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Tuesday, February 22, 2011

Two new Summertime Soaps

I got to thinking that I'm really tired of the cold and grey skies and needed something to make me look towards Summer, the sun shining, the smell of fresh cut grass and the sight of flowers blooming.  I wanted to make a soap that was fresh and zesty and that made me think of Summertime. 

So, in the last couple of days, I've managed to get some time in the kitchen (difficult these days in the middle of visitors and my Dad being in hospital [everything sorted now]) and make two new soaps, both of which define Summer for me.

The first is Pink Grapefruit - this is a divine fragrance, slightly sweet but definitely tangy & zesty, the sort of smell you'd get if you sprinkled a little brown sugar on a half a grapefruit and grilled it .. that juicy, sweet, tang? Know what I mean?

I used Sweet Almond Oil as my main oil because I am in love with this for soaping, added sustainably sourced Palm Oil, Coconut Oil, Cocoa Butter because it's simply divine and it helps with hardness and a tinch of Castor for bubbles.  I used Raspberry POP mica from the US to colour it - now this did turn a little on the peachy side but that's ok because I actually think it suits the Pink Grapefruit theme really well, it's held enough of it's pinkness whilst actually looking a tinch grapefruity too (if that makes sense?). 

The other additions were pure silk (as ever, I LOVE what this brings to the party), titanium dioxide to whiten the base, and a sprinkling of Diamond Dust mica on top because I love everything shiny and glittery and I'm a natural magpie at heart.





(favourite pic!)

You will see it did gel a little on the inside - now I prefer non-gelled soap because I adore the creamy look of them so I think I should have popped this one into the fridge for a few hours to avoid this but you live and learn I guess - it doesn't make a huge difference anyway, it certainly doesn't affect the performance of the soap.  The fragrance is incredible - this one has got to be smelt to be believed!

The second one I made was something I've wanted to do for a while now - I've been interested in using Aloe Juice as the water portion and got my husband to pic up some in the local health food store about 3 weeks ago.  I'd not managed to get space in the kitchen to soap until this week so decided to go ahead with the Aloe soap because I'd gotten my hands on a fabulous new Cucumber fragrance oil that is amazing. 

For this soap, I used the same recipe as above, with silk, titanium dioxide, two types of green mica plus a generous sprinkling of the Diamond Dust mica on top.  I don't know if it was the Aloe, the TD, the mica or the new FO but this was soap on a stick and, even though I managed to get it to submit to the mould, it began to seep oil at a rather alarming rate! I shoved it in the fridge (a small one given to me by my brother just for cosmetic making and soaping) and hoped that'd cool it's heels but, on checking it 10 minutes later, it was now seeping oil out of the mould and onto the floor of the fridge - NOT good! So, remembering my last adventure with overheating and the Deep Pomegranate soap, I decided to immediately HP it and hope for the best.  I really didn't want to lose the fragrance but I knew I'd lose my lovely green and white layers (to be honest, not so lovely really as it had set like a rock .. or so I thought).  In fact, when I scrapped it into the crockpot, it was very liquidy underneath.  So it was HP'd and this is how it turned out:




Really happy with the smoothness of these



(Favourite pic!)

I really love this one - it's held the fragrance really well (I added a touch more Aloe Vera juice to stop it from drying out and I made sure to not overcook it at all - but I did get my hubby to zap test ... love is a husband who'll let you burn his tongue!).  It's a lovely cool Summer's green and the fragrance actually makes me think of cucumber sandwiches at a picnic because I get a hint of fresh cut grass in the background somewhere. 

I hope you love these and they help you think that Summer really is only round the corner!

Tuesday, February 15, 2011

Closing Down Sale ... Going, Going... Almost Gone!

As regular readers will know, we're closing down Soaperstar - well the retail part of it that is.  Of course, I'm still going to be making soaps, body & lip butters because I love doing it! But I won't be making any more of the glycerine soaps (at least that's not part of the plan at the moment, that might change in the future).

In the meantime, there are 30 soaps in stock at the moment so I've reduced them all to €3.50 each! A huge discount and I'd advise people to buy ASAP as there's really a very limited stock available. 

So check out the website at http://www.soaperstar.com/userimages/Goatsmilk-and-Glycerine-Soaps(1854680).htm and choose your favourites while you still can! Because, when they're gone, they're gone!

Friday, February 11, 2011

New Soap Mould Maker - these are THE best!

I recently heard about a new soap mould maker based in Fermanagh in Northern Ireland.  His name is Karl Kehoe and he is an expert carpenter and he has just introduced the best soap moulds I've ever seen; I just had to show you them!

Check out these fabulous photos - soapies, prepare to drool!






There are two moulds in the range at the moment:

The first is 2.75" x 3" x 12" which is £45 - the second is longer for those who like to make bigger batches and is 2.75" x 3" x 18" and that is priced at £65.  I personally think that is a great price for master carpenter make soap moulds that will last your soaping lifetime! P+P will be charged at cost.

As a special offer for February only, the 12" size is £40 and the 18" size is £60 so save money and get your orders in soon!

Each of the moulds features drop down hinged sides which make it really easy to take your finished soap log out.  They are made from solid mahogany and the lid is included in the price (perfect for those who love to gel their soaps!).  The moulds have rod and wing nut fastenings also.

There will be new styles and designs added to the range soon so keep an eye out - if you are interested, check out Karl's Facebook Group or drop him an email at karlkehoe@hotmail.co.uk if you have any queries. 

Join the queue people, I'm thinking of treating myself to one of these!
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