One Step Ahead...

I always pride myself on being one step ahead of the game (or at least on pace). Case in point: I received my download of the Jan/Feb '09 issue of Saponifier Magazine the other day, and one of the articles was Product Reviews. I was surprised to see that one of the products being reviewed was Brambleberry's Holly Berry fragrance oil. I was so excited because I bought this FO back in November as my one true Christmas fragrance. It's a limited edition FO, so I'm not sure how long it'll be around. The reviewer used her Holly Berry in body cream and MP soap, but I used mine in CP soap. The scent itself is a combo of holly, pine, and red tart berries with supporting notes of cinnamon and cardamom. There was a disclaimer that the soap would discolor to a peach/gold after 8 hours. That would have been so cool, but it didn't happen for me. My soap stayed the red and green I colored it. I really smell the cinnamon and pine more than anything making it perfectly unisex. I sprinkled a little gold soap glitter on it for effect. Believe it or not, I haven't used this one yet. It's going in the shower tonight. Bottom line: It is a nice addition to your holiday/winter collection.

Not Just For Candles

When I shop for fragrance oils, I use about 3 or 4 vendors exclusively, and I can't believe I forgot to mention them in my Honorable Mention post regarding Suppliers of the Year. Click here to check it out if you missed that one....

Without further ado, I'd like to honorably mention Candle Science as a supplier of great fragrance oils. Not only do they have great fragrances, but their customer service is top notch, and the shipping is lightening quick! I'll place an order on Monday, and it's at my door by Wednesday! It also helps that they're based out of North Carolina which is only about an 7-8 hour drive from me-not that I would drive to pick up my order. I love them, but I can't stand being in a car for more than 2 hours. Anyhoo, many, if not most, of their fragrances are bath and body compatible which is a BONUS for me because I can not only use them in my candles, but my soaps. Even better is they now offer 4 oz. sizes. Until now, I'd have to buy either a couple of 1 oz bottles or a big 8 oz bottle which I don't always want or need. Another bonus is they have really neat specials on their FO's. Sign up for their mailing list, and you will get cool deals in their newsletter. They often do $.99 1 oz FO's. You can get up to ten at a time I think. That's how I discover many new scents. My current faves from Candle Science are Black Currant and Nectarine and Rainwater. Check em out. You just might be surprised!

New Family Additions

As a soap maker, I've always been conflicted when it comes to choosing fragrances to use. Do I pick only things that I like, do I pick things that I think the buyer will like, or do I pick fragrances that are the latest trend? I kinda do all three, but mostly I pick fragrances that I like (and hope that everyone else will like.) With that being said, I made two new batches of soap a few days ago. I call the first one, An Afternoon in Paris. It smells of black currant and Bulgarian roses. It's ultra-feminine, but not sickeningly sweet. It's fresh, crisp, and uplifting. The second soap is called Winter Blues. It's a warm blend of cinnamon sticks, cloves, and French vanilla. I didn't realize I had a French theme going on until I started writing this post. What I love about Winter Blues is the blue stayed blue. Usually my blue goes pink or green when I add it to my lye mixture. So here they are, Paris and Winter. Can't wait to put them in my shop!!!!

Feelin' Spicy!

For some reason I always have it in my head that soaps have to be sweet and/or flowery, but I'm a hot, saucy chick. Why can't my soaps reflect a little of that? Don't get me wrong, I love the fruity, feminine concoctions out there, but there's something about fragrances like ginger, black pepper, licorice, and bay rum that turn me on. Maybe it's the masculinity of these spices or maybe it's because they're so "anti-feminine" (whatever that means.)

I've been inspired to reach out to my inner spice and create some lathers that are "manly feminine." My first creation is something I call Hot, Hot Delivery Guy. It's a heady blend of ginger and lime that I picked up from Daystar Supplies. They call it Ginger Lime, but that's so obvious. This scent is so seductive to me. It's masculine. It's feminine. It's.....different. I haven't tried it in CP soaps yet, but it's very strong in the MP brand I use from SFIC Corp. I'm using an oatmeal base here, and I sprinkled a little silver mica on top for kicks. Smells great on my skin!