Vanilla Files (part 8 = lather tests!)

I think I need to start off by saying these Vanilla Files are nothing more than an experiment I did for my own personal reasons, then later decided to share publicly in the hope that others could benefit from the results .. Maybe I'm a fool, but I prefer to think of other B&B makers as my colleagues, rather than competition .. And what soaper doesn't love to talk shop?!

Also, please remember any comments below are only in reference to CP soap .. The very last thing I want to do is put people off trying these FO's in the many and varied B&B products we enjoy, and enjoy making! Obviously they are only my opinion, and I'm admittedly fussy - but very honest!

Not all have been tested enough in the shower to comment if they rinse clean, fill the bathroom with scent, or stick to skin, so *watch this space for updates*


PINK SUGAR (TCS):

Absolutely Gorgeous Scent! So good that the discolouration in CP soap doesn't bother me in the least .. The lather & rinse however is a shocker - dirty yellow/brown like Kindy Infectious Urine! Sorry but it's seriously BAD!! Which creates a major dilemma in that I absolutely LOVE this scent, and so do my testers .. So I guess I'll now have to try it with Vanilla Stabiliser ..

The scent does stick to skin for a little while after showering, but only very mildly - not to worry though as I've already used it in my Body Butter :D

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Sandalwood Vanilla (DSS):

Lather looks white when washing hands etc, however it's obviously slightly 'dirty' on the rinse (as it drops down onto my white tub) .. It doesn't come alive and fill the room with scent like some FO's do in use, but it definitely sticks to the skin so you'll be walking in a cloud of aroma for a few hours after showering which I personally want - it gets extra points for this ;)

And I also think it morphs just a tad in use, but I still LOVE this FO!

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Drizzled Honey Vanilla Cream (DSS):

This one tricked me - the first time I used it in the shower I wrote: Unfortunately this really doesn't do much in the shower, as in the scent doesn't fill the room like some do .. Nor does it stick to the skin after showering in more than a very mild way .. But I've just stepped out of the shower after using it the second time and the scent DID come alive in a very pleasant way! And it also seems to be stronger on my skin - which I know makes no sense, but what can I say? This is an awesome FO - oh and the lather/rinse is pretty darn clean, just ever so lightly tinted .. A winner in my opinion ;)

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Marshmallow Fluff (DSS):

Compared to the others this scent is still a bit 'whatever' for me .. And the lather/rinse is extremely dirty - it looked like I'd been rolling in the mud!

This picture doesn't even show just how un-pretty it is in use .. And combined with a just so-so scent, it failed miserably as a CP FO :(

(Of course that doesn't mean it wouldn't ROCK in another B&B product!)

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Black Raspberry Vanilla (NG):

*Will update when thoroughly tested*

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Vanilla de Madagascar (DSS):

I have tried another version of this that I liked a lot more, however I don't know where it came from, or how to contact the soaper that made it to ask :/

The scent did nothing in the shower and I could only smell it when sniffing the bar or lather direct, and it did not stick to my skin .. The lather and rinse were dirty, yet not quite as bad as this pic makes out - this was lathered by hand so maybe more intense then when showering with it?

Anyway, I won't be soaping it again ..

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Very Vanilla (BCN):

I think it's been made clear I do not like this scent .. To my nose it's a cross between sniffing playdough and plastic .. BUT every now and again it lets off a very obviously 'nut' like note - kinda weird! Anyhoo I was not expecting much from this when I took it into the shower for proper testing, and while I can't say anything about how it performed in use changed my mind, BUT that nutty thing was super obvious .. I'm calling it Hazelnut actually, that's what it smelt like to me when sniffing the bar - there was no scent in the room itself .. And *unfortunately for me* it did stick to my skin ..

I must give it points for one of the cleaner rinses - barely noticeably discoloured as it washed down the drain ;) So if you're a fan of hazelnuts this may work for you?!

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Vanilla Bean Noel (DSS):

This did not perform as I expected it to as I've used other soapers VBN's in the past and been a huge fan! The rinse was quite dirty, the scent was very faint - had to sniff the bar or lather direct to even smell it, and it did not stick to the skin :(

Sooo if you're really wanting a great VBN then I'd do as my friends do and go with Wholesale Supplies Plus version ;)

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Buttercream Frosting (DSS):

*Will update when thoroughly tested*

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Warm Vanilla Sugar (TCS):

Even in use this one doesn't give off much fragrance unless you sniff the bar directly, and likewise it didn't stick to my skin at all .. I know many people aren't interested in soap scent sticking to skin but I like it .. And at very I least want my bathroom to smell nice when showering - not much purpose adding FO if it doesn't do that! .. Rinse was only slightly discoloured ..

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Vanilla Bean (DSS):

*Will update when thoroughly tested*

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Musk Vanilla (NG):

*Will update when thoroughly tested*

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Vanilla Abricot (DSS):

This smells great when you sniff the bar while in use, but that's the only time I really get much scent from it .. It's not in the air, it's not on my skin, or even in the lather itself in more than a very-very mild way .. Pretty disappointing really but maybe used a t a higher % that could be fixed? The rinse is what you'd expect from a brown bar - not overly, not even enough to put many people off I don't think .. But I won't be using it again ..

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Unscented:


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Face Cloth Test - wet soap left to dry on a clean white towel:
(click on image for full size)

Sorry this is so dark in comparison to the lather tests above - the weather has turned and it's very overcast but I got it done before the rain started!

Comments, Questions, Feedback - Most Welcomed!

Vanilla Files (part 7)

Ok finally got the pics ready to share - I had open a new flickr account because the last one is full!

To recap, the Fragrance Oils I've used below were all purchased from the wonderful Karen @ Big Tree Supplies in Australia, who stocks from many of the well known places in the states such as:

• Bitter Creek North (BCN)
  
• The Candle Source (TCS)
  
• Day Star Supplies (DSS
  
• Natures Garden (NG)
  
• Elements Bath & Body (EBB)

And I'm very excited to say that I've got some more Vanilla's on the way to be soaped/photographed & added very soon! Including some from Bramble Berry (BB) ..

So these bars are all coming up to their 6wk cure date VERY soon (next week) and I'll then begin doing lather tests to determine:

• if the discolouration also discolours the lather
  
• if the scent morphs &/or comes alive in the water
  
• if the scent sticks to the skin

I apologise that the lighting in these is not always the same due to being photographed outdoors and at differing times of day etc, but I hope it gives you an idea of how they each progressed over the last couple of weeks .. Some you can see discolour very rapidly, while others take weeks - months even!


DAY #1 (freshly cut)

DAY #2

DAY #3

DAY #4

DAY #14 = Today!


Comments, Questions, & Feedback is Welcomed! ♥
And ALL the Vanilla File posts can easily been found via this page: THIS PAGE

Vanilla Files (part 6)

I'm eager to do the lather tests on these so I cut a bar off each in preparation .. I love cutting soap - it was exciting to see what each slice would expose!


From The Top (in same order)




Scent Reviews
* = my 5 top picks (so far)
Vanilla Abricot (DSS)
- Getting stronger, what people 'expect' when you say Vanilla scented

Musk Vanilla (NG)
- Not overpowering but definite Musk. I don't smell any 'Vanilla'

Vanilla Bean (DSS)
- Almost a generic Vanilla scent, with a slight 'plastic' to it

*Drizzled Honey Vanilla* (DSS)
- Still really interesting and very hard to describe. I describe BRV as Summer in the garden, which makes DHV Summer sitting down at the river watching bees hover in the wild flowers!

Marshmallow Fluff (DSS)
- Sugary sweet, a cooking scent. It really smells like Marshmallow but unfortunately isn't very strong

*Black Raspberry Vanilla* (NG)
- I'm loving this, smells just like Summer in my garden :)

*Unscented*
- This still smells 'sweet' to me, not soapy at all! Interesting note is that it also seemed to cut cleaner than any other bar, as though it is somehow 'harder' yet the recipe was exactly the same, including Lye strength.

Vanilla de Madagascar (DSS)
- Another sweet cooking scent, deep/rich buttery even - but not very 'strong'

*Pink Sugar* (TCS)
- Still YUM! I have people gravitate to this bar and keep sniffing, unwilling to try others and going back to it when forced to, lol ..

Very Vanilla (BCN)
- I need to look back and see if this was the one giving off Almond notes when first poured as I can now pick it up again (ever so faint). But honestly, the first thing that I'd describe this as is 'it's like sniffing your TV remote!'. Sorry but this is an Epic FAIL in my opinion .. Edited to add: yes it was the almond one!

Vanilla Bean Noel (DSS)
- Much lighter than I'd like, but sweet/sugary, a little buttery, almost like caramel actually

Buttercream Frosting (DSS)
- Weird, when I just picked this up now I thought 'wow is that coconut I smell?'. If told the name I do get a 'feel' of cake frosting, but I think it's got a touch of plastic too

*Vanilla Sandalwood* (EBB)
Mmm Yeah Baby - I'm so down with this scent, but I guess you'll know that by now 8P

Warm Vanilla Sugar (TCS)
- I find this very faint, alight sweet perfume scent, a Pink Sugar wannabe?

I'm going to order some Vanilla samples from BB to add in the future, but again if anyone has 15ml of a Vanilla FO not listed here and is willing to send my way, I'd love to soap them and add the results to this list ..

And if you have a question regarding any of the above bars, please do leave a comment and I'll do my best to answer or show you ;)

Vanilla Files (part 5)

Sorry I'm late getting this up, I took yesterday off to recover from a super full on week-end that included having my back windscreen smashed to millions of pieces while driving alone up the top of a mountain, and ending an 8yr relationship .. Yeah .. Anyhoo one can be replaced and the other is probably better for both of us, even if it doesn't feel it right now ..

So because time is limited I decided to take a slither off each bar today and compare them that way - click on the image to see it full size!

and please ignore my spelling, especially (Unscented?!)
- these things happen when you rush ..

*Next Monday I'll update the scent descriptions ;)

Vanilla Files (part 4)

Sorry it's taken me until now to post these, life is busy, I have the flu, and I'm feeling all round extraordinarily exhausted!

(embedded images are from last week, to compare)







Musk Vanilla has some interesting exterior colour morphing going on:



No change with Vanilla Abricot,
but the Ash is growing on me :P

Lots of colour variation with the Vanilla Bean!








A couple are missing as there is really no colour change at all in these; Unscented, Black Raspberry Vanilla ..

**Scent Updates**
(I swear they smell different throughout the day! So if I contradict myself that's why ...... means I wrote the following notes on another day)

Black Raspberry Vanilla - not as strong as I'd like, hopefully comes back or blooms in use .. I'd love to put this in a lotion or cream! ...... Somehow reminds me of herbal flowers (red clover?), gentle, sweet ..

Vanilla de Madagascar - Mmm getting stronger, chocolaty vanilla to the point I'm tempted to take a bite (but resist!) ...... Faint compared to rest, nothing special ..

Abricot Vanilla - seems a bit subtle/faint at the moment ....... Some fruity notes returning ..

Musk Vanilla - still very powdery ....... Floral, powder ..

Warm Vanilla Sugar - this seems very mild today and I'm a bit disappointed, but still have hope it will come back ....... Also has a touch of fruit to it but it doesn't stand out compared to the rest ..

Drizzled Honey Vanilla - This is growing on me, lol ..It's got a fruity element that reminds me of the BRV, but each is unique .. Again I can't help but think this would be very popular! It's also Really Strong so you could probably halve the % used ...... Honey, floral, yep this is good!

Unscented - I actually like the scent of this - gently sweet and honey like .... Sweetly scented, Very nice actually!!

Marshmallow Fluff - the darkest of the lot .. This has taken on the scent of cupcakes straight from the oven .. It's not a strong scent but pleasing ..... Strong, buttery, vanilla ..

Vanilla Bean - a bit plastic, what a shame ..... A bit plastic, not much else ..

Buttercream Frosting - warm, sweet, buttery - another cupcake/cooking type scent, quite nice! ...... Also getting a bit plastic, what a shame I had hopes for this ..

Vanilla Bean Noel - This is developing Lovely! It's becoming richer is an obvious Vanilla - it's like ice-cream and milk bottle lollies ..... Not as strong as I'd like but nice, sugary ..

Vanilla Sandalwood - OMG(osh) this smells so good to me .. First thoughts when sniffing the bar today: Mmm Sexy Man lol .. And for the record no my man doesn't soap with this, but he should! ....... YUM YUM YUM!!!

Very Vanilla - Strong Plastic, ick .. I don't have much hope left for this one coming right :( ...... Could be mistaken but maybe a tad more Vanilla today? Still playdough though ..

Pink Sugar - I'm having trouble putting this scent into words .. It's gently perfumy, No distinct Vanilla but a rich and warm undertone which I attribute to Vanilla .. A little bit of fruit like the HDV but nowhere near as strong .. It's a complex scent and I really like it ..... This one makes me sniff again and again - its captivating!

The Vanilla Files (part 3)

I took these photo's outside today to give the truest natural colour of each bar ..




*Notes on Scent*
- Very Vanilla -
Smells warm and nutty when pouring into mould. Strong scent of Almonds a couple of hours after pour, distinctly Almond! .. Couple of days into cure and it's taken on a playdough smell, hmm .. Ok total lump of playdough - most unpleasant .. A few more days and it's got a 'hint' of Vanilla, hopefully it will continue to improve ..

- Pink Sugar -
Couple of days into cure this has become not so much Vanilla but somewhat fruity with honey and floral notes too .. This is pure yum, beautiful scent, sweet and floral but not overly - just right ..

- Vanilla Bean Noel -
36 (or so) hrs into cure and I honestly can barely smell this even with nose touching - I expect it to come back soon, but when?? Another day or two and it's starting to come alive, very nice sweet vanilla .. Continuing to increase in scent, it's a bakery buttery sweet almost cookie like Vanilla - Yummy!

- Vanilla Sandalwood -
36 (or so) hrs into cure and all I can say is YUM! Loving this once .. Sweet and powdery with a backbone of vanilla ..

- Buttercream Frosting -
Warm and sweet and buttery .. This was one of my fav scents to start but I'm getting a tiny hint of a 'plastic' scent now - hopefully that leaves as quick as it arrived ..

- Vanilla Bean -
This one has the most 'authentic' vanilla bean paste scent - only I detect a very slight medicinal note too .. Loosing it's medicinal note just a day later .. Still an ever so slight 'plastic' note about this, but I continue to have high hopes for it!

- Vanilla Abricot -
I honestly couldn't smell a thing when I sniffed this out of the bottle! Soaped it has become a buttery Vanilla with an ever so light fruit candy like quality .. *Nothing to do with scent but I still find it remarkable that this FO Ashed (quite severe even) when none of the others have in the least! Including the one made less than 10minutes after and sat side by side in the moulds ..

- Marshmallow Fluff -
I found this one almost unscented when sniffed direct from the bottle, but it came alive almost instantly once soaped .. It's not even a subtle scent anymore, but not too perfumery either .. A few days into cure and it's the truest 'Vanilla Essence' of the lot ..

- Drizzled Honey Vanilla -
This one has a really unique scent that I'm struggling to put into words - I get no Vanilla that's for sure .. It's almost floral, perfumy .. I want to like it but I think it's giving me a headache :( OK, definitely getting stronger by the day, overpowering floraly fruit! Not my thing at all but I feel like others would like it and that it would work well for shampoo ..

- Musk Vanilla -
This one immediately reminded me of 'Black Magic' with it's Musk .. It has a powdery scent to it similar to the Sandalwood Vanilla, but also a clear Vanilla .. I have a feeling men would chose this one over most of the others?

- Warm Vanilla Sugar -
Quite subtle compared to the rest (so far) .. Warm, sweet, butter scent - smells just like it's namesake .. Still very subtle - hopefully it increases as it cures or comes alive in use?

- Vanilla de Madagascar -
This one is a richer/deeper Vanilla scent to the rest, almost chocolaty .. Currently changing a lot throughout the day, pick it up in the morning and it's as described before, later in the day and it's pure buttery sweet cooking Vanilla?!

- Black Raspberry Vanilla -
Not that impressed when I sniffed it out of the bottle but once soaped WOW! Smells fantastic! A couple days into cure and it's still lovely and light coloured, fruity (like juice, but not fake!) .. I don't necessarily smell 'Vanilla' but maybe a creaming soda scent to it ..
So there you go, all my scent notes up to date :)

These obviously need a lot more cure time and I'm sure many will morph in one way or another throughout .. I'll be checking on them every other day and jot down notes in my book to share along with new pics next Monday ..

And if you ever want to look back at last weeks pics or reports I've put a sticky with links to all the Vanilla Files up the top of my blog to make it easier ..

PS: in case you're wondering, I'm still sick :(
Shower and an early night is the plan, if only I could turn off all the ideas dancing around in my head; like making Apple scented shampoo, or doing an experiment similar to this but with blends of Micas!

The Vanilla Files (part 2)

Well I finally soaped the last of my Vanilla samples from Big Tree Supplies last night, and an unscented loaf for colour comparison .. Each was done using the following formula:80% Olive Oil
20% Coconut Oil
33% Lye Solution Strength
Fragrance: 3% of total oil amount (15ml FO to 500g oil)
It's a simple soap that used up what I had a lot of, but more to the point if left unscented gives me a nice light bar so we can see what the FO's really do colour wise .. Of course I'm just a kitchen hobby soaper, so this is no clinical trial under exact circumstances - there have been hot days and mild wet days, some where soaped at night and others during the morning, some gelled on their own while others didn't (all were left to saponify in the same location), and a couple were even put into the freezer (after fully setting & cooling) because they didn't want to release .. However I have done my best to keep things the same so the results would be valid ..

As far as my notes on each oil, I think I'm going to just summarise for now because there honestly wasn't much of a difference when it came to the actual soaping, other than slight colour variation .. That is until I did the unscented comparison loaf which took three times longer to reach trace! Oh I forgot to mention all were soaped with ROOM TEMP LYE & OILS .. With 80%OO & 33% LSS I really wasn't concerned about acceleration, this is how I like to soap .. OK then, here we go:

Very Vanilla - Bitter Creek North (soaped 8/2/10)
{cracking is my fault/impatience to unmould!}




Pink Sugar - The Candle Source (soaped 9/2/10)



Sandalwood Vanilla - Elements Bath & Body (soaped 10/2/10)



Vanilla Bean Noel - Daystar Supplies (soaped 10/2/10)



Vanilla Bean - Daystar Supplies (soaped 11/2/10)
{shine is just condensation as I had to freeze to unmould}



*Buttercream Frosting - Daystar Supplies (soaped 11/2/10)
I accidentally wrote *Butterscotch on this bar
{again condensation}




Vanilla Abricot - Daystar Supplies (soaped 16/2/10)
{this one Ashed on me!}




Marshmellow Fluff - Daystar Supplies (soaped 16/2/10)



Vanilla de Madagascar - Daystar Supplies (17/2/10)



Warm Vanilla Sugar - The Candle Source (soaped 17/2/10)


Drizzled Honey Vanilla - Daystar Supplies (soaped 18/2/10)


Musk Vanilla - Natures Garden (soaped 18/2/10)
{unmoulding issues big time!}


Black Raspberry Vanilla - Natures Garden (soaped 19/2/10)


* UNSCENTED * (soaped 19/2/10)


Gosh if you've made it this far then thanks for viewing - and if you can appreciate the effort I'm putting into sharing all this then please do take the time to leave a comment :D

I will take new photo's (in better lighting) & update with notes on fragrance each Monday; lather trials will start in six weeks (5th April - Easter Monday) and I'll take pics of that too .. {click for larger view}

And I just want to throw out the idea that if anyone wants to send 15ml samples of any Vanilla oils not mentioned here, I would love to soap them and add to this list!

I'd especially love to compare oils that go by the same name from different suppliers, so if you have any spare &/or are feeling generous, just leave a comment or email me: clear.marie[at]gmail.com for a postal address ..
Never hurts to ask right?!

~ Wishing you all a wonderful week-end ♥