So Yeah, It's Been Six Months...

I had no idea it's been this long since my last post! This blog was my baby for four years, and what turned into a mini hiatus turned into a missing persons alert. Seriously though, all this social media stuff made my head want to explode you know? I've all but given up Twitter and Facebook, and I've been creating sparingly. I need my mojo back!!! Come back mojo!!! Hope everyone had a happy Christmas, Hanukkah, Kwanzaa, Ramadan (If I missed something, sorry...). We survived the Mayan prediction of the "end" (But really, I think that can be interpreted in so many other ways-like the end of human kindness and compassion.) Let's all make soap and be happy!

Anyway, I did sneak some soap making into my life. Here are a few pics:

Black Raspberry Vanilla-My love for funneling has not grown tiresome yet

 

There's Beer In My Soap Soap: My first and probably last beer soap. I made it with MGD Lime beer and scented it with patchouli and lime EO. I love it, but it's not selling at all. Like my "hops"? They're dried calendula, lol!

Perfect Rose soap: No artificial colors or fragrances. I used French red clay and palmarosa EO

Goatmeal Soap: It's scented in Oatmeal Milk & Honey and made with powdered goat's milk and oats. I love this one! It's like taking a shower with an oatmeal mask, lol.

So I Was Bored...

And decided to make some soap-WOW! This is my first batch in, like, forever...seriously. I've decided to make a soap version of my Wake That Ass Up Salt Scrub. I call it Wake That Ass Up Salt Bar. Real original right? Umm, yeah...

The main soap I used is dentritic salt. I really like dendritic because it's very fine, and it absorbs scent like friggin crazy. I added peppermint essential oil directly to the salt to boost the aroma. I had these ginormous salt rocks that I ordered by accident (well, not accident, I just didn't think they'd be the size of baby hail stones.) Anyway, I decided to color some and scent them in pink grapefruit essential oil and embed them on top of the bars...NICE...

The top part of these would make a great foot scrub. I would not rub these directly on any body part because these hail stones are no joke. Definite use a wash cloth or poof...

Til next time...

Sorta Kinda Back From Oblivion…With New Bubblage!

Hello lovelies. It’s been a while.  This blog was in need of a good dusting so I thought I’d post a couple of pics of some soap I made almost 2 months ago! These are about 75% all-natural (The coconut oil is non-organic, and there’s no such thing as organic lye which you absolutely must have to make soap, and I used oxides to color some of these.) These soaps are also scented in pure essential oils (very expensive essential oils compared to synthetic fragrance oils). I’m still training my brain that when it comes to essential oils (or EO’s as I will refer to them) that less is more, and that many of these scents have a very noticeable plant-like aroma (Duh…) I’m so used to my fruity, bakery-scented fragrances that smell so sugary-sweet and dainty, but there is something simplistic, yet elegant about a product that is scented with a straight essential oil. But enough of the chit-chatter, let’s get to it, shall we?

First Up is Your Ass is (Lemon)Grass. I really love the smell of lemongrass. It’s so clean and uplifting. It does have a slight lemony aroma, but if you’ve never smelled lemongrass before, don’t expect this to smell like “lemons”. Lemongrass is said to have anti-depressant, anti-bacterial, and sedative properties. I mixed a little bit of cedarwood with this one. I wanted to merge two contrasting aromas (dainty vs. dashing), but dainty won out. I think you can detect a small hint of the cedarwood, but not much methinks. Of course I had to top it all off with a few slivers of cut lemongrass.

 Next up is Mary Jane. I made this soap with organic hemp seed oil, and it stinks so good. I put no added scent in this particular batch. I wanted the hemp to be the star, but sadly, the natural aroma has faded significantly as it cured. The only saving graces are the natural greenish color, and the lather in this sucker! I have a bar of this one in my shower now, and I love working it up in my wash cloth just to see the bubbles form. Oh, for those who don’t know, hemp seed oil is derived from the seed of the hemp plant, cannabis sativa (yeah, the same plant  used to cultivate weed, grass, herb, reefer, smoke, kush, …marijuana). Okay, I’m slightly exaggerating. This particular cannabis used to make hemp seed oil is grown for industrial use (Yeah, sure…so they say…) Anyway, it makes one lovely soap. I just love the frothy bubblage this one produces…

I Made Soap!

Okay, I actually made this soap about a month ago, but I just didn't feel like talking about it til now:) I call this soap: 99 Problems after this song. "If you got skin problems, I feel bad for you son. I got 99 problems, but this soap aint one..."

Why do I call it 99 Problems? Cause this is one of many new natural soaps that I'm working on. There are no artificial colors, flavors, or scents in this soap so you don't have to worry about "Am I going to break out (unless you're alergic to chocolate of course, then you would not want this soap.) It's scented purely in peppermint essential oil and cocoa absolute. The coloring is from the cocoa absolute. It smells just like a York Peppermint Patty...oh gawd...I have never lusted after a soap more than this one. It is beyond yummo. The oils are all organic and sustainable (yay!)-olive, coconut, palm, and soybean. This soap is so potent, that it will light your bathroom up for hours after you use it. It's making me hungry now. Available here now:)

Hello Blog! It's Me, Patrice!



Because I want my image burned in your brain.........



Yeah, so I’ve been slacking really badly lately, and according to blog etiquette, you’re not supposed to apologize for not posting consistently or whatever, but you know what? Screw that. This is my blog, and if I want to explain why I haven’t been blogging on the regular, then I will…ya know? As I was saying, I’ve been slacking really badly lately-no blogging, no soap making, no EntreCard dropping, no tweeting, shut down my FB page…I am in such a FUNK! I have lost my motivation somewhat because I’m really torn about whether I want to continue to do this-make soap and stuff. I never thought in a million years I’d say those words, but now, I’m really starting to question it. I used to be so passionate about doing this, but now, not so much. The main reason is I’m not happy with the direction of The Soap Seduction. I want to change the name and the product line entirely. I want to go completely crunchy or at least as organic as possible. That would mean no more synthetic fragrance oils or the use of oxides as coloring. That would also mean discontinuing practically my entire product line and starting fresh-which would be a tremendous financial undertaking. So, I’m mulling over things-very carefully and seriously. I do have a following, and I don’t want to isolate those folks, but I’m also getting an increasing demand for more “natural” products. We know how badly that term is misused in the beauty industry so if I decide to push forward with this concept, I must do it right! So as I continue to toil and ponder, I’ll be a little non-existent. I hope you stick around. I’m still blog stalking even though I may not comment, but I’m here!

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.

 

The Remixes!

I think that little pity post I gave myself the other day has sparked a fire in my arse! Over the MLK weekend, I cranked out 7, count em, 7 batches of  CPOP soap! Three were re-makes and four are new additions. First, I'll just post pics of the re-makes, then I'll break the new ones down into their own posts (I need something to talk about...ha ha...)

The Original

 

The Remix

First up is Sh*tfaced. I didn't change the design much. I like that this soap looks a little disheveled because it is called sh*tfaced after all, and I have yet to meet anyone who didn't look disheveled after getting, well, sh*tfaced. The only I changes I made was for the "rocks", I chopped up some ugly black raspberry vanilla soap, so they have a slightly berry sweet aroma on top, and the bars are noticeably bigger than past versions. I really need to invest in a real soap cutter-the ones where you can slice a log in one swoop so they'll all be uniform and even.

The Original

The Remix

 Next, there's Yuzu Crazy. After four years of making soap, I'm still crazy about cranberry yuzu. It's not too sweet with just a hint of tart. I swear I don't smell any cranberry, but that's what they tell me is in there...The only real changes I made was cutting them with a smooth blade and making the colors a little bit brighter.

The Original

The Remix

And lastly, a new fan favorite: Go The F*ck To Sleep. I can't keep this one in stock. I wonder why? Hmmmm...Anyway, I've decided to now make these in these cute, little cubes that I cannot get enough of! I'll be converting more of my soaps to these cubes. One there so stinkin' cute. Two, there's no cutting involved (BONUS). And tres, they weigh a ton by soap standards. These come in at 5+ oz! And, I am embracing the soda ash (that white, pasty residue that forms on the tops and sometimes sides of soap...) It gives the soap character. Okay, I'm lying. I don't have the time or energy to fight it anymore....


That's it for now. Next up, getting down with the swirl.....!!

Happy New Year....Late

Happy 2012! I have been intentionally M-I-A as of late. I've been at a crossroads friends. I'm at the point in this venture where I'm like "Why am I doing this? Am I really happy?" And the answer is not really. I try not to get too personal on this blog because I want to keep it all about the soap, but I can't keep it all about the soap if I don't explain why there's no soap...


I am currently taking this wonderful webinar called How To Run Your Own Successful Bath and Body Business, and although I've been selling online for almost 4 years, I don't feel successful. One thing this course has been teaching me is I've been doing it all wrong-for 4 years! With that being said, I've got to take a (giant) step back and re-assess things. It's been a grueling 2 weeks, and I'm glad I'm doing this now while it's still early. So, with that being said, I'm focusing on the "business" side of things-getting my house in order, trying to determine if I want to go in a different direction.That includes paring down my product line and weeding out the junk all the while still cranking out some soap. I can't stop making soap. It's semi-crackish heehee...

So I leave you with a shot of the latest batch of my infamous Shitfaced. It's scented in Southern Comforts and yeah, it really smells like Southern Comforts, but it leaves a sweet little "after-taste" on your skin. The "rocks" are actually scented in Black Raspberry & Vanilla. It balances out the main scent nicely.