Passion fruit & Pineapple "The Sea Salt Peacock"

It's getting cooler, leaves are scattered across my porch and the days are getting shorter. Fall is here and Winter is steadily making it's way to my door too. I anticipate this time of year just for the change it brings. Once I have felt the difference for a few weeks I am over it. The first time I have to walk my dog at 6a.m. and I feel like a Popsicle, I am way over it.

  Then I start the long yearning for Spring and Summer again. At least I have my fragrances, I can light a candle or take a bubble bath and the aroma's take me back. That's what this scent does for me, I instantly thing spring break, summer fun, fresh fruit all in one fruity burst of fragrance. I am in love once again, happens often in my line of work. Oh, the misery right? Another treason why I love what I do so much, It smells good. Even if I spill something and make a huge mess, It still smells good.

  Pineapple & Passion Fruit fragrance is a new oil from Wholesale Supplies Plus. I was reviewing some of there new scents to see how they performed during Cold Process soap making. I have tested three of there Pineapple fragrances so far, and Pear berry which is a dead ringer for BBW type all the way. There Pineapple scents are fabulous! The Pineapple & Mango and Passion Fruit & Pineapple are my favorite. They both have worked beautifully with my process. There is time to get in there and just let your creative side loose. And I did. I have been obsessed with sea salt this month, I guess it's another way to hold on to summer too. I was recently on a Blog based in France and was totally blown away by some of soaps that I saw. It's called BOS, Blogs Of Soap, you really need to check that out. I have oodles of ideas from amazing work on that blog. So I took an Idea with the cylinder bottles and turned it into a bright and funky soap loaf, topped off with various colored Sea salts on the top.
First off you need to cut the tops and bottoms off your smooth plastic bottles and insert either after you pour or before. I did it prior and had a little trouble with breaking the suction loose to get them out. Wait at least 12 hours before you remove the bottles. I started to decorate the top with sea salt I colored with oil locking mica powders, tweezers help. Patience too. I had no plan at first but it came together nicely.

 I let it set over night, after i removed the bottles just to give it ample time to firm up. I tend to make soap on the softer side so I need all the dry time I can get. The next morning I whipped up a one pound batch of coconut milk awesomeness to fill the holes in. I used the same micas I colored the salts with and a touch of white. Divided my batch up and poured small amounts into each hole in order until I reached the top.
   I had my extra molds ready for the excess I couldn't use and made some adorable colored sea salt hand soaps for bathroom. Just sprinkle in some on the bottom and put the soap in while it has a little body to it so it will set on top of the salts with out swallowing them completely.
  Then I was faced with the big
decision to cover the holes you see
in the picture above or leave them
showing.
 The bottom picture on the right was soon after pouring so you can actually see the outline of the holes a little. Where the ends frayed up from pulling the bottles out are not that appealing. You would want to push those down, level with the top prior to filling. I choose to push mine down with the sea salt and cover completely.

You can see on the bottom of the two on the right, when I was pulling my bottle out the suction was pulling the soap in. I am not sure how to stop that but I think using a cylinder that air can move through will fix it. Like actually cutting the top and bottom off before you use them. Now I am dying to see what it would be like without them covered up so I will be doing this again very soon. With a whole different color scheme of course. I only like to do the same thing twice if it's ordered. I love to create something new for my customers to see, it will keep them coming back just to see what you will have next. Not to mention the fact that it keeps it fun and new for myself too.
I let it set out covered for 24 hours, then I placed it in the freezer for another 24 hours. After all the waiting and anticipation I was finally ready to cut it. This is the moment I live for! That Christmas morning feeling for me every time, never gets old. And this is what it looked like. Totally made me think of a Peacock:) I hope this was helpful to someone. Take it and make it your own. If I missed something or you need any info just let me know.

natural beauty recipes

  Yes, every face is a work of the purest, most complex art ever achieved. In fact our entire body is absolutely fascinating. The way we take care of it is very important. We over look it's wonder because, well... it's our body, it's always there, old news. Most cases a person either doesn't keep up with it or they go over board. It doesn't require shelves of products or expensive salons. Your beauty regimen needs to revolve around one word. Simply. Simply clean, simply natural and most of all simply you.
 First of all be aware of what type of skin you have, know it's ticks and tocks and then spend the time and do a little research. The natural healing effects Essential oils and herbs have will blow your mind. If you just give it a shot, let me rephrase that, the right ingredients that is. Dry skin needs to stay away from Pink Grapefruit, Lemon and Eucalyptus oils and herbs such

Me + Beetroot+Love

 as nettle. Kaolin Clay is the only safe clay that you can use on your face that doesn't draw out the natural oils dry skin so desperately needs. Oily skin has it's own enemies, Medowfoam and Rosehip oil with just join in the oil producing and worsen your complexion. I could go on and on, I started this blog so I could, lol.
 I love helping people find the right ingredients for their skin type. When someone with problem skin finally have a product that works and you were the one who made it for them is a very rewarding feeling. I also know that in most cases, the simpler the better. I am going to share a few of my favorite recipes for dry skin to normal skin in this article. Most of them require ingredients you can get at an grocery store, I will do my best to keep it that way. Dry skin plagues me from time to time so I tend to focus more on that in my spare time, my apologies.

 Daily moisturizer

• 10 ounces Apricot Kernel Oil (grape seed or Olive will work too)
• 2 ounces of Cocoa Butter
• 2 ounces of Beeswax I prefer white

   Melt ingredients slowly with double boiler method. Excessive heat will burn out key nutrients so be ever so careful. Always add the beeswax first with the oils to help it melt faster. Beeswax takes much higher heat to melt than the other two ingredients. Add cocoa butter when the melted beeswax. Once melted, whisk slowly until fully blended. Pour into jars and refrigerate. You can lightly scent this with a couple drops of lavender oil if you would like. It would be an excellent addition right before bed. I find the cutest 4 ounce mason jars in the canning section of your local superstore. Wrap them up and give as gifts if you would like. This will have a shelf life of a year. Keep water out of the cream. No chemical preservatives used, and I like it that way.
 

Facial Scrub recipe

•  1 Tbs of Honey
• 2 Tbs Finely Ground Almonds
• 2 Tbs of Grape seed oil
• 1 Tbs of Brown sugar
• 1 Tbs of chopped oatmeal 

Mix all of these ingredients together and use as you would any other scrub. You can chop your oatmeal to your preference. I would recommend a little bigger than powder and the almonds should be ran through a processor of coffee grinder. Your face has delicate skin. Too coarse of a scrub can really damage your face. Brown sugar is better than regular sugar, but if regular is needed to be used, run it through a processor too. The finer the better. I sprinkle a little beetroot powder in mine for the antioxidizing properties, give a nice red color to the scrub. You can rinse immediately of let dry and rinse, pat dry. This will not keep without a preservative if you get water in the jar. Make small batches so you don't have to worry.


Simple Facial Toner (dry skin)

• Coconut water toner-

Use cotton ball or pad a smoother over face and neck. It tones your skin, treats dark spots and nourishes the skin too. It is great for all skin types, especially for normal and dry skin. I am a huge
fan of anything coconut. It's the super-fruit of the simple, natural skin and beauty care. During the summer months, I make a sugar scrub that is made out or nothing but coconut. I incorporate every part of the coconut and nothing else. Right down to ground down coconut shell and coconut sugar.

• Rose Water Facial Toner~

The video I posted below tells you how to make Rose Water. It's very easy to do and so beneficial to your skin. It balances skin’s sebum production and it is very refreshing, cooling and soothing. It can  revives tired skin. It's even gentle enough to suit most sensitive skin-types. Helps smooth & soften your skin while shrinking pore size and reduces redness. Can't beat that huh?


Vinegar Toner for dry skin~

The only other toner for dry skin is a vinegar method. I have never tried this because I despise the scent, they say it goes away but I don't even want to smell it for a second more than I have to for the occasional Lye burn. I know people swear by it for dry skin but I have also heard people talk about how it was to strong and burned their faces. Do not use if you have sensitive skin.  If you don't follow the instructions to a recipe 100% or are lacking ingredients always ask for a recommended substitute. You must get the un-filtered ACV, with the "mother".  Braggs is the name of the maker I believe. You can look up the many variations, but use with caution if your sensitive.


My go to Cold Cream recipe~

• 1  ounce Beeswax
• 7   Tbs light mineral oil
• 1.5  Tsp of Borax
• 2  Tbs Rose Water
• 2  Tbs Fresh Cucumber Juice

Juice your cucumber first and set aside. Melt your Beeswax in the mineral oil over double boiler, mix well. On another burner bring Rose Water to near boiling and then dissolve your Borax in it, stirring constantly until all Borax is dissolved, very important. Then pour the water mixture into wax and oil mixture and stir slowly. Once blended, beat vigorously until it cools. When it has cooled down you need to add your cucumber juice, and stir it in. Do not let your mixtures reach over 160 degrees while being heated, use a candy thermometer to make sure that doesn't happen.

Rose Water has many uses when it comes to skin care. It can also be used as a facial toner too. Rose Water is easy to make, here is a video to show you a few ways to make it at home.

I grew up using ponds cold cream, as well as my mother did. I always felt so grown up doing this regimen with my mom some nights. The cucumbers over the eyes, V05 Hot Oil treatment in our hair. I was so ready to be a woman so I could do those things every-night. Well those nights are few and far between now that I am an adult. We let the hustle and bustle carry us right past the good stuff in life. So slow down and slice a cucumber and wear it, and get your daughter to do it too. We have to teach them to relax just as much as teaching them how to work hard in life.

The soap meltdown

This soap was a melt and pour recipe. I love to cut tiny little square out of color coordinating mp soap and drop them in to create a lovely geometric look to my soaps. It's like Christmas morning to me when I am slicing one of these loaves. I will slice it and say "oh, Look at that one!" slice another and say "oh wow! this one is even better" till finally, I am done. I pick my favorites for photos of course. Any plain or not sticking pieces go into my bath collection and the rest are sold to my customers. The contrast is what makes this method appealing to me. I love to use it with a clear base, dyed with matte or sparkle black mica powder. The cubes just pop right out at you. Since I always use a butter base soap for my cubes, (glycerine alone is very drying in my opinion), I can never get the full effect of bright vivid colors that I aspire to see.

After the colors are chopped into cubes I put them in a larger bowl and mix the colors up as evenly as possible. I pour my melted base soap about 3/4 of the way up to my fill line. If you do not allow for the cubes, your soap will be an overflowing mess. I spritz the cubes really good with alcohol and pour them in. The timing is everything when it comes to most all soap techniques. If your pour it all in to fast they will settle on the bottom. That will look just fine, lovely in fact. If you are wanting the suspended look your going to have to wait it out a little longer.I keep stirring the soap to keep the top layer from forming. Then I add a layer then pause for short time then add some more. I also sprinkle a layer on top. Make sure you keep up with the alcohol spritzing, especially on the top layer of they will not attach to the soap properly. Now the Egyptian Amber soap. This scent is such a favorite this time of year. Out of all the amber scents I have found, Egyptian Amber has always brought me back. It goes over big with most of my warm, earthy customers too. I was going for the same effect with this layer. What I was attempting to pull off was a pyramid look going through the center of the soap. Oh, it was going to be gorgeous! But reality set in and I have two very small children who could care less about what my soaps end up looking like and I waited to long and the soaps barely sunk past the top layer. Devastated, I mashed and I pushed, and the cubes just sat there... still on top. I walked away and took a tiny break and it hit me. So I grab up my heat gun, filled up my bottle of alcohol and go at it. Careful not to burn my mold or myself of course. I would melt and spritz until the whole top layer looked marbleized. I was so pleased. At the very end I sprinkled a few more cubes to give it some depth. Wa~lah! beautiful soap. Of course torching everything that doesn't turn out is not the best advice in the world but in this case, the results were perfect. Make sure the colors contrast well too, if they are to similar they may just bleed into one.

There's a "New" cube in town...

Green Tea & Cucumber Cleansing Cubes, topped with Lemon peel & dried Blueberries. Oh! and a touch of sparkle.

Ever ordered those adorable sugar scrub cubes thinking " wow, what a neat idea, no mess, easy to use? that sounds great. Then you get them and they are so hard you can't even break it apart at all. I hated that. I looked forward to learning how to make these and most recipes I found were hard as rocks! So naturally, I made my own XD.

  My sugar cubes are not just sugar, it's a combo recipe that leaves it light and fluffy. I use butters to give it extra fluff and it is soap based (without drying out!) so you get a foaming scrub cube that is 100% useable. You feel so clean afterwards. You will love sugar cubes as you should have in the first place. I cut them all by hand so they are twice as large as your average mold cube so it will actually only take one to get the job done and done right. They come in a large 12 ounce container garnished with the best ingredients for skin cleansing and exfoliating you could ask for. So many combos and variations you will have a hard time picking a favorite. I can help you by telling you which herbs and exfoliants are right for your skin type so just send me a message and I can start building a recipe just for your skins needs. I am available most of the time for convo, you never have to wait long for a response at all. Ask all the questions you need to know you are getting exactly what you need and want.
  Hope your glad to know there are other options out there, so don't give up on the cubes yet. Check out my Etsy shop for all kinds of unique bath & body gifts for your skin. You will not be disappointed. I have something for everyone in the family too. Even baby and Daddy's. You can get these right now in Very Sexy for Him, Dragon's Blood, Cedarwood Vanilla, Shave & Haircut(my fav). I have tons of Tea Tree oil Variations for problem skin too. No additional charge for the naturals, same price no matter what oils we use. I have over 100 scent choices and combinations to choose from so go ahead, spoil yourself, you will be glad you did.

Paisley has never looked so good.

Shea & Avocado Paisley Soap

 Beautiful, the picture does not do them justice, I swear. When I spend hours making this soap and hand brushing every single detail in shimmering mica powder, deepening the shadows, highlighting the highlights. I almost think I know how an true artist feels for a fleeting second. It's a marvelous feeling. It gets even more intense when people react so positively to what you have done it becomes one of life's most intense moments that will never be forgotten. Well, I am not artist just a soap maker but I have my moments when the to paths cross and this was one of them.

 This is an avocado and Shea blend soap, detergent, paraben & SLS free. All the color is all natural mica powder. The oil blends are the best to use for what we do. The price doubles but the end result is more vivid and more depth than using a water mica. I achieved the beautiful purple color of the soap by using dried and crushed blueberries. Turned out a lovely shade of Lavender. The crushed blueberries are throughout the entire soap to give a gentle exfoliation. Crushed blueberries is the way to go to achieve a natural purple hue.
 I didn't want to even get this soap wet! but I did and it lathered beautifully. Didn't dry out my skin in the least. I only make one soap that doesn't contain butters of some kind. I love to use Shea, mango, Kokum, and Cocoa. Mango is my all time favorite butter to use in most of my formulations. So rich and creamy, excellent for bath and body. I use milk powders and fresh milk in 98% percent of my formulations as well. The benefits a way to great to just push a side. Coconut milk is my favorite, in my opinion it trumps goat's milk in every way. The texture is very creamy so you can't do a lot with the design before it sets typically. It never gets liquid thin to pour so you have to keep it simple but it's performance is all that matters. The color is lighter, it conditions and moisturizes, not to mention all the lather and clean it gives to a bar when combined with coconut oils. I am doing extensive testing on natural colorants this month with milk soaps. So be looking for the review in the coming weeks.

Cup 'o' Joe Soap

The latest coffee soap creation, definitely my favorite.

My coffee soap history, short and sweet smelling..

My experience with coffee soap has been a lot less difficult than I read it to be. I was really second guessing every recipe I came up with. I had coffee butter in my collection for nearly 5 months before I had the guts to give it a try. The first go round I did it with MP Detergent Free Shea butter base from WSP. I took whole beans and ground them up and did a 2.5 lb mold 3/4 way up with a mocha shimmer layer with the grounds mixed in. My lack of MP experience, I had no idea that most of them would float to the top. I added a layer of pale gold to the top. The fragrance blend I choose for my summer coffee loaf was Vanilla, Coconut and the coffee scent came only from the fresh ground coffee inside the soap. It was delish smelling, I highly recommend trying it. 
  As I said I added coffee grounds that had all floated to the top of my bottom layer. Well when I cut the soap it was lovely, smelled fabulous, clean lines. Even the contrast between the colors was perfect. What I did not realize at the time was that I had created a weak layer between my soap layers with the coffee grounds. It took a little while before they fell apart but they sure enough did. The layer of coffe grounds was about 3/4", way to much to be such a grainy substance.

My first coffee soap, you can see the week layer, lesson learned.

  A long time went by before I ever tried it again. My brother in law mentioned a coffee to me that he said was super rich and dark, Starbucks Sumatra. I decide if I was going to use coffee grounds and still maintain any natural coffee scent after the lye process. It would have to be intense to start with.
  I did a very small batch to start with so I was not wasting a lot of materials if it didn't pan out. I have a little 12 oz mold I use and if there is any left over I pour into whatever is around. (I use those as free samples for my customers too. when they are good that is.) So I used, Sumatra Dark blend, coffee butter, Cocoa butter and walnut shell powder as my specialty ingredients in this loaf. I did part water and part coconut milk for the lye solution. Coconut Milk soap is growing to be my all time preferred milk to use in my soaps. The benefits are amazing. The only fragrance is a touch of vanilla and the rest is only the coffee grounds I added at trace. I saved a little of the batch and added white mica to the unscented part of the batch I sat aside. I drizzled it slowly through the middle of the loaf and the chrysanthemum mold I used for the extra. I swirled it just enough to give the impression of creamer in coffee. Very simple and so suiting to the scent, that I have to say is still there and lovely as ever. I prepped my grounds prior to adding them at the end of trace too. All I did was put what I was going to use in a jelly jar and soaked it in Sweet Almond oil. Stirring frequently. I did that for an hour prior to using them.
  The grounds are throughout the loaf and give an excellent exfoliating properties along side the walnut shell. The white is still just as bright too. So now my fear of using fresh grounds with lye is over. Moderation is the key I believe. I used nearly 2 TBS for my one lb batch and that was on the high side from what the research said I had done prior. I get a lot of contradicting info on the web but all we can do is tell from our own experiences. There are so many factors to why a batch might head south. So if you try something and it ends up horribly, don't just give up, try and figure it out, ask questions and experiment. it's the only way to truly know for yourself.

Coconut Milk, Coffee Soap recipe (Sample batch)

Coconut oil 76      4oz
Avocado oil           2oz
Almond oil            2oz
Castor oil               2oz
Avocado Butter     1oz
Cocoa Butter         1oz
Coffee Butter       1.5oz

Water/coconut milk(frozen) 4.94
Lye                                         1.83

Always rerun any recipe you find to make sure it's adequate and safe. Hope you love it and make it your own. You can check out my Cup 'o' Joe soap on Etsy www.etsy.com/listing/163424753/cupojoe-soapcoffee-scrub-soapstarbucks

Palm Oil Replacements

I have always used Palm oil in almost every CP recipe I have ever created. Now the time has come for me to part with this troubling agricultural commodity. It's in so many products that we use daily it's almost staggering to think of how much of it is produced annually to satisfy our needs, lip stick, cooking oils and even bio-fuel.  At 38% of the worlds vegetable oil comes from oil palms. It far surpasses soybean oil production. What got my attention was an article I read not long ago about the deforestation and the fact that companies are taking the land by force to feed the ever growing demand for Palm Oil. People and animals are being forced from their homes for the land to grow this crop. Therefor, I want no part of this type of situation. Although I am one small consumer of the oil, I hope others join in and do our part to stop this demand from getting larger than what it already has.

I have been on the hunt recently to replace this vital oil in my oil collection for a few weeks now. I can not offer and encourage all natural products if my natural ingredients are wrecking so much havoc on our civilization. So this entry is to share what I have found to be suitable replacements for such a commonly used oil.

Tallow: the white nearly tasteless solid rendered fat of cattle and sheep used chiefly in soap, candles, and lubricants aka, animal fat. Not my cup of tea but it is an option. It is an affordable option and will produce a lovely, creamy bar of soap you are sure to love.
etsy.com/listing/69123568/2-lbs-beef-tallow-soap-candle-making

Spectrum Organic Shortening: This company makes a 100% palm oil shortening that is organic and sourced from sustainable farmers that do not have any impact on deforestation. It's in most Organic food Stores. I am totally digging this option. Cost is $7 for 1.5 lb
vitacost.com/spectrum-organic-shortening

Generic Shortenings: On the bottom shelves of the super market we all dread. Most Generics are made with hydrogenated Soybean. Always read the label and make sure.

The use of Sodium lactate(brambleberry.com) and upping your butter usage will do the trick as well. Make sure the lather is adequate in the Soap Calc. Almost any soap will get harder with time. If you are doing more detailed molds the harder your soap is the less damage it might endure getting it out. Just spend the time and play with the numbers, you will find a Palm free recipe that works for you and Malaysia.

Stuck in a rut? I always go to www.soapmakingforum.com