Biggest Mistake So Far

[BrewerGeorge]

Luckily, it is just cosmetic, but still irritating.

On my last order from BB, I bought two new fragrances on a whim - Apple & Sage, and Black Amber & Lavender. I loved them both, but I guess I confused them.

I made a kilo of soap on Thursday using the Black Amber & Lavender. This is just soap for my shower and I had new molds to try so I thought I'd practice a layering technique. I splurged on the expensive coconut oil (still trying to use up that huge jar of cheap, yellow popcorn coconut) and made bright yellow, purple and natural layers. It turned out pretty well.

Then I cut them yesterday and everything was as expected, though the bars are a little shorter than I prefer; I need to make more batter with these new molds. But I just walked by the curing rack and noticed that these bars are turning brown. I immediately think of that recent thread about browning and start examining them. Then...Oh No! Does this scent have a lot of vanillin in it? Turns out that it sure does - 11.5% in fact.

:headbanging:

So my layered design is going to be toast - literally. The yellow and natural have already been subsumed into the brown and the purple is not far behind. That is the darkest vanillin discoloration I've seen while browsing fragrances, and I forgot about it! Sure does smell amazing, though.

 

[The Efficacious Gentleman]

That's a really gorgeous brown, though! Oje - sorry it didn't work out as planned

 

[BrewerGeorge]

Above and beyond the wasted effort and mica (and white CO ) I think this was an opportunity lost. This scent is so musky and Seventies-y that it reminds me of something that my dad would have had in the shower when I was a kid - that I wouldn't have been allowed to use. If I'd realized what it was going to do, I could have put it on a rope!

 

[cmzaha]

Yes, this goes very dark brown. Did you add the fo to the layer colors? I just poured Black Amber & Lavender with a 2 purple and unfragranced portion swirl. Sorry you mixed them up, this goes even darker than my DB :headbanging:

 

[CTAnton]

I have to laugh...when I saw the color it reminded me I had used the same fragrance awhile back...and also remember my disappointment as this beautifully scented batch of soap morphed in color. I gave them away and there was a lot of hesitation to even USE it due to the color...I guess it could have been worse...like TEG said, it is at least a nice brown!

 

[Susie]

That is a gorgeous brown, though!

Does it smell like lavender at all? I do not like lavender, it smells very chemical to me. (I am one of those people that jasmine smells like cat pee.)

 

[shunt2011]

That is a gorgeous brown, though!

Does it smell like lavender at all? I do not like lavender, it smells very chemical to me. (I am one of those people that jasmine smells like cat pee.)

I don't much like lavender either and you nailed the jasmine smell I had the one time I made it. Hated it. Threw it away as it made me gag.

 

[Susie]

I don't much like lavender either and you nailed the jasmine smell I had the one time I made it. Hated it. Threw it away as it made me gag.

Same here. Bought it, smelled it, gagged, tossed it.

 

[BrewerGeorge]

That is a gorgeous brown, though!

Does it smell like lavender at all? I do not like lavender, it smells very chemical to me. (I am one of those people that jasmine smells like cat pee.)

I adore herbal lavender, floral not as much, but I don't get either from this. Nor do I get the vanilla that's the culprit in the browning. I just get a well-mixed scent from which I cannot separate components. But, I am a guy, and we don't smell as well as women, so YMMV.

 

[christost7]

For me, it smells like baby powder mixed with a little lavender..

I like it and it behaves beautifuly in cp soap. Too bad it discolors a lot.

 

[Scooter]

I am one of those people that jasmine smells like cat pee

Wow. I did not know that was a thing. Is that kinda like how some people think cilantro tastes like soap?

Also, are there other smells/tastes where a lot of people have completely different reactions? Cilantro was the only one I was aware of...

 

[Scooter]

I adore herbal lavender, floral not as much...

I did not know there was a difference. What is an example of each? And which herbal EO do you like/use? I thought they were pretty much all the same. I'm thinking I would probably like the herbal better too.

 

[cmzaha]

I smell the amber with a titch of floral lavender and powder. It is a soft fragrance but sticks well. To my nose the powdery lessens with cure.

 

[BrewerGeorge]

I did not know there was a difference. What is an example of each? And which herbal EO do you like/use? I thought they were pretty much all the same. I'm thinking I would probably like the herbal better too.

This might be a distinction unique to me, but I think of herbal as the EO or the plant itself. I think of floral as the old-fashioned fake stuff that smells more like flowers.

 

[Gerry]

This might be a distinction unique to me, but I think of herbal as the EO or the plant itself. I think of floral as the old-fashioned fake stuff that smells more like flowers.

I find all the lavender I tried to be pretty floral smelling, even the 40/42. It's a nice floral, but as a guy it's just not my preference. I highly prefer the "poor man's" lavender: lavandin EO. That's what I would consider more herbal than floral. I think it's the greatest for sticking power, and really nice for unisex or even blends targeted for men only. When mixed with grassy or earthy scents, it's really amazing (IMO!).

 

[Scooter]

I highly prefer the "poor man's" lavender: lavandin EO.

I may be completely imagining this but I thought I read somewhere that lye can cause lavender to change into lavandin. Have you heard anything like that before? I wish I could find the article I'm thinking about....

Or I may have just dreamt it up.

 

[Gerry]

I may be completely imagining this but I thought I read somewhere that lye can cause lavender to change into lavandin. Have you heard anything like that before? I wish I could find the article I'm thinking about....

Or I may have just dreamt it up.

Perhaps, but it's a new one on me. The biggest difference I know between lavender and lavandin is the higher camphor content. But in finished cured soap, there is definitely a difference to me. The lavandin goes a longer way and sticks better than the lavender, but there is more too it than that. I just find the lavender more floral, subtle, and a bit more "girly".

 

[Susie]

Wow. I did not know that was a thing. Is that kinda like how some people think cilantro tastes like soap?

Also, are there other smells/tastes where a lot of people have completely different reactions? Cilantro was the only one I was aware of...

Cilantro tastes like dish soap to me. It is genetic (http://www.nytimes.com/2010/04/14/dining/14curious.html). I think they will eventually figure out that there are many similar compounds that smell or taste very differently to different people. One of the evergreen trees they use for Christmas trees smells like cat pee to me, also. Just saying.

 

[BrewerGeorge]

Cilantro tastes like dish soap to me. It is genetic (http://www.nytimes.com/2010/04/14/dining/14curious.html). ...

Me too.

 

[Millie]

I may be completely imagining this but I thought I read somewhere that lye can cause lavender to change into lavandin. Have you heard anything like that before? I wish I could find the article I'm thinking about....

Or I may have just dreamt it up.

Linalyl acetate to linalool. Lavandins are sterile lavender hybrids