I found out about Soapalooza shortly before she shifted to selling mostly wholesale. It is unclear to me if she is going to continue to sell small volumes or she is just getting rid of her inventory. I bought a few samples or small bottles and made tiny testers with them. Overall, she has good quality FOs for CP. My overall impression of her FOs is clean, well-blended, balanced, great for CP with no muddied confused or constantly morphing notes. I haven't tried a wet test on any of them yet.
If she continues to sell in smaller volumes, I would buy from her. I wish she would sell all her FOs in 1 lb aliquots if she doesn't want to carry the smaller volumes. Here are my notes on the ones I tried, reviewed at 8 months: (same disclaimer as always: we all have unique noses so YMMV)
405-Blue Chamomile: No Dis, some ash. Medium light scent. It’s a nice chamomile scent with some of the notes that are common in Linden FOs. It is subtle. I put it in the same category as White Tea and Ginger but more green. I would use it on its own or blend it.
406-Attar of Roses: No dis, Heavy ash. Light clean rose scent with no burnt wax notes. it's probably one of the better rose FOs at 8 months. OK on its own but can be the foundation of a floral scent.
407-Black Mission Fig: No dis, no ash. There are no fig notes left in the tester. It is hard to identify any notes, it smells more like it wants to be a brewed tea with herbal notes but never quite gets there. It just turns into a soft clean scent that is appropriately soapy. Very light at 8 months.
408-Acorns and Black Oak: Slight dis, no ash. This could be a spa scent. It wasn’t all that interesting when first poured but the scent developed during cure. It is light at 8 months. Overall, it is a clean unisex scent with complex notes without being overpowering.
409-Apres Apricot: Light dis, no ash. Meh from the start. It's not bad but it isn't as interesting as some others. There is a hint of apricot but not much. It's mostly fruity. For a sweet apricot scent, I would use FB Sweet Temptations.
410-Bamboo Zen Tea: No discoloration. Generic light scent at 8 months. It reminds me of commercial detergent scents.
411-Big Sur: Light beige discoloration, light ash. Nice balanced woodsy scent. It is one of the better woodsy FOs. I prefer the Teak Wood from FB but I would use this one if I have it. The FB Teak Wood and this one knocked the EBB Teakwood out of first place. Medium light at 8 months.
412-Bossa Nova: No dis or ash. Hard to describe. It is well blended with a lot of fruit notes and hints of greens. The overall effect is a clean bright scent. It stops short of becoming a commercial detergent scent. Medium strong and holding.
413-Darjeeling Tea: Light beige discoloration, no ash. It’s a subtle scent with hints of tea but it is not a typical tea scent. It lacks the delicate floral complexity of a typical Darjeeling. It seems appropriately soapy. I wouldn't use it as a tea FO. Medium light at 8 months.
414-Gentelman’s Bay Rum: No dis, no ash. This was my favorite when first poured. At 8 months, what is left is mostly spicy but clean. It is better used within the first 4 months but I would still use it for a clean spicy FO on its own or in a blend. Medium strong and holding.
415-Gingermilk: Light tan discoloration, no ash. It is a light spicy scent. Medium light and holding. It doesn’t remind me of ginger but it is typical of what others call ginger.
416-Scuppernong Wine: Dark orangy yellow, light ash. This one was also very lovely when first poured. It screamed aromatic wild grapes and wine. It is more subtle at 8 months but still very nice. Medium strong and holding.
417-Bonsai: No dis, no ash. This is a well-blended clean scent. Perfect for soap. This is my favorite Bonsai but DH prefers the one from BB. Strong and holding.
