Basti's Adventures in Soap (2023)

[AliOop]

Yes, my husband is Romanian and he says most of our (meaning American) olive oil has no flavor so to get "flavor" he only buys EVOO and sometimes pays for the imports, but recently the prices have been more outrageous than before. I usually pick up a gallon because he loves eating tomatoes with feta drizzled with olive oil, even letting it marinate about an hour before eating it. He also prefers i use OO when cooking. So, in order to ensure I have enough to use for soaps AND he has enough to eat with, we buy EVOO by the gallon.

I adore EVOO for cooking, for salad dressings, and even homemade mayo (gives it much more robust flavor than a bland oil). Still, I use the less expensive and tasteless light OO for soaping because, well, I'm not eating the soap.

Seriously, even though I don't use that much OO in soap, I still find it worthwhile to buy the light stuff to keep my soaping costs down and get a lighter soap batter, too. To each her own!

 

[Shelley D]

I adore EVOO for cooking, for salad dressings, and even homemade mayo (gives it much more robust flavor than a bland oil). Still, I use the less expensive and tasteless light OO for soaping because, well, I'm not eating the soap.

Seriously, even though I don't use that much OO in soap, I still find it worthwhile to buy the light stuff to keep my soaping costs down and get a lighter soap batter, too. To each her own!

I know, and you can call me crazy but a few years back I read a detailed article about adulterated foods in the good old USA and, according to the article, more than half of all OO on the shelves is adulterated (i think it was close to 80% of OOs on the groceryshelves). Meaning, they take EVOO and basically dilute it with plain old vegetable oil because that is cheaper than buying OO that has been processed multiple times to get the lighter flavor. I really didn't think much of it since I wasn't really using it at that time but my husband says he can taste the difference. He says he can't even taste the olives in the "light olive oils" and truth be told, I hate olives and the light oils don't even smell like olives to me, they smell like my vegetable oil. So, we stick with EVOO.

 

[AliOop]

I know, and you can call me crazy but a few years back I read a detailed article about adulterated foods in the good old USA and, according to the article, more than half of all OO on the shelves is adulterated (i think it was close to 80% of OOs on the grocery shelves). Meaning, they take EVOO and basically dilute it with plain old vegetable oil because that is cheaper than buying OO that has been processed multiple times to get the lighter flavor. I really didn't think much of it since I wasn't really using it at that time but my husband says he can taste the difference. He says he can't even taste the olives in the "light olive oils" and truth be told, I hate olives and the light oils don't even smell like olives to me, they smell like my vegetable oil. So, we stick with EVOO.

Yes, except that:

1. Almost all of the EVOOs were just as adulterated as the light OOs. So merely buying EVOO doesn't guarantee that it is unadulterated.

2. The Costco olive oils - both EVOO and light - were the exception in that study; they were not adulterated.

3. I still don't understand why the taste of the OO would matter when it comes to making soap. That's why I buy the expensive EVOO for what I will eat, and the light-colored and inexpensive OO for what goes into soap. Both from Costco because I trust the source. I also get some EVOO directly from certain California growers - ah-mazing flavor and so fresh!

 

[Shelley D]

Yes, except that:

1. Almost all of the EVOOs were just as adulterated as the light OOs. So merely buying EVOO doesn't guarantee that it is unadulterated.

2. The Costco olive oils - both EVOO and light - were the exception in that study; they were not adulterated.

3. I still don't understand why the taste of the OO would matter when it comes to making soap. That's why I buy the expensive EVOO for what I will eat, and the light-colored and inexpensive OO for what goes into soap. Both from Costco because I trust the source. I also get some EVOO directly from certain California growers - ah-mazing flavor and so fresh!

1) Right, but less so and it makes the man happy
2) Costco is a bit of a drive us and we aren't into membership shopping or bulk shopping so it's really not saving us any money to make the special trip just for OO
3) I know I'm not eating it, but I really only make small 1 pound batches periodically and in the past year have only made maybe 4 batches that were mostly OO and my other batches had little bits (1-2 oz), so really I haven't used that much. I did buy a gallon to use for infusing for balms, salves and hard lotion bars, but really I haven't used much for soap. Plus, the hubby said I have more than enough soap for now and please don't make any more for a while so I guess I'm on soaping hiatus
I was originally using oils & butters in the purest raw/unrefined forms in my leave-on products (body oil blends) to get the best of each ingredient, and that mentality sticks with me also. So, I it's a mix of all the things really

 

[AliOop]

Makes sense! And I guess there is the advantage that if the soaping oils are part of the grocery budget, perhaps they won't be as ... noticeable?

 

[Shelley D]

Makes sense! And I guess there is the advantage that if the soaping oils are part of the grocery budget, perhaps they won't be as ... noticeable?

Yes! Let's add that reason too!

 

[basti]

Hello~ long time no see. It's been busy here and I haven't stopped by often, but I've still been making soap.

FO - Beneath the Stars by WSP / Berried Treasure by WSP
Left -> My entrant for one of the monthly challenges. I think it was one of the color ones, where you had to use all cool or warm colors.
Right -> I learned how to pipe soap : D I made the cherry blossoms first, then a few days later made the soap.

FOs - Persephone's Kiss / Lavender & Sage / Blackberry Ambrosia by NS
Left -> Remake of an old MP soap with the same colors. I'll adjust the ratio so there's less black next time :]
Middle -> Inspired by banded Amethyst
Right -> Wine soap! I used red wine. The discoloration was a bit harsh on my two purples (yes, those weren't always brown) but my neon stood strong! So now I know to anchor my colors with neons

FOs - Daisies in Bloom / Anarchy / The Grim Reaper by NS
Left -> Golden monochrome : ) This fragrance is so soft and pretty
Middle -> Originally wanted to do pointy layers but decided to go for simple textured layers instead. I like these a lot.
Right -> Inspired by this soap by Lisa. Black layers are ciaglia.

A bunch of Ciaglia soaps I made. I used up over 2 lbs of scraps and used some FOs I had laying around (as one does...). I wasn't too bothered with making fancy designs for these and some of the FOs were fast movers, so it was a sort of whatever happens, happens kinda ordeal

Some other CP soap adventures included making another batch of all my triangle soaps.
This time I made a CP soap embed for the pickled plum soap. It cut a lot easier than the MP embed, though the CP soap embed itself had to be 'glued' back together because it was so crumbly... I recently made an embed using the same mold and it went a lot better :] But that will have to be a soapy story for another time.
I also tried using the 40% lye solution on two of the triangle soaps to see if I could fight off the soda ash and while that was a success, the soap batters themselves were thicker. So I've decided to stick with 33%. I'll just steam them if the ash is unbearable, but a little ash is really no big deal.
I um... also had my first rebatch adventure. I made a strawberry cake inspired soap with pink confetti and frosting but the FO didn't get properly blended in one of the layers and it was... kinda nasty. So into the crockpot it went! Consensus: gross. Really gross. My rebatch soaps turned out a shade of bright pink, so at least they were a cute color.
I also made two more batches of salt soaps, but didn't get a good picture of them. They're nice and colorful, so I'm happy with that. : )

Finally, some MP soaps~

FOs - Strawberry Thyme Lemonade by WSP / Abalone & Sea by WSP
Both of these are remakes of past soaps. The one on the right is one of my favorites to make. I love the FO and I add glow in the dark powder to the moon and the water.

 

[Shelley D]

Hello~ long time no see. It's been busy here and I haven't stopped by often, but I've still been making soap.

View attachment 75183View attachment 75184
FO - Beneath the Stars by WSP / Berried Treasure by WSP
Left -> My entrant for one of the monthly challenges. I think it was one of the color ones, where you had to use all cool or warm colors.
Right -> I learned how to pipe soap : D I made the cherry blossoms first, then a few days later made the soap.

View attachment 75185
FOs - Persephone's Kiss / Lavender & Sage / Blackberry Ambrosia by NS
Left -> Remake of an old MP soap with the same colors. I'll adjust the ratio so there's less black next time :]
Middle -> Inspired by banded Amethyst
Right -> Wine soap! I used red wine. The discoloration was a bit harsh on my two purples (yes, those weren't always brown) but my neon stood strong! So now I know to anchor my colors with neons

View attachment 75186
FOs - Daisies in Bloom / Anarchy / The Grim Reaper by NS
Left -> Golden monochrome : ) This fragrance is so soft and pretty
Middle -> Originally wanted to do pointy layers but decided to go for simple textured layers instead. I like these a lot.
Right -> Inspired by this soap by Lisa. Black layers are ciaglia.

View attachment 75189View attachment 75191
A bunch of Ciaglia soaps I made. I used up over 2 lbs of scraps and used some FOs I had laying around (as one does...). I wasn't too bothered with making fancy designs for these and some of the FOs were fast movers, so it was a sort of whatever happens, happens kinda ordeal

Some other CP soap adventures included making another batch of all my triangle soaps.
This time I made a CP soap embed for the pickled plum soap. It cut a lot easier than the MP embed, though the CP soap embed itself had to be 'glued' back together because it was so crumbly... I recently made an embed using the same mold and it went a lot better :] But that will have to be a soapy story for another time.
I also tried using the 40% lye solution on two of the triangle soaps to see if I could fight off the soda ash and while that was a success, the soap batters themselves were thicker. So I've decided to stick with 33%. I'll just steam them if the ash is unbearable, but a little ash is really no big deal.
I um... also had my first rebatch adventure. I made a strawberry cake inspired soap with pink confetti and frosting but the FO didn't get properly blended in one of the layers and it was... kinda nasty. So into the crockpot it went! Consensus: gross. Really gross. My rebatch soaps turned out a shade of bright pink, so at least they were a cute color.
I also made two more batches of salt soaps, but didn't get a good picture of them. They're nice and colorful, so I'm happy with that. : )

Finally, some MP soaps~
View attachment 75192
FOs - Strawberry Thyme Lemonade by WSP / Abalone & Sea by WSP
Both of these are remakes of past soaps. The one on the right is one of my favorites to make. I love the FO and I add glow in the dark powder to the moon and the water.

Awesome! I was just wondering the other day where you've been and POOF! Here you are! And with beautiful soaps! I love them all!

 

[Zany_in_CO]

Fantastic soaps! Great work on the photography too! Are you a photo-taking pro?

 

[dmcgee5034]

Love them all, @basti - you’ve been busy.

 

[basti]

Fantastic soaps! Great work on the photography too! Are you a photo-taking pro?

Thank you! (and thank you to @dmcgee5034 and @Shelley D as well~)

I definitely wouldn't consider myself to be haha. My "photoshoot studio" consists of a sheet of white printer paper as the background, a north facing window, and a smartphone camera. If it's a rainy day, I have zero hope of getting a single good shot

 

[MichaelP]

Just finished going through this post. @basti Wow! I have no other words really except stunning and amazing! Love the soaps!!

 

[Mobjack Bay]

They’re all gorgeous, as always. I love your sense of color.

 

[KiwiMoose]

Yes - beautiful soaps Basti. Your colour choices are amazing and everything looks challenge-winner worthy!

 

[akseattle]

@basti beautiful soaps!

 

[Zing]

Hello~ long time no see. It's been busy here and I haven't stopped by often, but I've still been making soap.

View attachment 75183View attachment 75184
FO - Beneath the Stars by WSP / Berried Treasure by WSP
Left -> My entrant for one of the monthly challenges. I think it was one of the color ones, where you had to use all cool or warm colors.
Right -> I learned how to pipe soap : D I made the cherry blossoms first, then a few days later made the soap.

View attachment 75185
FOs - Persephone's Kiss / Lavender & Sage / Blackberry Ambrosia by NS
Left -> Remake of an old MP soap with the same colors. I'll adjust the ratio so there's less black next time :]
Middle -> Inspired by banded Amethyst
Right -> Wine soap! I used red wine. The discoloration was a bit harsh on my two purples (yes, those weren't always brown) but my neon stood strong! So now I know to anchor my colors with neons

View attachment 75186
FOs - Daisies in Bloom / Anarchy / The Grim Reaper by NS
Left -> Golden monochrome : ) This fragrance is so soft and pretty
Middle -> Originally wanted to do pointy layers but decided to go for simple textured layers instead. I like these a lot.
Right -> Inspired by this soap by Lisa. Black layers are ciaglia.

View attachment 75189View attachment 75191
A bunch of Ciaglia soaps I made. I used up over 2 lbs of scraps and used some FOs I had laying around (as one does...). I wasn't too bothered with making fancy designs for these and some of the FOs were fast movers, so it was a sort of whatever happens, happens kinda ordeal

Some other CP soap adventures included making another batch of all my triangle soaps.
This time I made a CP soap embed for the pickled plum soap. It cut a lot easier than the MP embed, though the CP soap embed itself had to be 'glued' back together because it was so crumbly... I recently made an embed using the same mold and it went a lot better :] But that will have to be a soapy story for another time.
I also tried using the 40% lye solution on two of the triangle soaps to see if I could fight off the soda ash and while that was a success, the soap batters themselves were thicker. So I've decided to stick with 33%. I'll just steam them if the ash is unbearable, but a little ash is really no big deal.
I um... also had my first rebatch adventure. I made a strawberry cake inspired soap with pink confetti and frosting but the FO didn't get properly blended in one of the layers and it was... kinda nasty. So into the crockpot it went! Consensus: gross. Really gross. My rebatch soaps turned out a shade of bright pink, so at least they were a cute color.
I also made two more batches of salt soaps, but didn't get a good picture of them. They're nice and colorful, so I'm happy with that. : )

Finally, some MP soaps~
View attachment 75192
FOs - Strawberry Thyme Lemonade by WSP / Abalone & Sea by WSP
Both of these are remakes of past soaps. The one on the right is one of my favorites to make. I love the FO and I add glow in the dark powder to the moon and the water.

Love that moon one!!!

 

[basti]

Last soaps of the year~

FOs - Sambucus by NS / All Soul's Day by NS / Sour Watermelon Candy by NG
Some triangle soaps : ) These were a fun adventure.
Left -> I poured this one with the mold vertical, so I had to carefully pour a little bit of each color at a time.
Middle -> Putting my circle embed to good use! Yes, this soap is egg-inspired haha. This batch spooked me a bit because it volcanoed in the mold but luckily it was more of a lava burp than a Vesuvius :'D Most of the bars look totally fine, with a few having thick gashes that look like big glycerin rivers. No big deal~
Right -> It was only a matter of time until I made one of these with this mold. The seeds are made with homemade soap dough. This one and my egg soap got pretty bad glycerin rivers in the white, but I've decided that I don't care. Glycerin river smycerin river...

FOs - Hot Pink Lime / Capri Olivo by NG
I was in a landscape mood this month.
Left -> A remake of a soap I made for a friend earlier this year. This time I did a OPW sky instead of a tiger swirl sky. No it wasn't because I was lazy... ... ...
Right -> OPW ocean with some green cliffs : ) The sea turned out much greener than I intended and am feeling slightly betrayed by my blue micas for turning so green, but it's also not an issue at all.

FOs - Forest Mist by WSP / Peach Mango Sangria by NG
Left -> This was an impulse soap. I was going to use this FO to make a MP soap (I've used it before in MP and loved it) but woke up one day wanting to make CP soap. This FO reported severe acceleration on WSP's website but I'm no quitter, so I decided to make a ZNSC soap and made a few different sky design game plans based on how the FO performed in the green/black layer. It was thick but not soap-on-a-stick thick so I opted to do a layered spoon swirl sky. This FO smells delightful. Would definitely recommend despite the acceleration.
Right -> Neons! Sky is a OPW. I used a squeeze bottle for the yellow reflection. The blue had some confusing acceleration issues (that weren't present elsewhere. Ah, soap. You sometimes-finnicky beast) so I didn't quite get the reflection the way I wanted it to but I do really like it.

FOs - Unscented / Fresh Lemonade by WSP
Some Christmas gifts.
Left -> Charcoal ZNSC made with coconut milk powder and sweet rice flour for my mother.
Right -> Pumice soap for my brother, featuring some soda ash I didn't bother to steam off because life's too short to steam ash off a soap when the recipient doesn't care

Lastly, some MP soaps! I just love the straight clean lines you can get in MP soap.

Happy New Year everyone~

 

[Shelley D]

Last soaps of the year~

View attachment 75794
FOs - Sambucus by NS / All Soul's Day by NS / Sour Watermelon Candy by NG
Some triangle soaps : ) These were a fun adventure.
Left -> I poured this one with the mold vertical, so I had to carefully pour a little bit of each color at a time.
Middle -> Putting my circle embed to good use! Yes, this soap is egg-inspired haha. This batch spooked me a bit because it volcanoed in the mold but luckily it was more of a lava burp than a Vesuvius :'D Most of the bars look totally fine, with a few having thick gashes that look like big glycerin rivers. No big deal~
Right -> It was only a matter of time until I made one of these with this mold. The seeds are made with homemade soap dough. This one and my egg soap got pretty bad glycerin rivers in the white, but I've decided that I don't care. Glycerin river smycerin river...


View attachment 75795
FOs - Hot Pink Lime / Capri Olivo by NG
I was in a landscape mood this month.
Left -> A remake of a soap I made for a friend earlier this year. This time I did a OPW sky instead of a tiger swirl sky. No it wasn't because I was lazy... ... ...
Right -> OPW ocean with some green cliffs : ) The sea turned out much greener than I intended and am feeling slightly betrayed by my blue micas for turning so green, but it's also not an issue at all.

View attachment 75796
FOs - Forest Mist by WSP / Peach Mango Sangria by NG
Left -> This was an impulse soap. I was going to use this FO to make a MP soap (I've used it before in MP and loved it) but woke up one day wanting to make CP soap. This FO reported severe acceleration on WSP's website but I'm no quitter, so I decided to make a ZNSC soap and made a few different sky design game plans based on how the FO performed in the green/black layer. It was thick but not soap-on-a-stick thick so I opted to do a layered spoon swirl sky. This FO smells delightful. Would definitely recommend despite the acceleration.
Right -> Neons! Sky is a OPW. I used a squeeze bottle for the yellow reflection. The blue had some confusing acceleration issues (that weren't present elsewhere. Ah, soap. You sometimes-finnicky beast) so I didn't quite get the reflection the way I wanted it to but I do really like it.

View attachment 75797
FOs - Unscented / Fresh Lemonade by WSP
Some Christmas gifts.
Left -> Charcoal ZNSC made with coconut milk powder and sweet rice flour for my mother.
Right -> Pumice soap for my brother, featuring some soda ash I didn't bother to steam off because life's too short to steam ash off a soap when the recipient doesn't care

View attachment 75799
Lastly, some MP soaps! I just love the straight clean lines you can get in MP soap.

Happy New Year everyone~

Swoon

 

[Feelin' Soapy]

You've been busy! These are a beautiful collection of soaps!
Happy New Year to you too!

 

[dibbles]

Happy New Year @basti! Beautiful soaps, as always.