Watermelon, again - and a drop swirl

[dmcgee5034]

On my quest to make watermelon soap with “perfect to me” pinks and red, with more trial and error ahead. I used Trial by Fire red, but mixed in Raspberry. I have now finally had the ah-ha moment that the raspberry mica from BB is the culprit in turning my soap brownish. I am banning it from soap!

And in other news, I made this drop swirl. I wanted the base color to be more light baby blue, but the NS Sky Blue turned more gray than I expected. Scented with NS 8th & Ocean. Anyone have a great mica that is really baby blue? Maybe lighten a deeper blue with some TD? Help wanted, please.

 

[dibbles]

Oh your soaps are lovely! I’ve had really good results with NS Sky Blue, so I’m sorry to see it isn’t working for you. One of my current favorites is Caribbean Blue from NS. I can look for pics later if you want to see them for reference. My base is also pretty white.

 

[dmcgee5034]

Thanks @dibbles - would love to see pics when you have time.

 

[dibbles]

I took a quick picture of the micas side by side. The sky blue is photographing darker than it really is, but you get the idea. The ombre with mini drops is Caribbean Blue and the other has Sky Blue in it. Hope this helps. I also meant to mention that I recently made a watermelon soap and used Hollywood Pink (NS) for the darkest part of the pinks and I liked how it came out.

 

[dmcgee5034]

@dibbles - beautiful soaps, and that is the pretty light blue I was trying to achieve. My NS Sky Blue looks really different than yours. This photo is just like real life, and now that I look close, it seems to have some gray undertones, which explains my results.

 

[dibbles]

Thank you @dmcgee5034. I color corrected the white balance in the mica photo. I wonder if you somehow got a baby blue mica - that one has some gray undertones in it IRRC.

 

[dmcgee5034]

You must be right, @dibbles - I see that on their site and it must be Baby Blue with an incorrect label. I am for sure going for actual Sky Blue. Appreciate your help

 

[dmcgee5034]

@dibbles
In breaking news, NS replied to my inquiry about my Sky Blue mica (yes, I’m THAT person that writes to companies LOL). Here’s what they said:

You have the older version of Sky Blue, before we had it reformulated to a lighter color. Your friend most likely has the newer formulation of Sky Blue. The older version was much darker than it is now but still more sparkly than Baby Blue.

 

[dibbles]

@dibbles
In breaking news, NS replied to my inquiry about my Sky Blue mica (yes, I’m THAT person that writes to companies LOL). Here’s what they said:

You have the older version of Sky Blue, before we had it reformulated to a lighter color. Your friend most likely has the newer formulation of Sky Blue. The older version was much darker than it is now but still more sparkly than Baby Blue.

Out of curiosity I checked my order history. The mica I have was purchased in December of 2021. I didn't know that the mica was reformulated, or when that was. I used it frequently enough (for years) before I ordered a full ounce. I'm glad to know it might have changed. If I remember, the next time I place a Nurture order I'm going to get a small bag to see the difference while I still have some left to compare.

 

[dmcgee5034]

I have the “new” sky blue in my cart at NS and made a note on my current bag. I’ll try to remember to do a side by side once I place the order and receive it.