The Verbena of My Existence

The evolution of a soap...Lemon verbena is one of my most favorite scents. It's soft with a hint of lemon and flowery essence with a buttery-like finish. I never design this soap the same. Come to think of it, I almost never design any of my soap scents the same...This soap is part of a holiday gift set I'm planning. It will be a variety of lemon scents. Pics to come...

I decided to keep the design simple this time.

When I was young and fancy...

Gittin' Down With The Swirl!

Funneling, funneling through the town, soapy bells are ring-ing…LMAO!

Okay, here are the next new batches I’ve made: Verbena of My Existence and Melting Pot, but for you plain folk: Lemon Verbena and Sandalwood and Musk.

When I make soap, there’s always a story to be told. It’s never a matter of choosing scents solely based on the description of the supplier. I must inhale and FEEL something. I don’t just make soap to sell soap. Okay, in part, but I make soap mainly because it’s cathartic and the scent I’ve chosen has or has had some type of impact on my life. So let’s get started:

Verbena Of My Existence:

I love all things lemon. Lemonheads, lemonade, lemon squares, lemon cake (my grandmother’s specialty), Mike’s Hard Lemonade… but this lemon is special. It’s so sophisticated and feminine and…soft for lack of a better description. I first became enamored of this scent when I visited a L’Occitane shop many moons ago. It blew me away. It smelled like paradise and transported me to some upscale resort on a private oasis.

Melting Pot:

This soap got its name because it’s scented with a modge podge of international flavors. Soft, powdery Indian musk, alluring African Sandalwood, and cedarwood. Swirled like Stevie Wonder’s Songs In The Key of Life, this soap is how I envision a world with no prejudices, no wars, no political strife…One can only hope…

I utilized the funneling technique to achieve the design these soaps. I discovered an easy peasy technique from The Soap Queen’s blog. You take an old plastic container (I used a margarine tub) and poke a hole through bottom.  The key is you have to have a container that’s wide enough to rest on the walls of your soap mold or it’s basically fruitless. You could have someone hold the funnel for you while you pour or try the chopstick method where you criss-cross them then tape them down and let your funnel rest in the middle. You could also do the faux funnel pour. Been there. Done that. Don’t work for me… You also need to have a very thin trace in order to achieve this swirl. Really you only need to emulsify your oils to the point where everything is mixed. By the time you pour your last or next to the last bit, your soap batter is beginning to thicken if it hasn’t already. Ask me how I know these things…

So this concludes batches 4 and 5. Next up…Black Coffee.