U2 rock!

I can't help it, I have to share these awesome photos with you all, because we got to be 10 feet away from the center stage!  Look how close we were, we can see all their wrinkles!

Thank to my crazy friends who stood in line since 6 in the morning to get us all into the inner pit right up to the center stage!

Simply Layered

I've been sniffing these 2 fragrance oil sample from The Scent Works for a couple months now and finally took the plunge to use them.  The 1 oz sample size is kind of a weird existence.  Sometimes I'm glad it is just 1 oz I'm buying if I end up not liking the fragrance.  But then when I really like the scent I'm so frustrated that I cannot use it for a full size log batch!  My solution is to combine 2 fragrance oil samples that actually compliment each other and make a log of soap!  I don't mean mixing the fragrance oil, no, I mean layering them like a cake!  The 2 I chose for this experiment are Ume Blossom and White Willow & Green Tea.  Ume blossom is similar to cherry blossom, and White Willow & Green Tea is similar to White Tea & Ginger if you ask me.  I think they actually go well together.  Let me present you, Geisha:

Purple and yellow layers are scented with Ume Blossom.  Ivory and green are scented with White Willow & Green Tea.  I went to Home Depot and bought a small piece of plexiglass and trim it to 3 pieces ass dividers to pour vertical layers.  They didn't work as well as I thought, room for improvement!

Gone to U2

No soap today!  I'm going to U2 360 concert!  Yay, so excited!  I've been holding my tickets for over a year!  Hey you never know, maybe I will be so inspired I'll come back and do U2 soap!

S.O.A.P. Opera - Episode 5

Recap from last episode: I tested all 8 mystery fragrance oils from Bramble Berry on M&P soap.  White is just not me, so I color coded all of them!  Are they just adorable?!  Some lucky winner(s) will get these little 3D owls up close and personal!

I'm moving on, down next item on my test schedule, thick hand cream with added emu oil imported from Australia.  They will all start white in crystal clear bottles and being examined for the next few days to see if there's any color change or scent morphing.  Then I'll actually squeeze a quarter size one day each and use it on my arms to see how it feels like during the day.  You know what?!  My favorite has changed, there's a surprising underdog that top my list now, strange, isn't it?!  It is #8!!!  I can't seem to get if off my nose!

There are obvious color change in #1 and #7 after 2 days.  Other than that, I really can't tell.

Observing Pause!

After reading a recent blog post on Soapqueen.com, I decided to observe a "holiday" in soaping and all my other hobbies.  I'm going to work my full time job today, just like any other days, then come home, and ACTUALLY DO NOTHING!!!  Oh, the thought of that... a bit weird.  I do feel a little lost just by having that thought because I'm always doing SOMETHING.  As restless as I am, this is my first, but hopefully not the last.  I do realize we all need a break once awhile, even from our beloved hobbies.

Do I look bored already?!

  See you Monday!

S.O.A.P. Opera - Episode 4

Recap from episode 3: reveal of #1 to #6 from CP testing, the ones not gelled, delayed due to #2 not wanting to corporate. 


This episode I'm taking you to the next test on the schedule - M&P.  I didn't forget #7 & #8, I'll come back to them soon.  For M&P I decided to use one of my unique self made silicone sleeve molds, the cute owl, it is indeed the graduation season!

I felt doing plain white is... well, too boring and not my style, there's always colors in my soap!  Giving a color to each mystery FO also is good for future identification.  Anyway, each color is somehow related to how I feel about the FO.  For example, I think #1 reminds me of creamcicle and it smells citrusy to me, I gave it the creamy orange; #2 smells like some kind of lime kitchen cleaner hence lime green; #3 reminds me of fruit smoothie I love to drink during summer so I picked pink; #4 is strongly berry so I gave it lovely purple; #5 has pineapple in it (so I think, will see if I'm correct) that's why it got york yellow; #6 has nut notes and spice in it I gave it charcoal brown; #7 is definitely bakery type scent but since I already used brown I went with maroon red; and last #8, it has given me the hardest time to pin point what exactly to describe it, and then "Christmas wreath" popped out in my head at one point, that's why it got teal blue. 

Reminder, lucky winner(s) will get these adorable owls up close and personal at the end!
Want to order these cute owls for gifts?  You can choose color and scent: Owl Soap

Back to Nature - THE END

Everything has an end, and I decided it's time to end this journey.  It has been fun, almost like soul searching, but in soaping.  This finale is actually inspired by Soaptopia soaps

Aren't they pretty?!  Totally fits my recent project theme of mixing M&P into CP.

My finale is called Lavender Blue.  It's made using flat Blue Moon beer (my husband's favorite) and nettle infused Apricot kernel oil.  I did have to add some green mica to help out the coloring, that's the cheating part.  The scent is an essential oil blend of: Lavender, Ylang ylang, Petitgrain, Patchouli, and tiny bit of Vetiver.  Petitgrain essential oil adds a bit of green note to this predominately floral blend.  The name came because I was feeling blue when I made this batch... and still am...  Life doesn't stop for you even when you are feeling down, it goes on with or without you.  That's why I never stop whatever I'm doing.  life keeps on going, so am I.

 

It is now available at my shop: Lavender Blue (beer)

I used the left over to pour a couple pumice scrub soaps (oval one) for my honey (since he disapproved my last batch that got some pink in it (if you miss the post click this Detour - Pumice Soap).  I scented with Bramble Berry's newest fragrance addition, Eucalyptus Blossom.  Look at the difference in green I got from the same batch, the fragrance oil discolored it to yellow and I actually like it better!