Cherry Blossom Kiss...Soap

Ok, the photo sucks, but the soap doesn't...

One of my favorite old-school songs is Juicy Fruit by Mtume. There's a verse in the song that goes:

Cherry blossom kiss is what you're givin

Makes my body hot, it keeps me sizzlin
Do what you want, I don't care
I'll be your lollipop
You can lick me everywhere...

Okay, so it wasn't a song for children, but it's stayed in my mind for 28 years, and well, I needed a name for this cherry blossom-scented soap. And you know me: Plain ol' Cherry Blossom Soap just won't do...

I could inhale this scent all day long. I'm also making a matching lotion to go with it, and perhaps, a perfume. I'm still mulling it all over. But for now, I give you...Cherry Blossom Kiss Soap!

Color-Full!

Anyone who knows me knows that I'm a chameleon. I'm forever changing hairstyles, nail polish, moods...so I'm changing up my labels-yet again. But this time, I'm sticking to it. I've kept the same layout and lettering, but I've added colors-to match my soaps! Why did it take me so long to figure this out? I'm also shrink-wrapping the soaps in cellophane because I want the labels to pop against the colors of the soaps. So far I've got red, yellow, blue, green, orange, brown, and hot pink. I was thinking about using those soap boxes because I've seen some really cool packaging with them, but that would mean I'd have to make the soaps really thin, and um, that's not an option! You wanna know the sick part of it all? I'm now thinking of ways to color and design soap around these labels. Who knows what I'll come up with...

Caribbean Queen Soap

I was jonesing to make something, so I decided to turn the fragrance I used for my Caribbean Queen bath bomb cupcake into a soap. It's an explosion of everything fruity and sweet-like a SweeTart. Every whiff conjures up a different scent-strawberry, cherry, mango, pineapple, grapefruit, and madarin orange...I had to work with the quickness to mix up these different colors. I only soap using the room-temperature method-no heating or temp measures, so once that lye mixture hits the oil (hard and soft) mixture, it's go-time! I used a total of 4 different colors-green, yellow, red, and orange, and I'm pleased with the results, but I can't stop thinking about Fruit Loops and Trix cereal now. I used to eat that stuff dry out of the box...I've never been so tempted to bite soap before-seriously. I love this one!

Shop News

I started a new job a month ago, and just as I was getting into the groove of things, the entire network we use for our daily operations was completely changed which means I have to learn everything all over again...As a result, I've been working late hours and weekends, which I am not happy about, but thank God I have a job! Okay, so that explains why I haven't made anything new, listed anything new, or have been on Facebook.


I've also been doing a lot of heavy thinking about the shop, and I've decided to do a complete overhaul of the shop. I want my product line to be streamlined and simplified meaning there will now be dedicated scents for each product, as well as seasonal scents. I'll be discontinuing almost all of my glycerin-based soaps, and turning a few into cold or hot processed soaps. Why? Soap bases are expensive, and frankly, they aren't big sellers for me. For what I pay for a 24 pound block of soap, I could buy 4, seven pound jugs of soaping oils which yield me at least 7-8 batches of cold or hot processed soap.

I've also made the decision to discontinue my Sugar Bubbles. These, too, are made from a base, and while they were great sellers for me in the beginning, they aren't so much any more. I sell more of the samples and sample packs than my standard 8 oz version, and again, it's just not very cost effective for me. While the current way I make them may be going away, I'm thinking about keeping them around in a 4 oz version using my own formula-no base. The feel and texture would be similar to my emulsified scrubs except there would be no added shea butter (Mama D-see I am thinkin' bout ya<3) and there would be the addition of a gentle surfactant to create the bubbles, but I'm awaiting feedback from my testers to see if it will be a go...or not.

Stick-O-Butta

I'm also strongly thinking of discontinuing my lubes. I personally love this product, but I'm disappointed in their sales performance. I will be bringing back my Sticks-O-Butta but they'll have a new name which I will not reveal until they're ready for sale. I changed the name because I recently discovered that another fab bath and body maker  has a product with the very same name. I was horrified, but she claimed it first, so I've conceded... For those of you who don't know about this product,  these are my 2 oz, swivel sticks made with shealoe, cocoa, and now mango butters. It's my triple threat to combat those dry, scaly patches.

Lastly, I owe my Facebook fans a giveaway. It's coming. I promise. I just need to get through Hell Week at work, then I'll be back on my daily soap grind. Til then, take a look around the shop as you'll have too anyway if you're participating in the giveaway, LOL.........

One Of My Favorite New Soap Blogs...

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This post is long overdue, and I can no longer put it off! I met this fab chick about a year (or has it been two?) ago through the blogisphere, and I've had a girl-crush ever since. Bianca had this mind-blowing blog dedicated to her love of music called earjoint (which I miss dearly), and we connected through our love of music. Well, I didn't know Miss B. was also a soapanista. She recently started a new addicting blog called soap is beautiful, and it's dedicated to soap makers all over the world! Bianca literally takes all the research and guess work out of finding the most beautiful soap photography and the most talented soap makers out there. I encourage you to add soap is beautiful to your blog roll, your feedburner, your favorites...