Soapmakers

I made soap! Borrowed a few drawers of spoons, had some assistance, and got it done. I seem to have streamlined/ME-friendlied my method somehow, because it worked so much better this time. Maybe I just didn't stuff anything up this time!

Anyhow, here it is raw and untrimmed and just out of the mould:





From the top:

Pink and purple neon swirl: Brambleberry "Love Spell" fragrance oil - I'm going to change this name, but I'm still working out what to call it.

Fragrance description: "It has fruity sweet notes of Italian Bergamot, White Lady Peach and Strawberry mixed with middle notes of Apple Blossom, African Tamarind and a touch of Damask Rose. The base is Tonka Bean, Coconut Milk and White Musk."

White and blueish swirl (swirl will discolour to bluish-brownish over time): Black Amber & Lavender, again by BB.

Fragrance description: "Deep and sophisticated this fragrance blends rustic Amber with bold Parisian Lavender. Combined with these main scents is a mysterious Black Myrrh, dulcet vanilla Tonka bean, and a splash of Egyptian Musk. We've rounded out the fragrance with a surprising addition of raw Clary Sage resulting in an earthy concoction with hints of sweetness and pleasing floral notes."

I love this fragrance, which is mostly a lavender-vanilla to my nose, soooo much.

Brown with white swirl: Sweetcakes Sandalwood fragrance. A pretty straight sandalwood, to me.

Fragrance description: "An excellent imitation of the very expensive real thing. A touch of real Indonesian sandalwood is accented by essential oils of cedarwood, patchouli, and amyris, supported by synthetic sandalwood aroma materials."

Uncoloured soap: Brambleberry Stargazer Lily. Straight up lily.

Am now planning a big batch of uncoloured castile (some with goat's milk, some not), an oatmeal-stout soap, a rose & rose geranium, and to try out new fragrance oils Honey Ale, Ancient Sedonia, and Amber.

Have you been soaping lately? Planning any batches? Found any good soapsmut photos to share?

Previously:

Soapmaking Photo Walkthrough, Part One: The Setup

Soapmaking Photo Walkthrough, Part Two: The Making

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So here we are the next day, folks, just itching to get the soaps out of their moulds. Enjoy them with me!

Here are the lavender & lemongrass soaps - check out all that lovely texture. A few bars came out a little soft around the edges. I think it would have been easier to unmould them if I'd left them two days. No matter: more soap for the home slushpile!



Here are the neroli (orange blossom) swirlies. The delicate colours turned out exactly as I wanted them to in this batch. I'm squeeing a little at this point!

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Soap, soap, soap! It's been so long since I last made some, and the soapmaking pressure was building so that I had a real head of steam going. Yesterday I finally had the combination of an assistant present, no child in the house, and a little allocation of spoons, so away we went!

Since I had my assistant there to help setup and cleanup and fetch and carry, I also put him to work doing photos for this four-part photo walkthrough series.




This walkthrough is intended for general interest for non-soapmakers, just me sharing what a soapmaking week looks like and how I go about it; and as a glimpse for other soapmakers into another soapmaker's kitchen, which is something we almost never have an opportunity to do. The pictures aren't fancy - I have a point-and-shoot camera, and no lighting equipment. But they do give an insight into what soapmaking looks like in a regular kitchen, rather than in a photo studio!


[Below the cut: bazillions more images. This will kill dialup or mobile connections!]


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I am loving reading The Soap Bar blog!

Especially loving some of the colours in this one

http://thesoapbar.blogspot.com/2009/03/japan-seife-suku-suku.html



http://thesoapbar.blogspot.com/2008/10/black-beauty-soap-porn.html

Welcome to newly arriving members. Will you take a moment to drop us a line?

- Where you from?

- Do you make soap right now? If so, what kinds? what do you like?

- If not, are you interested and researching, or just here for the soap pr0n? Which is fine too.

- Any burning questions? (One free newbie q per introduction!)