Blackberry Beer Bars

(click on images for full size)

This batch was a combo of Olive, Coconut, & Rice Bran Oils; superfatted 8% .. I used Black Stout Beer for my liquid to give colouring, and premium quality 'Blackberry Patch' F/O to scent ..

I also experimented with an old milk carton for the mold, and cut with a kitchen knife while still a little soft so they have a very rustic, 'old fashioned hunk of soap' look & feel ..

Before Bevelling The Edges:




After Bevelling :








PS: They really are Blackberry leaves from my garden :)

Goats Milk Oats & Honey ..

I've never soaped with goats milk before, and it certainly requires extra effort to keep the milk from overheating and discolouring .. This batch is scented with Oatmeal Milk & Honey F/O, and I've added some ground oats for exfoliation ..

I also laid a piece of bubble wrap in my mold for texture which worked out great .. And while it's still to soft to cut into bars, it smells delicious ♥

Liquid content is 100% GM, and Oil is 100% Olive .. Superfatted approx 9.5% ..

Coconut Lime Salt Spa Bars

(click on images for full size)






Ingredients: Coconut Oil, Soya Bean Lecithin, Canola Oil, Sea Salt, Spring Water, Sodium Hydroxide, Premium Quality Fragrance Oil, Green Tea Powder ..

Superfatted: 20%

Ok, honestly - this was a saponifiers nightmare!

I've been wanting to try making a salt spa bar for weeks now as I keep reading about others doing it .. So yesterday I started calculating a recipe around the 343g of coconut I had left from my Turkish Hazelnut Cafe loaf, and the ratios I was wanting to try: 80% CO, 20% Canola; 20% S/F and 50% (total oil) crushed sea salt .. Green tea powder (for colour), and Lime F/O ..

Well, canola & coconut oil certainly traces A LOT quicker than olive .. Then when I added the tea (mixed with a little water) and the Lime fragrance at trace, it instantly turned bright orange! and reverted back to liquid again = Oh "#$@!" what the hell did I do?!!

In my panic I decided to start stick blending until I reached trace (again) and then carefully mixed in the salt - it's a disgusting mud colour by now and my teenager is laughing over my shoulder .. Suddenly the addition of salt makes the mud 'clump', and I ended up having to scoop it out of the pan as quick as I could to pack in the molds and pushing it down in an effort to level them out (my daughter is rolling on the ground hysterical by this point - though admittedly saying "it still smells great") *sigh*

Sooo - 24hrs later, they look much better than I imagined they would (though not at all what I was aiming for) ..

First Impressions: They smell great and (apart from the top) have an amazing glass like look & feel that you can't see in the images .. Not having ever tried a spa bar before I can't compare them to others, and really am just 'hoping' they turn out worth the hard work ..

Turkish Hazelnut Cafe *updated with cut bars*

(click on images for full size)







Yummy caramel colour speckled with real coffee grounds for gentle exfoliation, and a scent that is bound to wake you up in the morning .. I'm loving this soap and I haven't even used it yet!

ps: I know it lathers well as I had bubbles while rinsing my hands off after cutting into bars ♥

Turkish Hazelnut Cafe

(click on images for full size)





This scent was a dream to work with as it didn't accelerate trace at all despite my miscalculation (read: adding too much), and so far there is only a slight discolouration which is a beautiful warm, light, creamy colour (think top of a cappuccino!) that could well have been caused by the addition of ground coffee ..

Incidentally it doesn't smell too strong - just perfect if you ask me ..

Ingredients: Olive Oil, Coconut Oil, Soya Bean Lechithin, Spring Water, Sodium Hydroxide, Premium Quality Fragrance Oil, Organic Fair Trade Coffee Grounds ..

Superfatted: 8% so a very moisturising shower or bath bar with a smell to die for *YUM*

First Impressions: "Yum, what is that ? Can I eat it ??" - even AFTER I tell them it soap!

Coconut Cucumber & Dill

(click on image for full size)



Ingredients: Olive Oil, Coconut Oil, Blended & Strained Cucumber, Spring Water, Sodium Hydroxide, Spirulina, Dill seeds

Superfatted: 6.5%

First Impressions: I wanted to experiment with natural colourants so used the spirulina .. And the plan was to make it two toned, but I ran out of time and had to pour at a light trace causing the seeds to be displaced and the layers to merged *ahh well ..

Caraway Tangerine & Sandalwood

(click on image for full size)



Ingredients: Olive Oil, Tallow (see notes below), Caraway Seed Infusion, Sodium Hydroxide, Tangerine & Sandalwood Essential Oils

Superfatted: 7%

Notes: This is the one and only time I have or will use animal fat in my soap .. I felt it important to experiment with this traditional ingredient at least once, but will NEVER do so again!

I also had trouble with the essential oils accelerating trace, and had to 'gloop' the mixture into the molds with a spoon ..

First Impressions: This is a very solid, hard bar that bubbles and lathers well .. The essential oils both seem to have been lost in the saponification process, and even the super strong caraway infusion has imparted little more than a gentle colour to the bar .. A bit of a failure so far as fragrant appeal is concerned, but definitely still an efficient, yet mild cleansing product ..

French Lavender Castile

(click on image for full size)



Ingredients: 100% Olive Oil, Spring Water, Sodium Hydroxide, French Lavender Essential Oil

First Impressions: "It's dreamy"

I love using this pure olive oil soap despite it's lack of bubbles - coconut or castor oil will improve the lather but decreases moisturising quality .. Given how often one washes their hands, especially a gardener and pet owner like myself, I prefer to use this gentle bar so I don't need extra hand cream after I've rinsed ♥