I usually don't post photos because I'm so critical and I'm not selling online right now so photos haven't been important. Some of the soaps have been planed, some have not. I have some soda ash I will steam and I will trim before boxing.
First up is 'Lavender & Sage' or I should say 'Lavender and Lavender & Sage' since I didn't have enough of either. The Lavender is from BB, the Lavender & Sage is from Nurture. The colorants are Lavender Mica from BB and Retro Green from Elements. Technique is a Drop/Chopstick Swirl. This is one of two soap for my upcoming Knitting Retreat that will be put in the Swag Bags.
Next is Lilac, the second of my Knitting Retreat Soaps. The FO is from Rustic Escentuals, the colorant is Ultramarine Violet Oxide Pigment from BB. Another Drop/Chopstick Swirl
Next is Green Apple; FO is from RE and really, really sticks. I had a bar from two years ago that I gave to a friend last month and it still smelt amazing. The colorant is Green Chrome Oxide from BB. It's just a Drop Swirl and the batter was super thin and I wanted to see what it would do. Too much green.
Next is Sweet Cardamom Chai. It was supposed to discolor to tan, but the sample on BB's website had it lighter so I decided to forgo any colorant except for a Toffeelicious Mica (BB) swirl on top to see what would really happen. This was a sample batch and I used .5 oz of FO for 14oz of oils. It smells really, really good, but it runs light. Hubby likes this one...said it wasn't bad. LOL
Next is my 'famous' Chocolate Espresso, I cannot keep it in stock. FO is Chocolate Espresso from BB and discolors to a medium brown, but I like it darker and so I add Brown Oxide (BB) and Hershey's Cocoa for the bottom layer and TD (in Oil) for the Whip Cream. I put a 'mica line' of cocoa between the layers and sprinkle with cocoa on top. The FO is strong enough at 5% that it doesn't matter that the Whip Cream is not scented, and yes, I adjusted the FO for the amount to be scented. When I first made it I used to put coffee beans on it but the first time I went to use it, I found them having to dispose of them to be annoying. I highly recommend dispersing TD in oil, I had zero issue with obtaining a white topping without rivers/crackling.
Next is another test batch...Blue Man. The FO is from BB and discolors so daughter picked a bright Caribbean Blue Mica (BB) and Celestial Silver Mica from Nurture for a Drop/Chopstick Swirl; I didn't add any FO to the Silver. Already know that this soap will end up in my 'donation box'; not only has the color changed to a green, you can see brown around the edge. And while it smelled 'okay' in the bottle, I'm not impressed. Hubby was a definite "NO". But this is exactly why I do 20oz (4-5 oz bars) test batches with trial sizes. Yeah it's a little more spendy and if it's something that you really like, like the Sweet Cardamom, I'll have to wait to order more. But if it sucks like this has, I'm only out about $5.00.
Last is the one I just did...Ancient Sedona. I had done a test batch about a year ago and bought a large bottle, but never got around to making it and now BB had discontinued it. This kind of, sort a test batch in that I am trying out Todd's Vanilla stabilizer and dispersing oxides in oil. The colorants are Red Oxide (BB), Yellow Mica (BB), Orange Burst Mica (RE) all with a touch of Brown Oxide (BB) all dispersed in about a tablespoon of Olive Oil. The plan was to do alternate pours and then a Chopstick Swirl. As you can kind of tell from the top, the pour turned into a bit of a plop. But interesting to not...only the batter with the Micas thickened up, the one with just Oxides stayed fluid to the end. The cut should be interesting.
I have a ton of FOs to get through, so I think I go back to soaping.
First up is 'Lavender & Sage' or I should say 'Lavender and Lavender & Sage' since I didn't have enough of either. The Lavender is from BB, the Lavender & Sage is from Nurture. The colorants are Lavender Mica from BB and Retro Green from Elements. Technique is a Drop/Chopstick Swirl. This is one of two soap for my upcoming Knitting Retreat that will be put in the Swag Bags.
Next is Lilac, the second of my Knitting Retreat Soaps. The FO is from Rustic Escentuals, the colorant is Ultramarine Violet Oxide Pigment from BB. Another Drop/Chopstick Swirl
Next is Green Apple; FO is from RE and really, really sticks. I had a bar from two years ago that I gave to a friend last month and it still smelt amazing. The colorant is Green Chrome Oxide from BB. It's just a Drop Swirl and the batter was super thin and I wanted to see what it would do. Too much green.
Next is Sweet Cardamom Chai. It was supposed to discolor to tan, but the sample on BB's website had it lighter so I decided to forgo any colorant except for a Toffeelicious Mica (BB) swirl on top to see what would really happen. This was a sample batch and I used .5 oz of FO for 14oz of oils. It smells really, really good, but it runs light. Hubby likes this one...said it wasn't bad. LOL
Next is my 'famous' Chocolate Espresso, I cannot keep it in stock. FO is Chocolate Espresso from BB and discolors to a medium brown, but I like it darker and so I add Brown Oxide (BB) and Hershey's Cocoa for the bottom layer and TD (in Oil) for the Whip Cream. I put a 'mica line' of cocoa between the layers and sprinkle with cocoa on top. The FO is strong enough at 5% that it doesn't matter that the Whip Cream is not scented, and yes, I adjusted the FO for the amount to be scented. When I first made it I used to put coffee beans on it but the first time I went to use it, I found them having to dispose of them to be annoying. I highly recommend dispersing TD in oil, I had zero issue with obtaining a white topping without rivers/crackling.
Next is another test batch...Blue Man. The FO is from BB and discolors so daughter picked a bright Caribbean Blue Mica (BB) and Celestial Silver Mica from Nurture for a Drop/Chopstick Swirl; I didn't add any FO to the Silver. Already know that this soap will end up in my 'donation box'; not only has the color changed to a green, you can see brown around the edge. And while it smelled 'okay' in the bottle, I'm not impressed. Hubby was a definite "NO". But this is exactly why I do 20oz (4-5 oz bars) test batches with trial sizes. Yeah it's a little more spendy and if it's something that you really like, like the Sweet Cardamom, I'll have to wait to order more. But if it sucks like this has, I'm only out about $5.00.
Last is the one I just did...Ancient Sedona. I had done a test batch about a year ago and bought a large bottle, but never got around to making it and now BB had discontinued it. This kind of, sort a test batch in that I am trying out Todd's Vanilla stabilizer and dispersing oxides in oil. The colorants are Red Oxide (BB), Yellow Mica (BB), Orange Burst Mica (RE) all with a touch of Brown Oxide (BB) all dispersed in about a tablespoon of Olive Oil. The plan was to do alternate pours and then a Chopstick Swirl. As you can kind of tell from the top, the pour turned into a bit of a plop. But interesting to not...only the batter with the Micas thickened up, the one with just Oxides stayed fluid to the end. The cut should be interesting.
I have a ton of FOs to get through, so I think I go back to soaping.
. I don't usually do BB for fragrances, but I may have to try it. Does the Chocolate Espresso actually smell like coffee? I have the worst luck picking coffee fragrances (although BB's Turkish Mocha was amazing).
