Mixing up a brown colorant

[theplasticfantasty]

Hi all, happy new year! I know this question is more of a "color theory" question and less of a "soapy" question, but I'm hoping someone on here has done this with success!

I need a deep brown mica (think dark chocolate chip color) for a project but I'm currently all out, I do have ROYGBIV colors though and I was wondering if I couldn't just mix a little bit of green and red together with a little bit of black to make my own brown? Or is mica mixing and paint mixing a little different, property-wise?

 

[GemstonePony]

Hi all, happy new year! I know this question is more of a "color theory" question and less of a "soapy" question, but I'm hoping someone on here has done this with success!

I need a deep brown mica (think dark chocolate chip color) for a project but I'm currently all out, I do have ROYGBIV colors though and I was wondering if I couldn't just mix a little bit of green and red together with a little bit of black to make my own brown? Or is mica mixing and paint mixing a little different, property-wise?

Sometimes Micas can be a little different in terms of grain size, so the ratios can be a little different that if you were working across a single brand of paint. Otherwise, color theory basically applies.
Don't forget to factor in the color of your base, and whether or not you'll be sending it through gel, though.

 

[Misschief]

If I need a dark chocolate brown colour in my soap, I use dark Dutch process cocoa powder.

 

[Zing]

I also use cocoa powder. For lye liquid I use double-strength coffee for even darker colors.

 

[AliOop]

I use carob powder bc I happen to have a whole bunch of it that I will never use for baking, since I don't like the taste. When I run out of that, I'll make the switch to dark cocoa powder.

 

[theplasticfantasty]

I also use cocoa powder. For lye liquid I use double-strength coffee for even darker colors.

Cocoa powder is a great idea! I don't currently have any on hand though so that kinda brings me back to square one lol for future reference though, have you noticed whether cocoa powder imparts a scent to your soap? I've used coffee in my soap before but I wasn't fond of the smell the soap took on after curing

 

[Zing]

In my experience, cocoa smell doesn't survive the saponification process (altho' sometimes I just swear I smell it for a little bit immediately after unmolding). Also, mixing lye with coffee smells just something awful but also doesn't impart a scent to the final soap.