Naming your soaps

[Catscankim]

Some soaps are easy to name. Like blackberry vanilla, or cucumber melon. Earth Meets Sky from Nurture, i just named it that cause it smells just that.

Do you guys name your soaps after the FO or do you make up a name? I have one that i named Fantasia, ppl are like what does it smell like?

 

[TheGecko]

For the most part, I just use the name of the FO.

 

[CatahoulaBubble]

I do both. Some are named after the fragrance and others I make up a name.

 

[Kari Howie]

I do both. Then sometimes I work the fragrance name in with a made up name. Unfortunately I can’t think of any examples right now at 0:dark thirty in the morning.

 

[SoapMedic]

I do both ~ use FO or EO name and make up my own at times to be more specific. Example, BB Vetyver FO, in the winter I had done a quarter moon embed in a charcoal base and called it Winter Moon. They liked the scent (I don't care for it lol) so I kept making it for one summer without the moon embed just blue with yellow swirls and called it Blue Moon. I think had I called it by the FO name my particular customer base would have passed it by. For the most part though I try to keep some hint of the scent in the name, it seems less confusing. Your mileage may vary!!!

 

[earlene]

I generally make up a name based on all & sundry things, like:
look of the bars (Lady Camo, - a discoloring FO altered colors to look like pink & brown camouflage),
location where I made the soap (Hotel such & such, name of city),
a specific event (I named a soap after Hurricane Irma, which disrupted our travel plans),
whimsical naming (Sisterhood of the Traveling soap, because the indigo reminded me of the movie),
suggestions from granddaughter (Jungle Book, because the colors & fragrance suggested that to her),
the kind of soap it is (Marbled Castile),
color of the soap (Deep Purple),
how it was made or ingredient related (Luscious Lavender, because of the luxurious oils),
the purpose of the soap (Blacksmith soap, because I make it for my blacksmith brother to clean his hands),
a person or place of memory (Dad's Flagstone Patio soap, because I made a mosaic soap to look the flagstone patio my dad built),
and more,
or a combination thereof (Purple Piggy, because it was purple soap made with lard).

There are some soaps where the fragrance plays a part of the name, but it's usually in combination with another factor, like color or design or shape.

For example, Dragon's Egg (soap in Easter Egg shapes that were discolored by Dragon's Blood FO)

 

[dibbles]

Because I don't sell, I generally just use the name of the FO. That way when someone likes the Orange Blossom or Pink Grapefruit bar it helps me remember what it was.

 

[The Park Bench]

I do both. Then sometimes I work the fragrance name in with a made up name. Unfortunately I can’t think of any examples right now at 0:dark thirty in the morning.

Here, I will help... Patchouli Woods for a mix of patchouli and cedar

 

[Carolyne Thrasher]

I like to get creative in naming soaps. Sometimes I will use local place names or something that is associated with where I live to connect to the shop local crowd and because I feel really connected to places. Other times it might be a literary reference. I like to lean into my cultural traditions (German, Irish, English ancestry) and folklore. And sometimes, I just use the fragrance name, usually if that is going to be the biggest selling point (Lavender, Pink Grapefruit are 2 soaps that sell by fragrance alone).

 

[cerelife]

Personally, I rarely use the name of the FO as my soap name.
Here's an old link on my thoughts:
https://www.soapmakingforum.com/threads/fragrance-renamers.60797/page-2#post-609972I do describe the scent on my website to the best of my ability:
www.minoubleu.com

 

[Obsidian]

I don't sell so I don't name my soap. I just use my recipe name + the FO for identity purpose.

 

[The_Phoenix]

I try to come up with interesting names. I made green soap that looks like mountains and called it "Verdant Hills." The soap reminded me of hiking in New Hampshire many years ago. It's scented with oak moss. It's still curing, but when it's done and I post it n my website and social media, I'll tell the story of hiking in NH in May in 2' of snow. People love stories. Paint them a picture. Emotionally imprint the product into their brain.

 

[Angie Gail]

Sometimes I rename them differently from the FO name. I have one just called Magnolia but the notes are 'Golden Magnolia & Jasmine' so that's what I named it because I thought it sounded more descriptive. I also use one called Abalone & Sea but it smells just like an old Bath & Body Works scent named Seaspray so that's what I call it. I also have another named White Tea & Pear but I'm marketing it for Fall/Christmas as White Tea & Spiced Pear.

 

[Peachy Clean Soap]

I'll usually name my soap according to the FO/ EO used, being creative @ the same time, It's fun. Ive named my soap after the person its going to as well .

 

[GemstonePony]

I don't sell, but I guess I refer to mine by design? "Gold and White," "Maple Marble," and "Golden Granite." Though, I guess "Lavender Wood" is a play on the fragrance, color, and design, and "Lavender Oat" actually includes an ingredient. I guess I'm more visually oriented, and I'm more likely to remember the colors than the name of the fragrance. I also put the Micas and their amounts on the recipe, so I can tweak or duplicate as desired.

 

[amd]

I sell, and based on what my customer's prefer... I call them by the name of the FO, unless the FO is weirdly named - like Butt Naked in Bed. Just from my customer base, weirdly named soaps don't sell. It also helps me remember the FO that I used...

 

[KiwiMoose]

It varies. Let's see... Soaps by FO are: Rose, White Sage and Lavender, Saigon Summer, White Tea, Lavender and Liquorice (which is actually aniseed), Daphne and Ylang Ylang, Love Spell.
Soaps with a given name are: Karma Chameleon, Black Cotton Candy, Lemonade (which is what you all call Sprite or Seven Up), Herbal Intentions, Pink Musk, Seascape.

Let's get one thing clear - I refuse to call my soap Monkey Farts!

 

[Andrew Visser]

I use quotes from movies based on the scent. Some are recognisable and some are obscure. So my coconut scent has the name “Coconuts Migrate?” Which is from a Monty Python movie that I love. I use these names for soaps and candles. Part of it was to have a different name to the usual scent names and part was to see if anyone noticed. I do put the actual scent name underneath on the label.

 

[Misschief]

For me, it varies. I use white and red wine in two of my soaps, made with cheap local wines (the cheapest I can find). The white wine soap is fragranced with Champagne Kisses FO; I call it White Wine Whimsy (though I often think of it as White Whine Whimsy). The red wine soap is fragranced with Merlot FO; I call it Merlot Madness. For other soaps, I will use the fragrance name if I think it suits the soap. I do make it a (recent) habit to put the fragrance name on the label in the ingredient list. That makes it easy for me to refer to when a customer asks about the fragrance. (I'm old and don't always remember the fragrance I used.)

 

[Misschief]

Let's get one thing clear - I refuse to call my soap Monkey Farts!

Why? I make Poop Soap that's fragranced with Chocolate Fudge FO and coloured with cocoa powder. I call it "My Poop Don't Stink". The other one is fragranced with Energy; I label it as Unicorn Poop. Read into that what you may. lol