Oh dear Teresa, please don't give up. Fragrances are a nightmare with soap. I suggest you make a batch of uncoloured soap, divide it into small mini bar sized amounts and test a batch of fragrances with it. That way you will know if you are dealing with an accelerating one before you start. It's the same with everyone, I decided to take a short cut last week and used a marine fragrance, I thought to myself (it doesn't smell like a floral or spicy so I will just go with it, should be fine) I got instant soap on a stick. I can usually salvage these things, either by wrapping the pot until it gels then getting it into the mould or crock pot, but this heated up and stayed like a solid block of cement. I ended up hacking it out of the container and chucking it. Anyway, the point of my message was that it happens to everyone so try not to be disheartened. I also find essential oils have less tendency to accelerate, unless they are the spicy ones like clove, so perhaps try an essential oil blend next time you are attempting something complicated to avoid issues. Oh and work yourself out a standard slow trace recipe that works for you that you like the feel of. I know all this sounds a lot of work, but will save you time in the long run. High olive and lard soaps trace fairly slowly.
, Bronze Brown, Orange Vibrance to which I added a touch of the brown. The batter is discolored from the EO.
