All Natural

This is my first attempt at an "all natural" soap. This soap is simply saponified olive oil, cocoa butter, beeswax, lavender essential oil, patchouli essential oil, calendula petals and lavender buds. I didn't use any colors or fragrance oils.
I used a cold process method, in which lye and heated oils are mixed and allowed to saponify.  The soap is super creamy and gentle on the skin.

Inspiration

Eday

don't know why, but i am loving this photo of Eli - it has a kind of surreal feel to it; don't you think? 

Imitation is flattery, right?

I recently stumbled upon the cutest soap named surfer girl from the soap store  bodygoodies. I have been working on designing a coconut soap and loved the look, so I thought I would give it a try. After all, imitation is a form of flattery, right?  Actually, I do think finding unique soaps and and attempting to recreate the techniques helps me become stronger so that I can work to develop some of my own designs.

The first step in this process is to make small round soap spheres and then coat them in a contrasting color.  In this soap, brown and white were used to give the soap a faux coconut look.  After the balls are made, you pour a layer of the first color and let it set until it is firm enough to hold the weight of the spheres.  Then, simply place the sphere in the soap – pressing a few down so that they don’t all fall in the same line.  Then pour the second color on top.  When the soap is cut – the cross section of the sphere is seen as cute little circles.

Of course, it took me three tries to even come close to what I wanted to achieve:  The first attempt I poured the soap at too hot of a temperature and the white and brown balls melted into a mushy mess.  The second attempt went better, but I was using a loaf pan (like a bread pan) and when I cut the soap into traditional slices, most of the ball affect was missing and I simply had a two toned soap.  The last attempt, I used a brownie pan and then cut into squares -  whew, this time it came out.  I just wish I could cut straight!

Overall, I am happy with the effect.  However, I am going to keep on tweaking and try to use smaller spheres.  I also want to try out a few different color combinations and I want to figure out a way to get a true cube cut.  Hopefully, the end result will be more uniquely mine. 

This soap is scented with a coconut and lime scent, but unfortunately, the coconut didn’t hold is dreamy scent very long.  I have to say, though, the lather is amazing on this bar.  As always, if anyone wants one of these bars, let me know and I will be happy to send one off to you.

Beach Theme Soap

This is a soap I made for my big sister.  She has a bathroom all decorated in a surf/beach theme and I thought it would be cute for a guest soap.  It is scented with one of my new favorites - hibiscus and lemon...mmmm... smells good. 

Sugar Cube Scrubs

I love making bath products and I especially love the challenge of replicating/improving some of the items I see in the stores.  Recently I brought a great item at LUSH - a single use sugar scrub.   These little scrubs are fun to use and they smell like heaven!    There were only two drawbacks - the scrubs dissolve too fast so that the minute the scrub hit the water it dissolved and ran through my fingers AND the LUSH product contains baking soda and cream of tartar which stings a little when using the scrub after shaving my legs.  I did a little research and found some other recipes for single use sugar cube scrubs.  I tried a few that only used oils, cocoa butter and sugar but those recipes proved to be too rough when using on the skin.  Many of the recipes included melt and pour soap base as a binder and, even though I don’t want the scrub to become soap-like, I decided to give it a try.  It has taken quite a bit of experimentation and tweaking to make a final formula.  This is the process of developing the recipe for a single use sugar scrub.

Beginning Recipe:

• Soap
• Cocoa Butter
• Sugar
• Fragrance (I did two scents for spring: a refreshing lemongrass/coconut and a tart blackcurrent)
• Color (green for the lemongrass and coconut; pink for the blackcurrent)
• Jojoba

After mixing up the ingredients, the mixture was poured into a silicone bite size brownie pan and left for about an hour to firm up.  After unmolding the squares, I cut each into 4 cubes.   This batch set beautifully and looked and smelled amazing; however, when I tried to use them in the shower there proved to be too much soap and the cube did not dissolve in the water properly. Overall, it felt too harsh and didn’t really lather.

The melt and pour soap base should have added enough bubbles, however, with all the oils I added to make the scrub moisturizing  the overall lather was diminished.   I decided to add a surfactant called sodium lauroyl lactylate.  Sodium lauroyl lactylate is derived from milk and coconut oil and it is a safe, skin-friendly cleanser for both skin and hair.  I love it because it removes oil, dirt and bacteria without drying or irritating skin.  And it adds a TON of bubbles.   Vegetable Glycerin is a natural humectant that will draw moisture to the skin without having to use oil - so I added some.  In the end, I threw in some emulsifying wax in the hopes it would bind the mixture together better.

Rebatch 1

• Soap
• Cocoa Butter
• Sugar
• Fragrance (I did two scents for spring: a refreshing lemongrass/coconut and a tart blackcurrent)
• Color (green for the lemongrass and coconut; pink for the blackcurrent)
• Jojoba Oil

• Sodium lauroyl lactylate (a surfactant that adds lather to the product)
• Glycerin
• Emuslfying Wax (binds water and oil combinations)

This batch never set properly  and stayed too “wet” and oily to be practical.  However, it was great for use – it had a ton of lather and it felt smooth on the skin; not harsh at all.  Plus my skin felt so soft after using the scrub.  But look at that picture - there is no way I could pack these melty cubes up.  

Because the scrub worked well, the next formula is only tweaked a bit.  Natrasorb Bath is a modified starch that is designed to absorb excess oil and leave the skin feeling soft and silky.  Even better, when the starch comes into contact with water, it immediately dissolves which releases its load of oils and fragrances directly into the warm water.

  A few scoops will help to firm up the cubes. A little amount of clay was added to provide a slippery feel to the scrub when applied to the skin. 

Rebatch 2:

• Soap
• Cocoa Butter
• Sugar
• Fragrance (I did two scents for spring: a refreshing lemongrass/coconut and a tart blackcurrent)
• Color (green for the lemongrass and coconut; pink for the blackcurrent)
• Jojoba Oil

• Sodium lauroyl lactylate (a surfactant that adds lather to the product)
• Glycerin
• Natrasorb Bath

I just packed the mixture with a ton of Natrasorb and extra white sugar.  In fact, the resulting mixture was crumbly in texture - not pourable like the original soap mixture.  The dough was packed into the brownie pan (much like you would do with the bath bombs) and left for about an hour to set.  They popped out of the mold nicely and I cut about half of them into quarters, while leaving the other half to be a larger size scrub.  The finishing touch was a light coat of corn starch to keep the cubes dry .
I am very happy with the final product!  

But now I am not sure I needed the melt and pour base after all.  If anyone wants a creamy sugar scrub in a convenient single use cube - let me know.

Introduction to some of my own perfumes

I started to create perfumes when I was just a child, but it wasn't until a few years ago that I started studying the history and methods of perfume making.  As I studied, my passion for perfume grew and I began to use the components of perfumery (both natural and aroma molecules) to create “scent stories”.  Some of my scents are designed to simply evoke a mood or memory of a person, place or time.  Others are blended to using the principles of aromatherapy to shift and adjust mood, emotion and physical issues.

The Shore Series: designed to evoke memories of the beach….
Growing up on the beach made a lasting impact on essential "me" - so it is only fitting that one of the first series of scents I created was based on the beach.  All of these fragrances may be used as a perfume or blended into soap, lotions, massage oils or bath products.

After the Sun Sets

The sun setting through vivid shades of orange, pink and blue until it sinks calmly behind the dark of the ocean.   A scent designed to whisk you away to that magical moment of time when the sun winks out for the night.   The scent of  juicy Florida oranges, coconut milk and creamy vanilla are blended with a touch of sandalwood and musk for an after dark sexiness.      

Beach House

Memories of relaxing in a hammock listening to the waves crash on the shore while the kids jump off the porch steps.  The scent of star jasmine on an ocean breeze mixed with sand dunes and the warmed wood of the porch floorboards.  

Ocean Waves

A perfect day at the beach.  Vivid blue waves crashing on  pure white sand.  A salty sea breeze gently blowing across skin.  Ocean Waves is a fresh ozone scent with sublte hints of sun-beached driftwood, hot sand and salty sea algae. 

Sur la Falaise
A solitary walk along the rocky cliffs of Northern France.  Romantic and haunting.  A heart of aromatic cistus, lavender, thyme, juniper and rosemary are blended with hints of marine algae and sea salt.