it didn't go all the way to the bottom. When I cut the soap, only the bottom of it was swirled. It's quite hilarious now that I've gotten better and more confident in my soapmaking, but a year ago, I thought this was the best looking soap on the planet!



I actually have a few small wedges of this batch left. I absolutely love this scent! It's so fresh and not overly-floral. It's definitely more flowery than grapefruit-y, but it's the perfect balance. So how could I possible improve on perfection? Remember those oxides I told you about a few posts ago? I decided to try them, and I actually had a plan, but of course I screwed it all up! When I think of lily, two things come to mind: my grandmother, Lily, and Calla Lily. I think those are the most beautiful flowers ever, but I didn't want another pink and "white" soap. I googled "lily" and found this beautiful tiger lily. BINGO! Not only was a beautiful shade of orange, but it would be the perfect excuse if my colorant speckled. I'd pass it off as Grapefruit Tiger Lily Soap. I can barely contain myself as I write this because I goofed this soap up so badly...

First of all, I stirred too long, so my trace was a lot thicker than I wanted it to be before I separated the batch in two. I chose a brick red oxide and a pink oxide-I love pink, and I love pink grapefruit. When I reached the desired trace, I separated the batch so that I color one half reddish-orange, and the other half pink. Being the overzealous person that I am, I colored half of my batch and proceeded to stir it in, when "#(#*(*&!%" I FORGOT TO ADD THE MICA!!! I knew I was doomed because my soap was already at a decent trace, and I knew once I added that mica I would have to zap it some more with my stick blender, but I did it anyway. I was determined to have two-toned soap! All it took was about 3 zaps, and half of my soap batch was as thick as cake frosting. I glopped it in my mold and spread it evenly as if I were frosting a cake because that's basically what it was at this point. I colored the other half of the soap which was still pretty liquid and very pourable. I never scent my accent color. When I poured it over the soap "frosting", it was disastrous. I made the further mistake of trying to swirl it. What I should have done was left it as it by having the red/orange soap sit on top of the pink soap to give it a layered look. Well, here's the finished result:



In my defense, it looks a lot better in person than it does in these pics. I also used a straight cutter (why?) to detail my swirl-challenged skills. You know what though? I kinda like it. It smells really good. The grapefruit is really strong, but I expect it to mellow out once it's fully cured. I also have to say that I'm really liking these oxides and ultramarines. They didn't really speckle, and had I done the right thing, the colors would have been a lot prettier. The first batch was made with palm, coconut, olive, and castor oils. The new batch was made with olive, rice bran, sweet almond, and coconut oils, and shea, mango, and cocoa butters. These are the most ingredients I've ever used in a soap. I can't wait to try this one. I'll keep you posted!

Coconut Lemongrass Soap

This is the best batch of soap I've made all year! Not only is it palm-free, but I actually love the way it looks! This soap was not made with a P-free fragrance oil (at least the bottle or web description doesn't indicate that it is.) I can't describe how coconut lemongrass smells. I really can't smell the coconut because the lemongrass is so dominant. Actually the description says it's got pineapple, lily of the valley, peach, and sandalwood. Whatever it is, I really like it. I was going to attempt some of the fancy-schmancy swirl techniques I've read about in Saponifier, but by the time I made the green and yellow portions, I said eff it, and stuck with my free-form rigmarole. This is also the most ingredients I've ever used in a soap: olive oil, coconut oil, cocoa butter, sweet almond oil, and shea butter. Shea butter is really expensive, so I'm reserving what I have for certain batches.

I also let this soap sit in the mold for about 3 days before un-molding and cutting. I'm learning to be patient. Besides, I always end up with smudged soap when cutting it too soon after un-molding. I'm off to make more soap. I'm dipping my toe into the pool of micas and oxides. I find them a little intimidating because they always clump when I use them. I'll post more pics in the coming week!

In Love With Lemon

I cannot get enough of this scent. I probably have about 4 different variations of lemon, and here is my latest batch: Lemon Chiffon with Poppy Seed. I got the scent and the poppy seeds from Wholesale Supplies Plus. Incidentally, that was the first online supply site I've ever purchased from. That was four years ago and still going strong!

This particular lemon scent has vanilla in it. I mixed it with equal parts of vanilla browning neutralizer, also from WSP, in hopes that it won't brown too badly. This yellow is so beautiful, I hate to have lose it, but I'm not hopeful. It smells good enough to eat, and I can't wait to use it!

I'm also in love with this grid mold. I'm into small batch soaping now, and as small as these bars may seem, they are about 3.5 oz each when cut. I've got a whole line of dessert-inspired soaps planned. Up next: Strawberry Shortcake. Stay tuned....

More "Green" Soap

For so long I've had it ingrained in my mind that if you want to make cold processed soap, then you've gotta use a wooden mold. BA-LO-NEY!!!! I've hid these plastic grid molds forever and thought they would not be able to withstand the rigors of lye and heat, but man was I wrong! Not only did they easily slide out, but they are also pre-scored, so all I have to do is cut and trim.

Here are a few pics of soap I made over the weekend. The pink one is Blackberry Apple and the greenish-looking one is Italian Granita Ice. I love the ashy look of this one for some reason. My tastes are becoming more and more rustic. I'm so over with trying to achieve the "perfect-looking" soap. These bars make so much lather, that I was in complete awe! Now I'm off to make some soap balls with my scraps. Talk to ya later!

ps-Don't forget to enter my I Love Cupcakes Giveaway (see sidebar on the left for details!)

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!!!

Going Green with Palm-Free Soap

(Pic courtesy of Whitebox)

About a month ago, I made a conscious decision to begin making palm-free soaps. That means no palm oil or no palm kernel oil. Why is that you may ask? Well, I've been really re-evaluating how I can personally make a contribution to going and staying green. It's been a personal struggle for me because I've never been conscious of my wasteful habits before now. I recently read that the deforestation of peatlands and rainforests to make room for palm oil plantations have contributed to environmental degradation and significant greenhouse gas emissions. In plain speak, the plantation of palm oil is messing with the Earth's atmosphere and temperature. You may think to yourself that this is so petty, why even go there, but I feel passionately about making a difference in some small way. With that being said, I've been looking for substitute palm oil recipes.

Palm oil's main benefit is to soothe and moisturize dry skin. It's solid at room temperature and contributes to the bar's hardness. Palm kernel oil's benefit is also to make the bar of soap hard, but it also produces big, fluffy bubbles. Coconut and palm kernel oil has very similar properties so that's one substitute right there. Palm oil is one of the "Big 3" of soap making along with coconut and olive oils. The rule of thumb for the "perfect bar" of soap is to condition, lather, and be hard. The harder your bar, the longer the soap will last (coupled with proper drainage after each use.) Since I've started making soap, I've been preconditioned (through my various readings) to believe that palm oil is a must for making soap. To that I say "Bullsh*t!!! I found a couple of really good recipes courtesy of Gracefruit that do not use or require palm oil to satisfy the Big 3. One of my main substitutions is going to be cocoa butter. I can't get enough of it!

Just a heads up that I won't have many posts this week because I'm going to be on a soaping rampage. I haven't made soap in over a month, and I finally ordered some supplies from Columbus Foods that are arriving today! I plan to make at least 5 batches of soap by Friday. Of course I'll post pics next week. Until then....

Rebatched Soap Revealed

Happy Monday (or not)!

I cut the rebatched strawberry shortcake soap, and I don't think I let it set long enough because it crumbled in some areas. Here's the finished product from what I could salvage. It's like a slice of square meatloaf, but it smells so good! I had to dig in my notes to remember what I made this out of: olive, palm, and coconut oils. I'm actually liking this soap. This will be in the shop in a few weeks. I'm working on my packaging for this baby.

Whaddaya think?

This Soap Is The Devil!!!!

I’m officially out of soap making oils. I have about 4 oz of olive oil, 6oz of coconut oil, and 8 oz of palm kernel oil left. That aint enough to gag a maggot let alone make a batch of soap! I did make a batch last week that I just got around to cutting, and I am most disappointed-not in the soap, but myself for not reading the stupid ingredients! What I saw was orange and honey. I totally missed the blossom in the name Orange Blossom Honey. I thought this soap would be sweet and fruity and colorful, but what I got was floral, earthy, and brown! The description clearly said will discolor to a medium brown, but no, I didn’t read that with my one-track mind! I had big plans for this soap! I colored the bottom layer orange and let it set for about 10 minutes while I colored the top layer yellow. Once I spread that on top, I stuck orange, glycerin soap wedges all throughout to give it a little flavor. Now they look like shark fins or devils’ horns.

It doesn’t smell bad though. It’s just when you have your heart set on something, and it doesn’t turn out the way you want it to, you’re life is temporarily ruined. So let’s recount the number of brown soaps I have:

Chai Tea Soap
Black Currant & Nectarine Soap
Chocolate Fantasy Soap
Orange Blossom Honey Soap

Maybe I’ll do a basket and offer these as a package. You can never have enough brown soap, right?

Rebatching Revisited

Rebatching soap has been the bain of my existence since I've started making cold processed soap. There are several methods available including the stove top boil-in-the-bag (to which I've had disastrous results) and the oven method. I've been scouring soap blogs to find tutorials on rebatching, and I came across this one on Soapaholics Anonymous. It looked easy-breezy, so I decided to give it a try. I had some strawberry soap that I made months ago that just looked awful, but I didn't want to throw it out. I'm glad I saved it. Here's how it looked before I shredded it.

All of my kitchen utensils have now become my soapmaking supplies. I took my grater and proceeded to shred about 3 pounds worth of strawberry-scented soap. It took me about 2 hours and about 3 scrapes and cuts to finish it all. Here's how it looked once it was all shredded.

According to Soapaholic's tutorial, you add about 1/4 cup of liquid for every 2 pounds of soap. She used milk. I used a combo of milk and water, but I ended up using 3/4 cup of liquid and here's how it turned out after about an 1 1/2 hours in the oven at 250 degrees (I did stir the contents about every 20 minutes because it does start to pucker as it heats up.)

At this point, I added about 2 TBSP of Strawberry Shortcake FO and stirred well. The soap was still fragrant, but it was very strong, so I added a little more. Your soap won't be completely liquified, but a thick, mash potato-y consistency. At this point, I lined my mold and spread the mixture evenly.

I've covered it and will let it set for a bout 3 days to harden. For complete instructions, visit Soapaholics Anonymous. Wish me luck. I can't wait to see how it turns out!

Think Color For Spring!

I am so ready for warmer weather I can hardly stand it! My sister Myia and I have been talking about our weight loss efforts and being able to wear form-fitting clothes and going somewhere that would require a DARE I SAY IT: bathing suit!

All this talk of springtime and has gotten me to start thinking about color. Spring is always associated with pastels and watercolors, but I'm thinking bold, rich, jewel tones for spring-emerald, amethyst, ruby, citrine, aquamarine, and tourmaline. I've been ordering some very unique fragrance oils for my spring soap collection, and I've chosen the scents based on the colors I envision for them. I'm going for eye-popping color like that green tea soap I made a few weeks ago. With that means I'll be offering very few vanilla-based scents because we know what happens: They all turn brown! I've already made two brown soaps, and if I can help it, that's it!

So, what are your spring plans?

Chai Tea Soap

I actually made this soap about two weeks ago, and it has yet to grow on me. I actually went out of my comfort zone when I made this. One, I used a non-food or sweet-smelling scent. Chai Tea is very earthy and herbal and deep. It's the total opposite of what I'm used to working with. Secondly, I used a straight cutter which is not my usual way of slicing soap. The wavy cutter has become my trademark, but I wanted to highlight the tea leaves that I used, but you can't see them because I didn't use enough of them. I actually brewed the tea leaves in my lye mixture before adding it to my oils. It stank something terrible, but I was hoping for a bigger effect. I still don't know what I'm going to do with this soap. I personally believe in not selling something I don't absolutely love. I'm going to give it a few more weeks to see how I feel. If I don't love it, I'll probably chop it up and use it for sample boxes. We'll see....

Bitch Post #2-UPS Is On My Sh*t List!

(THIS IS MY OFFICIAL PHOTO FOR ALL MY BITCH POSTS-YOU'LL BE SEEING THIS ONE A LOT!!!!)

Before, I reveal why UPS is on my sh*tlist, I must give you the backdrop to this story: I haven't told anyone this til now, but I am going thru a serious soaping withdrawal. I need a fix bad!!! I haven't made any CP soap since November, and I'm about to set it off!

First of all, my trusty, local hardware store unexpectedly, I mean literally overnight, goes out of business (this economy is killing the small biz owner) so I have no means of buying my lye locally. None of the major hardware chains carry it. I went to Home Depot and asked, "Do you carry lye?" and the dude looks at me like I'm speaking Swahili. He literally said, "Huh?" I was dumbfounded. I had to actually break it down for him: "You know-sodium hydroxide, the stuff used to open up clogged drains and whatnot...." "Oh, then you'd want to look in the plumbing aisle." "Gee, thanks (for nuthin, ass hat.)" Needless to say, I found no lye, so I was left with one choice: Order it online and go thru all the hazmat bull crap (Thanks a lot you scumbag meth mongers!)

So to wrap up this tale of woe, I found a great deal on Etsy from Tog Soap Molds. I got 8 pounds for $22.00 which is like a bargain because I was paying $5.00 for a 16 oz bottle at Mom & Pop's. Anyway, they shipped the goods the next day, and I got confirmation that my stuff would arrive on 1/16/09-this past Friday. I'm having this delivered to my job because there's no one at home to sign for the package. Anyway, the day is half over when I realize that my package aint there, so I go online, and I see that my shipment has been re-scheduled for the 19th!!! WTF!!?? I am livid. I don't have time to fool with UPS because I'm working-otherwise, I would have called and acted a f*ckin' fool! It's not ladylike, and I don't recommend it, but it's very effective when you need to make things happen. Anyway, I can't have the package re-routed to my home because I'm not the original sender and only they can do that. The damn package was attempted delivery to my job today: MLK Day. A holiday. No one's there. The building is closed. I don't have my friggin lye, therefore, I cannot make any soap. Therefore, I majorly pissed. Therefore, UPS is on my SHIT LIST!!!!

Come To Me...Lemon Cream Cheese Cupcake

Umh, umh, umh!!! I have found my favorite scent (of the moment, anyway). I made this batch on Sunday, and the "batter" literally looked and smelled good enough to eat. I am going to thoroughly enjoy showering wit this one. It's lemon-y. I can smell all the elements in this one. It's creamy. It's sweet. For this batch, I used pomace olive oil, Castor oil, and palm kernel oil. It's darkened a little bit, but I'm lovin' it anyway. Oh, hurry up and harden already!

Introducing......

CRANBERRY YUZU!!!!!!

I love, love, love this scent! I love it better than plain Yuzu. It's the perfect blend of sweet and tart, and I actually like the way this turned out. I made this soap a day and a half ago, and it's still incredibly soft, hence the "smeared" appearance. I know I should have waited another day, but I couldn't contain my excitement. This soap is made with pomace olive oil, palm kernel oil, and castor oil. I can't wait for it to finish curing so I can christen it.

Tomorrow, I'll reveal another new soap. Stay tuned!

WTF????

I try to keep my posts as "family friendly" as possible, but some crazy shyte happened to this soap, and I need some answers. I used what I thought was a really basic recipe-pomace olive oil, fractionated coconut oil, and Castor oil. It's a very small batch-only 32 oz total. When I added my lye solutions to the water, it almost immediately traced. I whizzed for about 30 seconds and my soap was the consistency of cake batter. It was really thick! Then it had these little white particles all throughout (lye, perhaps?) I proceeded anyway, and added about 2 oz of Pear Glace FO that I bought from Wholesale Supplies Plus. After I added the FO, the "batter" was basically set. I had to literally scrape it out of my bowl into my mold.

When I un-molded it today, it was rock-hard. When I cut the first slice, it literally crumbled as you can see in this pic. Can anyone tell me where did I go wrong, and is this soap salvageable?

Must....Make....Soap........!

I'm shaking from the withdrawal. I haven't made any soap in about three weeks? That last batch discouraged me greatly so I backed off (and I'm running low on soaping oils.) I did make a small batch yesterday that I call Summer's End. I wanted to give it a rainbow effect, but it didn't quite pan out that way. I used olive oil, coconut oil, and castor oil. While I'm not pleased with the aesthetics of it, I do like the way it smells. The FO I used is from Day Star Supplies, and it is a blend of pineapple, orange, guava, papaya, with a hint of vanilla and coconut. They claim there's no discoloration, so I'll be watching this one closely. Here's a pic, but again, I'm not thrilled with the "look" of it.