My Journey Through S.O.A.P. Part 5

I am now in the home stretch testing Bramble Berry's S.O.A.P. fragrances in Cold Process soaps! I unmolded Scent #4 and was very pleased indeed! The yellow was a tad heavy and I was worried about discolored bubbles, but everything turned out fine and it kept the nice pinks and purples. Nice dark fall colors! The scent held up nicely, still smells like a nice floral baby lotion to me, especially now :) I really, really like the scent, and all things baby :)

Part 5: Scent 5

Scent Description: a deep berry scent with a touch of zap that I can't put my finger on. This one reminds me of the County Fair and all the jellies and jams :) REALLY hope that this one holds up well! This is a keeper!

Method Used: I am soaping the same way as the others and using a low temp CP, insulated for a Gel Phase. 1 batch only. I did not particularly like the texture of the no Gel soaps.

Recipe Used: Same again. This recipe has been a tried and true one for me for many years.

Performance: Since I tend to soap at low temps, add color, THEN add the scents, it is behaving fine. I did not notice any acceleration that I might have at higher temps. I pour at a light medium trace and put to bed :) Although I must note: As I am writing this, I have the bottle beside me so that I can sniff it and I got a tiny drop on my finger and didn't notice. It is presently eating away at the "y", "h", "b", "m" and "n" on the laptop. got it wiped off but BEWARE and try not to store in anything but glass bottles :)

Color Notes: For this one, I decided to color only 1.5 cups of the raw soap. I mixed in 1/4 tsp Bramble Berry Brick Red Oxide and added back to the main soap with an In The Pot Swirl. I DID NOT take pictures for this on purpose.... I want it to be a surprise :) I am hoping that the nice, deep reds and the natural color of the soap comes through!

I will be back tomorrow with the reveal! Please take a minute to visit the other soaper's blogs about their experiences as well! I know that we ALL are having a blast!

Blessings,

Amanda

My Journey Through S.O.A.P. Part 4

I must say that I am absolutely having a BLAST doing testing for Bramble Berry! I have even managed to get my 14 year old daughter in on the designs and such. She has been a huge help with colors and helping do the funnel pours. In a word, AwEsOmE!

Upon cutting of Scent 7 that I covered yesterday, I was pleasantly surprised! The color rings held nicely and the scent did not diminish at all. The top did go a bit wonky, but my esteemed peers think that would have been caused by the layer of plastic wrap that I covered it with during insulation. I planed off the top and it turned out really nice and held the tiny swirls. Even though I was not a fan straight out of the bottle, I am beginning to rethink that.

Part 4: Scent 4

Scent Description: This one is very hard for me to pin down. It is delicate, yet strong. It has floral notes and something akin to baby lotion.

Method Used: Cold Process, Gel Phase, 1 batch, 3 Color Funnel Pour soaped at room temps

Recipe Used: I used the same recipe for this batch that I have used in the others and have found that it is a good recipe and size for testing. You can view it here.

Performance:  After a very light trace, I divided the batch into 3 parts and added my colors. When the colors were totally mixed I added the scent to the 3 parts. It did accelerate a little, but as I am used to working fast, this was not that big of a deal. I did stir it in by hand. I am sure that if I would have used the stick blender it would have been scoopable and not pourable :)

Color Notes: 1 Part was heavy on Yellow Oxide (I went a little overboard), 1 part Pink Ultramarine and 1 part Lavender Ultramarine. When the scent was added it looked like it would alter the colors a tiny bit, but once thoroughly mixed in it looked fine. I poured into the mold at a medium trace.

I am hoping that when I cut this one that the pinks will come through. Tomorrow I will have the pics of the cuts and maybe my take on another of the amazing scents I am testing!

Blessings,

Amanda

My New Etsy! (and a shipment or 2!)

Today I opened my Etsy shop with 3 of my soaps, PearBerry, Delicate Rose and Egyptian Beauty. I am so excited about it! I find myself constantly checking and re-checking the page stats, spelling, wording and everything else. I think that I am obsessing way too much over this!


I also found a new shop today, don't you just love that! ;)

I have been searching for a supplier closer to me than the ones that I use. There are times that I need something a little faster and just can't wait a week or pay double in shipping to get it sooner. Don't get me wrong, I LOVE and ADORE my favorite suppliers, but there are times that the sooner the better (like a big order or a highly time sensitive one).

If you find yourself wanting to check out a new supplier, I would recommend ES Premium Products . I placed an order this morning and within 2 hours I had a shipping confirmation in my e-mail. They seem to be fast and reliable. I will post further when the package arrives. OH! They offer free shipping on a lot of items, like melt and pour bases and molds :)

I also got a confirmation from Courtney at Bramble Berry about the Fall S.O.A.P testing! My fragrances are out on the Fed/Ex truck and heading my way from Bellingham, WA! They should be here in a week and then the fun begins! The smelling, the testing, the surveys and finally learning which ones made the cut! September is going to be great!

I hope that you all will com along on my journey with me!
Blessings and Good Night,
Amanda