Crack Is Wack-Just Say NO!

Crack is bad. Both the drugs and the ones on your hands. And feet. And knees. And elbows. So I have the remedy. The rehab. The therapy. It's called Crack Is Wack, and it's the ultimate moisturizer. Personally, I could use this all year round because I have the driest skin, yet the oiliest face-go figure...

I wanted to make this product as simple and as natural as possible: mango and unrefined cocoa butters (plus a few other proprietary ingredients). This stuff melts upon contact and can be applied evenly and smoothly to both damp or dry skin. This is a completely new formulation, and I'm so happy with the outcome. In keeping with the "naturalness" of the product, I've decided to only scent them with essential oils. There's something about the plant-like aroma of the essential oils and the natural chocolate aroma of the cocoa butter that just sets these suckers off! I'll be adding more scents down the line, but to start, I'm offering two of my favorite combos:

Up first is my personal favorite: sweet orange and patchouli. Sweet orange is non phototoxic meaning you can apply this and go out sunning and funning. Your mood is automatically lifted and your spirits brightened. I cannot get enough of this fragrance combo. It's sweet and sexy, and with the chocolate-y aroma from the cocoa butter, I just wanna grab a spoon, scoop it out, and eat it!

Lastly, we have lavender and vanilla absolute.  Lavender, ya know, is very calming and relaxing. I keep one of these on my desk at work (yeah, I have a 9-5...) After using that crappy hand wash in the ladies room, my hands are screaming for relief. I packaged these in 4 oz tins. This is really a lot of product. You literally only need a little bit-unless you're a total flake like me...

Scrub-A-Dub!

 I am in lust with my emulsified scrubs. They are a labor of love, and I have all 5 varieties in heavy rotation in my shower. The main ingredient is unrefined shea butter. I am incorporating shea butter into all my offerings when possible. It's the wonder butter, but I gotta tell ya: the smell is a little off-putting to me. However, I deal because I loves the shea....

Meet my two newest additions to the family: Eucalyptus Spearmint and Lemon Sugar. With my scrubs, I've decided to forgo the cute, kitsch-y names, and just give it to ya straight no chaser. I'm also learning painfully that my artsy-fartsy names are hurting me in Etsy's new relevancy search (don't get me started on that...) so keeping the names simple and straightforward were really a no-brainer.

Eucalyptus Spearmint Salt Scrub

Eucalyptus Spearmint is probably one of the cleanest, most tranquil-smelling scents I've encountered yet. It's truly spa-like, calming, and mood-enhancing. Lemon Sugar has a true lemon/tarty smell once you crack open the jar, but then it mellows out to a sweet, sugary ending. I have turned into a little workoutaholic as of late, so I like to pop these in the freezer while I do my Jillian Michaels. By the time I'm ready to shower, the scrub is all thick and creamy and refreshingly cool.

Lemon Sugar Sugar Scrub

I formulated these scrubs to rinse clean, however, they do leave a slight layer of moisture, and your tub will be a lot less slippery than the common oil and sugar or salt variety. Although I packed the scrubs into these 8 oz jars, the net weight ranges from 11.5-13 oz. Please don't throw these jars at anyone's head. You can be charged with a-salt with a deadly scrub.

Gimme Some Lip...

Kiss My Mango shown

In my quest to go as "natural" as possible, I'm phasing out all products I used to make with pre-made bases (This will not apply to my sugar bubbles because frankly, I have no desire to learn how to make whipped soap, but that's another day, another post...) I admitted used a pre-made lip base in the past, and frankly, I wasn't that pleased with it. It was a little too Chapstick-y for my taste. I wanted more of a butter-nothing too greasy, but not waxy either. So I scoured all my favorite DIY b&b blogs for a recipe I could build on, and I think I found one that I can live with.

Mocha Loca

The main ingredient in my formula is mango butter. I really love this butter. It reminds me of shea in its texture, but to me, it's not as heavy. I've also got some new flavors. Some are very conventional like Mint Truffle, but then I have one that is totally bizarre-Dill Pickle. I kid you not, this stuff smells like a real pickle! Personally I love dill pickles, and when I saw this offered as a flavor oil, I could not pass it up. Another change that I made was to not color these new lippies. They were totally unnecessary since they did not stain your lips in any way. I've also color-coded the labels as closely as I could so that the color of the label represented the flavor. I've been slow to add all 12 flavors to my shops, but I'm getting there...Dill Pickle, renamed In A Pickle,  is definitely already listed!

Lemon Detox Soap

I need a new camera...BADLY

So I'm trying to slowly incorporate more "natural" soaps into my lineup, and by natural, I mean no synthetic fragrances or colorings. Here's my latest creation, Lemon Detox. There is virtually no fragrance in this soap, and it's colored naturally-with lemon juice and lemon peel. I used lemon-infused distilled water as my liquid, then I used the juice and pulp of one lemon to lightly scent and color the soap. You can still see bits of the grated peel in select bars. The wavy brown lines are actually rhassoul clay-that's the detox.

Lemon is a natural astringent and is so uplifting. Along with lime, it's my favorite citrus fruit (lemon pound cake, lemon squares, Mike's Hard Lemonade...) Rhassoul clay is purported (love that word!) to be a natural miracle worker for skin-detoxifying, exfoliating, smoothing, and clarifying. I'm such an impatient soap maker-I used a piece of this one in the shower this morning-LOVES IT! It actually won't be ready for sale for another few weeks...

These Cupcakes Are The BOMB-Literally!

Frangipani-made with meringue powder

So I've finally mastered the art of the bath bomb cupcake. It's not perfect, but it looks like a cupcake! I now realize that my problem with the first couple of batches was that I was using plain powdered egg whites and not meringue powder. Oh yeah, there is a difference. Powdered egg whites are just that and nothing more, whereas, meringue powder contains corn starch, cream of tartar, and silicon dioxide (an anti-caking agent) in addition to the egg whites.The plain egg whites would not solidify-easily. The texture of the frosting is visibly smoother and the swirls are not as defined-but they're still wonderful, I think. I had to use a cup and a half of confectioner's (powdered) sugar in addition to a cup of corn starch just to get it to thicken up.

Caribbean Queen-made with powdered egg whites

With these cupcake bubble bombs, I used 12-14 oz of confectioner's sugar, and it thickened up nicely-after about 10-12 minutes of whipping it with my hand mixer. The pink frosted ones are scented in Frangipani, or plumeria, while the peach-colored ones are scented in what I call Caribbean Queen-a thick, fruity concoction of raspberries, ripe, juicy peaches, sweet strawberries, cherries, mandarin oranges, grapefruit and a splash of pineapple and mango-OMG! I need to make a soap with this scent!

So I have my floral and my fruity bomb. Now I need a true bakery-scented bomb, and an essential oil blended bomb. I'm having fun...

A Facial Soap

I'm really reluctant to call this soap a "facial" soap because it implies that it's only good for the face-because it isn't! But I did make this soap specifically for the face. I'm not an esthetician or dermatologist, but I know what my skin likes: gentle, slightly moisturizing cleanser (I say slightly because I have sensitive yet acne-prone skin-WTF?) with some beneficial ingredients.

I love this soap if I do say so myself. It's made with 90% olive oil and 10% coconut oil. I scented it in eucalyptus and tea tree essential oils because they're both anti-inflammatory and anti-bacterial-just what my fickle skin needs-especially now that it's getting warmer. I swirled it with French red clay which is another natural detoxifier and exfoliator. French red clay also draws excess oil and impurities from the skin so if you have dry to very dry skin this soap may be a little much. The fragrance is light yet botanical like you'd expect an essential oil-scented soap to smell. It'll be in the shop by week's end:)

An All-Natural Soap

 

I L-O-V-E this soap...fo' real! I've decided to do an entire line of all-natural soaps. "Well, aint that what you already do?" Not entirely. I use synthetic fragrance oils (until you can prove to me that Lemon Chiffon comes from a plant, then it's synthetic), and man-made oxides in many of my products, but I think I should get some extra credit for using only pthalate-free fragrances. Anyway, here is my first official soap of the "Au Naturale" line. I call it Naturale 1106, but it smells so....natural and clean-like you would really expect a soap to smell if-you-know-what-I-mean. I can definitely say that my olfactory senses are becoming much more sophisticated and accustomed to the aroma of essential oils. At first, I could not stand the smell of any essential oil! They smelled like, well, plants! Duh! They are derived from plants, and pure essential oils are expen$ive as hell! I have to really budget for pure essential oils. The good thing about them is a little goes a long way. This batch was almost 3 pounds, and it only took 1.7 oz of pure essential oils to scent it-and it's strong! To the unsophisticated palate, it will smell very medicinal and plant-like. But the more you inhale the aromas, it sort of brings a calm to your overall senses. I'm smelling this one constantly. I cannot wait to try it!

Oh, I forgot to mention exactly which essential oils I used for this batch: rosemary, lime, and bergamot. The soap is uncolored, and the little brownish streak you see throughout is actually rhassoul clay-mined deep beneath the Atlas Mountains in Eastern Morocco*.







*source

Groovy Man...Soap!

One of my blog buddies, CC Groovy, who happens to be a man, commented on one of my blog posts the other day something to the effect of, "Why don't you make any stuff for men?" Well, CC, this one's for you...and all the other mens out there.

After inhaling the scent for a few days, this one could actually go both ways. It's very clean and fresh-like sun-dried laundry, but it definitely has a masculine edge. I chose blue as the color because, well, I wanted the soap to be as "masculine" as possible. It looks like a pair of well-worn denim jeans. Sadly, I doubt I'll be able to make another batch of this one because the fragrance has been discontinued, and I don't know what all the notes were. Anyway, CC, hit me up, so I can send you a bar...on me!

Sweet Feets Creamy Foot Scrub

I had a crapload of pumice laying around and had no idea what to do with it. I think I won it in a giveaway, but I can't remember. Anyway, I got the bright idea to make a foot scrub because sandal season will be here in a few short months, and if I see another crusty foot this spring, I'm going to hand out samples-seriously! It's one of my most pettiest pet peeves...

I scented this scrub with all essential oils: tea tree to deodorize, peppermint to refresh and energize those tired, weary tootsies, and lavender to cut some of that medicinal smell of the tea tree. I know some folks love the aroma of tea tree-I aint one 'em!

This scrub looks kinda purplish in the pic, but it's really grayish. I added no color to this as I wanted to keep it as natural as possible. The base is unrefined shea butter and avocado oil so it's scrubby and mucho moisturizing at the same time. I would not recommend this for the face-it's really made for crust-busting: feet, knees, and elbows....

Cafe Mocha Loca Sugar Scrub!

I hope everyone had a fantastic Thanksgiving (for those of you who celebrate it)! I had a very quiet one with a handful of family members. That was cool with me because it meant more leftovers to take home, hee hee...

I'm slowly expanding my emulsified sugar scrub line, and my newest creation is Cafe Mocha Loca. I love this scrub, and I'm so not a coffee drinker! The smell is so inviting and eye-opening! It's 99% natural-organic cane sugar, unrefined shea butter, fair trade coffee grounds, organic cocoa powder. It's thick and rich and it only takes a little to get the job done. I'm offering it initially in a 4 oz size for the holidays, but after the new year, it'll be offered in the standard 8 oz jar. It's available now on my website and Etsy shop:D

New Goodies For The Holidays!

I've decided to take a small (and I mean small) sabbatical from soap making to give the "accessories" some love. I've always loved bath bombs and bubble bars, but they're such a frigging mess to make. I've had a few requests for them, so I've decided to combine them into one product: Bubble Bombs. They both fizz and bubble, and I think they make a nice treat for bath lovers. Not a "bather"? Use them as a soothing, luxurious foot bath! I use SLSA (sodium lauryl sulfoacetate) as my surfactant, or foaming agent. It's derived from coconut and palm oils and is much milder and gentler to the skin than it's evil, fraternal twin SLS (sodium lauryl sulfate) which can drying and irritating to some. I have two introductory bombs: The Honey Bomb-scented in a delicious blend of ylang, orange blossom, jasmine, rose, lilac, and honey, and Me Time-a heavenly blend of lavender and amber. I'll be adding some special Christmas-y type blends in the coming weeks.

Dig these bubbles-and these are from only 1/2 a bomb!

I've changed the packaging on my perfume oils because, well, I've changed my label design, and while the black bottles were really sleek and original, they weren't very practical in terms of filling them! I could see inside the bottle, and that caused me much-wasted spillage and over-flows, so peace out black bottles...These crystal clear ones not only allow the golden oils to shine brightly, but the labels are much more prominent now:) I've also decided to stick with just 3 fragrances for now: Eau de Viagra, which is my best seller. It's a wood-inducing blend (at least that's what my customer and name-r of this fragrance told me) of honeycomb wrapped in patchouli twigs with a twist of lemon and citrus peels; Pink Suga: I think everyone in the B&B industry may be familiar with this one. It's a dupe of the famous Aquolina Pink Sugar fragrance. I cannot begin to describe how much I love this one. It's like liquid cotton candy for sophisticated tastes. And finally, there's a new blend that I call Bosslady. I named it that because it's not a very feminine (and by that I mean sweet or fruity or instantly detectable as "feminine"). This one is a blend of tobacco leaf, caramel, and vetiver, and sandalwood. I wear this one to work and let my presence be known (even though I'm not the boss, lol)!

Fashion Fail!

Yep, that's the name of my new soap! Why? Because the outcome reminds me of these starlets who try to be all original and avant-garde with their fashion choices, but the end result ends up looking like a hot mess! The only redeeming quality about this soap is the smell. It's essential oils galore: lavender, sweet orange, patchouli, litsea cubea, and rosemary. The lavender buds make the soap look like it has the chicken pops (as my little cousins used to always say). Anyway, I still love it. I did Mr. Blackwell proud...

Time To Get Glossy!

Now that the weather is starting to chill ever-so-slightly, I wanted to make something delicious and nourishing for our skins-a liquid sponge so to speak, and I think I've hit the jackpot! Meet my new bath and body oils called Gloss. I am in love with Gloss-not because I made it, okay, maybe a little bit, but they've re-introduced me to the art of bathing! I don't like taking baths, but now that I work out in the evenings, my aching bod looks forward to a warm tub full of skin-softening oils. The cool thing about Gloss is the oils do not just float on top of the water like the Gulf spill, but it transforms your bath water into a scented and silky private spa escape. Here's what's in it:

• Sweet Almond Oil: skin-softening and rich in proteins, minerals, and fatty acids
• Golden Jojoba Oil (hence the color)-Rich in vitamin E and known for its healing properties and leaving a silky, satiny barrier on the skin
• Apricot Kernel Oil-Rich in vitamins A&E, and penetrates deep into the skin without leaving a heavy, oily residue. It's also known to help skin retain elasticity and suppleness
• Avocado Oil-Superb skin hydrator absorbing deep into skin tissues.  It also helps to relieve the dryness and itchiness of psoriasis and eczema.
• Fractionated Coconut Oil-straight carrier oil that helps the more therapeutic oils (see above) absorb more readily into the skin.
• Tocopherol-anti-oxidant so the oils don't go apesh*t on you.

So there you have it! On their own, these oils are pretty powerful, but when combined together, they're the Justice League of skin moisturizers, and they're now available here in 3 fabulous scents:

Dirty Soap

It's kinda obvious how I came up with the name for this one. It's yet another half-successful attempt at creating the chocolate line. I'm getting closer, but life's littlest accidents can turn into something unique and fascinating to behold...sometimes.

The scent is actually a very crisp and light olive blossom. I actually love the pale green color-another perfect accident (hopefully I can duplicate it). The scent seized like crazy on me, so some of the bars look extra dirty, lol. Ahhh, this one is truly full of accidents, but the soap is perfectly perfect to use. This one's made with olive, avocado, and organic palm oil and will make its auspicious debut in a few weeks!

Meet The Glycerin 5!

I've been wanting to make a glycerin sampler for a while, and I finally got around to it. I love this mold I bought from WSP to make these soaps because each soap comes out perfectly every time. "Why didn't you do a Honey Bar sample" someone asked me. Because I want the sample to look like the regular-sized bar. The Honey Bar wouldn't be the same without the actual honey jar and bumblebee embedded on the soap, so you're going to get 1 each of Chocolatacoconuta, Peppermintal Chocolate, Whorange, Elemonated, and Basmati Rice. Check it out now:)

Shea My Name Hand and Body Lotion!

Shea my name, Shea my name....Now that damn song is stuck in my head! Oh well, here it is-the prototype of my new lotion. It's creamier (meaning thicker) than your average lotion because of the shea butter-that's unrefined shea butter thankyouverymuch! I'm on a permanent shea trip thanks to my friend over at Shea Bath. Thanks to The Soap Queen for making such a great video on how to make lotion. I thought it would be such an intimidating process, but it's actually very easy. The hard part is deciding on which scents to use.

My testers are hard at work (yeah, right) lotioning themselves up and down. I have them testing for consistency, texture, feel on the skin, and scent, of course. Personally, in my completely unbiased opinion, these lotions are the bomb! I've been using it for a week, and my skin just drinks this stuff up! My cuticles are blessing me right now because they're like "What took you so long to make this freakin' stuff?" If all goes well, I hope to have these listed by month's end.

Mintally Stimulating Scrub

Where have I been? I've never gone this long without posting! It's been hot, and I've just been lazy as hell basically. So here I am with something new. Stimulate, exfoliate, and rejuvenate with my all new creamy scrub. Sounds like a paradox, but it’s not your typical scrub. This is an emulsified scrub that I have mastered (at least I think I have) thanks to many botched batches and trial and error. So how does this scrub differ from your average scrub? The main difference is many commercial scrubs, like Bath & Body Works, use a combination of sugar (or salt) mixed with oil. That’s all well and good, but the sugar settles to the bottom of the jar, and your hands and tub get all greasy and super slippery. Then you have to stir the mixture each time you use it. Arghhh! Enter Mintally Stimulating!

Emulsified scrubs involve the blending of oils and/or butters with wax (because oil and water don’t mix on its own), water, an exfoliating agent like salt or sugar, and fragrance (optional but why not?). VERY IMPORTANT: Any emulsified scrub you buy or use must have a preservative in it! I say must, rather than should, because water is involved here. When you’re making a product that involves oils and water, the use of a preservative should not be an option or else you’ll end up with a science project growing in your jar. EWWW! I’ve read the horror stories of people using “all natural” or “preservative-free” products only to have mold and fungus grow in the product or they’ve developed an infection from using a tainted product. Can you imagine what kind of impact that would have on your business and your reputation? I personally use optiphen as a preservative as it’s formaldehyde- and paraben-free. That’s about as natural as you can get in terms of preservatives! My advice is don’t buy an emulsified scrub if it doesn’t contain a preservative. More than likely, you will get water in the jar if you’re using it in your tub or shower. Now that’s your brief lesson for the day…

For this scrub, I’ve chosen sweet almond oil and shea butter. Sweet almond oil is a light, fast-absorbing oil, and shea butter is my go-to luxury butter. It melts immediately upon contact and absorbs quickly into the skin without feeling greasy or heavy. This is not a foaming scrub. Think of it as a friend with benefits. It sloughs  while moisturizing. The texture is thick and creamy yet oh-so-scrubby. The scent is a refreshing mint. I keep my jar in the fridge, and when I'm ready to get stimulated (oh, that sounds kinda nasty, lol), it's nice and cool. I use mine 2-3 times a week concentrating on my knees, thighs, and legs (since it's summertime and those parts are constantly exposed.)

I haven't listed this yet because my pictures BITE! I'm working on photos (yes, I'm very particular), so they'll be in the shops before the week is over...

Midnight Rendezvous

Isn't this a pretty soap? I have been dying to make something purple and blue with sparkle, and here it is! I call it Midnight Rendezvous. This is a blended fragrance of nag champa, ginger, and lime, and the outcome was quite a pleasant surprise. It's a little spicy, a little fresh, and a whole lotta sexy! These bricks are pretty huge too. They weigh at least 6 oz each, and I've gone back to my rice bran and avocado blend. I really love the outcome of the soaps with these oils. Rice bran oil is so underrated....

ps...I miss you Michael Jackson

OMG (Oat My Gosh) Soap!

Okay, here's the story behind this soap: I absolutely love Usher's new song, OMG! I find myself singing it all the freaking time. I was in the process of actually making another batch of Milk & Honey soap when I started singing OMG, and then it all came to me like an epiphany: Don't just do the standard oatmeal, milk & honey soap. Do oatmeal-with a twist! There's no OMH scent at all in this batch. It's actually almond and tangerine scented. Different huh?  Doesn't it look like a big ole granola bar? I'm really digging it. This one's made with olive oil, sunflower oil, organic palm oil, coconut oil, and a shot of castor, lol...

Oh, I forgot to also mention this is my very first goat's milk soap! I had some powdered goat's milk, but wasn't quite sure how to incorporate it into my batch. What you do is add the powdered milk to 2-3 oz of your oils, mix well, then add to your soap batter at trace. Worked like a charm. Oh, and I only used 1 tbsp of goat's milk powder per 8 oz of water. Since this was a small batch, I only used 1 tbsp. Nice.....

Glycerin Bliss

So I was yacking on Facebook the other day about all the new stuff I had in the works, and here are a few new things I've created-all with glycerin (or M&P) soap. Speaking of which, I'm going to be unloading some molds soon-both plastic and silicone, so if you're interested, please be sure to check back soon.

First up is Soap And The City. I bet you can't guess the inspiration behind these soaps. I love Sex And The City, and just when I think I've discovered who I'm most like, I'm always discovering something new about myself that makes me change my mind. Today, I'm a definite cross between Miranda (really no-nonsense and determined) and Charlotte (very feminine and pristine.) Question: They live in New York City and have no black friends or acquaintances? C'mon! Okay, I just had to put that out there. Moving on.....


I just love these dress form molds and my shop colors were the logical choice to use for these soaps. Currently there are two: Soap In The City-Pink with contrasting black ribbon and scented in Pink Sugar and Soap in The City-Black with contrasting hot pink ribbon and scented in Lovely (the SJP dupe.) They're currently sold individually but can be purchased as a set.

Next up is Pair-A-Pears Soap. I love pears! I don't think they get enough credit. To me they're much more fragrant than apple with a grainier texture and crunch. They are delicious drizzled with chocolate and/or caramel, but I don't imagine they'd make a great pie-a tart maybe, but pie-uh, uh.


I scented these in Bartlett & Basil because I don't like straight fruit scents (except lemon, lime, and grapefruit). I even added some tarragon leaves to it because, well, they just look like plain ole pears without them, lol.

Stay tuned for more new stuff, and don't forget to enter my giveaway. Everybody needs soap-and it's free!