Just Some Photos...

All my Facebook peeps have seen these already, but I wanted to share with my blog stans too. Have a great weekend, as I'm off to The Big Apple...

So Why All The Changes?

Source

A couple of readers and friends have asked me why all the change? If it aint broke, don't fix it, right? WRONG! While change is often associated with uncertainty, I view it as a sign of growth and progression and discovery! I've recently made the tough decision to consolidate all of my online venues into one: my own, independent website. It's difficult enough running one online shop, but try 5! At one point I was operating on my website, Etsy, Art Fire, Zibbett, and 1000 Markets before they sold out closed shop (and I really loved 1KM out of all the venues too...sad).

I know there are some who say you shouldn't leave all your eggs in one basket or however that old adage goes, but I'm trying to cultivate a brand, and I felt it was getting diluted on all these venues because I couldn't keep up! When I looked at them all, I was selling some stuff at different prices. Listings were outdated or oversold...It was just a dang mess. Now, I can focus all of my time and energies into my shop-The Soap Seduction-which happens to be hosted through Big Cartel, but the main and most important difference is there are no click-able links to other shops. When you land on my homepage, all you get is ME. Well, what about the visitors of other shops who find you through those same click-able links? Well, you win some, and you lose some. That means I just have to work a little bit harder, but I've been a hard worker for all of my life, so this is but a minor challenge....

In conclusion, I hope you'll continue to follow and support me as I enter this new and exciting phase. I'm making over soaps like crazy which has been so much fun. I haven't decided if I'll re-design every soap with each new batch or if I'll keep the same one, but we'll see...

Change #2: Loofahpalooza

Loofahpalooza...or should I say Bluefahpalooza?

I know in my last post I said that Buffy The Dead Skin Slayer was up next, but I like this one much better:)

I've given Loofahpalooza a somewhat dramatic makeover. I'm trying to get more creative with my soap designs, but I have no fun in planning these intricate techniques. I downright find it intimidating and daunting so I naturally avoid anything of that nature, but I digress...Continuing with my horizontal line obsession, I made these with ground loofah then sprinkled some more on top. The scent is bay rum with added lime EO. While some feministas may find this one too "masculine" for their tastes, I adore this scent. It definitely wreaks of testosterone which is probably what attracts me to it in the first place. I suspect this one will slightly darken
as it continues to cure.

Ugly, old Loofahpalooza

Okay, the next change will be Buffy-for reals...

Ch...Ch...Ch...Changes...

New Dirty Soap

Here's the inaugural (well, not really, but the official one) post of my Changes series. As I get more adventurous in my soap making prowess, I'll be making over or improving upon the older "models" of some of my and your favorite soaps. Up first is Dirty. I have been really overwhelmed by the response this soap has gotten. Mainly because I didn't think it would sell. I went way overboard with the chocolate lines, but it was after all, the inspiration behind the name, and the customers loved it-but me, not so much.

Old Dirty Soap

While I've kept the name, and the scent, Sicilian Olive Blossom, which by the way, is this indescribable aroma of crisp meets fresh. It reminds me of sprayable laundry starch. I know that's a horrible description and quite possibly a turnoff, but I associate that scent with my childhood. I attended Catholic school up til high school, and I would have to iron my own shirts. I wore the ones with the Peter Pan collar-with the round awkward-shaped corners. To get all the wrinkles and creases out, I'd spray the hell out of mys shirts with spray starch, and the scent was just really, well, crisp and fresh....

As you can see, I now have two, thinner chocolate lines, and thanks to Jo at The Soap Bar for suggesting I cut the soap on its side to minimize "streaking."  And I was able to miraculously duplicate the minty, shimmery green topping. I used a green chrome oxide with a touch of pearl mica. And so, this concludes this episode of Changes. Up next, Buffy The Dead Skin Slayer gets a new hue and scent!

A Makeover for Yuzu Crazy

I am sooo ready for warmer-and sunnier days! This cold and dank weather is depressing. I've decided to give one of my all-time favorite scents, cranberry yuzu, a much-needed, happier makeover. It's bright and inviting, and the smell literally makes my eyeballs pop with each sniff. I can never get enough of the sweet, tangy aroma of cranberry and yuzu. I was really going for a dark pink, but of course, I didn't use enough raspberry pop oxide, but I do love my poppy seed topping though. Up next: a new look for Lothario. It's time to brighten things up around here...

Old Yuzu Crazy

Too Blessed To Be Stressed...Soap

Up next in my new Naturals line is Too Blessed To Be Stressed. It's spicy and tangy all in one, and I can't stop sniffing it. Neither can Pepper although she. I colored this one with white clay because I wanted a really white soap without having to use titanium dioxide. I'm obsessed with lines now, so I used pink clay to line this one. I love how it's a lovely, dark shade of pink-almost burgundy. Enough about the aesthetics, here's the skinny on how it aromatizes. I used all essential oils, of course:

• Lavender 40/42: Not really therapeutic but provides a delightful, floral aroma and takes some of the edge off the patchouli
• Palmarosa: The "anti" EO-antibacterial, antifungal, antiseptic, antiviral...also a wonderful stress and fatigue reliever. I like inhaling this one right out of the bottle!
• Patchouli: Most people think of hippies when they hear "patchouli", but it's also heavy in "anti" properties as well as relieving stress and exhaustion. Did you know that patchouli was traditionally used as an insect repellant when shipping fabric?
• Sweet Orange: Uplifting and guess what? Stress relieving!