Something Different....

If you subscribe to Bramble Berry’s newsletter, then you saw the 2 layer soap Anne-Marie made with pumice, coffee grounds, and loofah. I loved it and wanted to make something similar to it. I bought some peppermint tea leaves when Southern Soapers was going out of business, but I had no idea I’d get this HUGE bag of loose peppermint tea. I don’t particularly care for mint of any kind in my beverage, so making tea bags is out of the question, but I digress…

I’m not very skilled at making a layered soap. I get easily turned around. For instance, I should have put the orange/yellow layer in the middle and the natural layer on top, but I did the opposite. Anyway, here is the result of my peppermint tea soap. The scent is actually Bergamot & Mandarin. Okay, I’m about to go off on another tangent, but you should be used to that by now…I think bergamot is one of those weird/cool smelling scents. I’m not a huge Earl Grey tea fan as a result. I love the smell, but I’m not crazy about the taste. I have to be really desperate to drink it, and it has to be hot-not warm, and definitely not cold. Yes, I have many quirks…Had I put my thinking cap on, I would have used some Earl Grey tea leaves, but I really wanted a hint of peppermint to smooth out the bergamot. Last tangent: Bergamot reminds me of Bazooka bubble gum too or is it Super Bubble? I can’t remember, but anyway…

I have a ^%#tload of pumice too that I need to do something with. I think I may actually try Anne-Marie’s soap with that because I also have some ground loofah from Bramble Berry. I think that would be a nice homage…Stay tuned!

Creamy Coconut Lust Salt Scrub!

I think I've pretty much given up on making a straight coconut-scented soap. I've done a few versions now, and they all start off smelling like coconut, but then they morph into something off-putting...like Play Doh. Now some of you weirdos may like the smell of Play Doh, and I count myself as one of them. JUST NOT IN MY SOAP!

Being that I am a coconut fiend-coconut cake, Mounds, and Almond Joy...I needed to have something coconut-scented in my repertoire of body delights. I decided on a scrub. What better way to celebrate summertime than with a creamy salt scrub that smells like Hawaiian Tropic suntan lotion? I love this scrub lemme tell ya! I used dendritic salt in this formula because I find that they hold scent much better than sea salt...and the particles are tiny and gentle enough for me to use every day. I think I am borderline OCD when it comes to exfoliating. I use this one every day. One because I love the smell of coconut. Two, this scrub is so thick and delicious. And three, I'm borderline OCD when it comes to exfoliating. I love for my skin to feel like butter. I'm constantly rubbing my arms and legs because I can't believe they feel like a baby's skin...seriously.

Creamy Coconut Lust is a limited edition scrub-summertime only (now through the end of September) and only available on my website, The Soap Seduction. I'm off now to give myself a pedi with this....

Disaster Recovery!

So here is the re-working of that clean sheets-scented soap. I cannot get that mantra swirl right to save my life, but it turned out rather unusual-looking making it oddly appealing. I omitted the sodium lactate with this batch, and CPOP'ed this one. I haven't given up on the sodium lactate. I just need to study it a little more and make a test batch before committing to a larger one.

Have a safe and happy 4th of July! I'll be attending the R. Kelly concert tomorrow with my sis and her partner. Then Sunday, I'll be chillin' with the fam for some pre-holiday festivities. We decided on Sunday so we can all use Monday to recover. My neighborhood will be ablaze with illegal firework activity, so there'll be no need to trek down to the National Mall to watch the "official" festivities. Besides, it'll be like 500 degrees down there, and I'm already burnt to a crisp from just driving! I've got driver's arm! Put my two arms side-by-side, and you'd swear they belonged to two different people...Oh well, be safe!