Peony Sorbet

One of my recent fragrance deliveries was an incredible Peony - I just love it; it's rosey yes but not as "old lady" as some rose fragrances can be.. to my nose, there's a greenness behind it that really adds a little something else.  It's just so beautiful and I wanted to make a soap that would do it justice. 

I used my latest formulation because it feels so amazing on your skin plus I know it behaves really well for my spoon swirl - admittedly, I was a little afraid of using the Peony for that technique because, as most soapers know, floral fragrances can go a bit mental and speed up the whole process (I have had soap on a stick from one before!).  But I thought oh well, go for it and see and one way or the other, either it'll be pretty looking or not, but it'll still smell wonderful!

So, I weighed out my palm (sustainable source of course), coconut and cocoa butter and melted them as I weighed out the Sweet Almond, Olive, Avocado and Castor oils.  Once the hard butters were melted I mixed them in with the fluid oils.  I made up my lye water and added, as always, my generous portion of silk (I so love what it does to the feel of the soap). 

Everything was left to cool down to approximately 90 degrees F as I went ahead and mixed my colours.  For this soap, I wanted to have a four colour swirl (which I seem to be favouring at the moment, even if it is more work for me - it seems to give me a depth of colour shades that I really like).  I used Colorona Bordeaux mica for the darkest pink (but not as much as I used for my Black Raspberry Vanilla soap where it was a redder colour), Raspberry POP mica for the mid pink shade and a liquid red soap colour for the pale shade and just added enough so it was lightly pink.  The final colour was white and I used TD for this. 

One thing I've started doing which is really helping me with space and cleaning up after is tidying away everything as I use it.  So, once oils are used they are put back, then I take the butters out and put away before the next batch of ingredients comes out.  So when it comes to mixing my colours, I have a free and clear and tidy workspace which I find really helps with my concentration levels.  I cover this with tissue paper so that I don't ruin the kitchen worktop. 

I mixed my oils and lye and it was lovely, no adverse reactions, nothing went crazy.  I only mix to a light trace so the batter is very fluid still and then mixed a quarter into each of the colours (which I have in matching sized jugs which helps me to eyeball that I have the correct quantity in each jug, give or take a little).  I mixed everything carefully (nobody wants spots of colours) and then went ahead with my spoon swirl - this took me approximately 30 minutes which is pretty time consuming I guess but I do love it. 

And here are the pictures of Peony Sorbet:

As you can see, I swirled the top of the soap which I really love and decided, as with my previous soap, to swirl the body of the soap too but I think I prefer the spoon swirl look by itself so I'm not going to do that anymore.  The swirl on top is different enough to stand out from the body spoon swirl.  Again no glitter as I do believe it is, somewhat, contributing to colour change on the tops of the soaps which I just don't want.

I hope you like the new soap - if you're interested in these, they will be fully cured by the end of August. 

Black Raspberry Vanilla

I've had this fragrance awaiting a new design for an age - it's just such a lovely blend of blackberries, raspberries and vanilla and smells like the most incredible raspberry & vanilla ice cream.  I just adore raspberries, they are the epitome of summer fruits to me and this fragrance is just so lovely that it just deserved a really beautiful design.

I've been working with the spoon swirl for a while now and the more I do it, the more I love it! I made this soap early on Saturday morning when everyone was still in bed.  By the time I'd reached the top of the mould, hubs made an appearance and together we made the sort of spotty design on top.  Awwhh families that soap together, stay together .. right?!!

Anyway, this soap also features a new formula because I wanted to incorporate Sweet Almond Oil into my recipe more - this has Sweet Almond Oil, Olive Oil, Avocado Oil and Cocoa Butter plus pure silk! What a skin loving combo if I ever saw one! It's coloured with a mix of mica and liquid soap colours as well as some titanium dioxide to whiten the soap more.  It has, as ever, a tiny sprinkling of glitter too (and why not I say!).

I am in love with this soap, cut this evening and photographed freshly cut because it just looked soooo pretty.  I present to you, Black Raspberry Vanilla cold process soap:

Soap on it's side .. I so love the swirls

Swirl close up

See the sort of spotty top with glitter? Courtesy of hubs!

Three beautiful soaps together

Glitter tops

A soap stack

Close up of the stunning swirls

I cannot tell you how much in love I am with this soap - it smells DIVINE and I could stare at it's wonderful colours all days.  Seriously I so want to take a bite, it looks like the most luxurious raspberry ripple ice cream (not a good idea though!). 

If you're interested in possessing one of these (it's the sort of soap you need to possess I think!), they'll be fully cured by 11 July!



Lemongrass Verbena

I've teased you for far too long, I'm a horror!

I showed you a pic the other day of a green and yellow swirled soap - it was only just poured and I was waiting to cut it which I couldn't get round to doing it til this evening. 

I used to sell this fragrance in my glycerine soap and I found it to be my biggest seller - the amount of people who adore Lemongrass is huge; it is such a bright warm exotic citrus fragrance and so suitable for both men and women.

I made this soap using Golden Olive Oil, Palm Oil (from a sustainable source), Coconut Oil and Castor Oil (always, because it helps make beautiful bubbles!).  It is coloured using specially imported US micas in green and lemon and has a sprinkling of glittery mica on top.  The white is coloured using Titanium Dioxide as the olive oil I can get here is very yellow and I wanted to get a very white soap. 

As ever with all my soaps, I've added pure silk because I love the feel of it in a soap plus it adds a real luxury element.  And, to play with the Lemongrass/Thai theme, I used full fat Coconut Milk as the water portion - this was lovely to use and it adds a real creaminess to the final soap. 

I will admit I did want straighter layers but I banged the mould a lot (to try and get rid of any air bubbles) and I guess layers and banging don't make happy bedfellows!!!

So ... here is my Lemongrass Verbena - a bright, sparkling exotic citrus fragranced soap to wake up to every morning!

In the mould, just poured

A big ol' stack of soap

I love the tops of this soap

More soap!

Arty side view

A wall of Lemongrass!

More soap

So tell me what you think, I'd love to hear! If you're interested in buying this soap, it'll be fully cured by 25 April (I should warn you that 6 have been sold on pre-order already based on these pictures! Only 4 left)

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!

Two new Soaperstar Soaps! Indian Rainforest & Lavender Champagne... bliss!

Introducing two new Soaperstar soaps! I got back to some post Christmas soaping on Saturday and made the following two soaps, I'm just adoring the fragrances used and the subtle modern colouring... here come the details!!!

Both of our new soaps, Indian Rainforest and Lavender Champagne are handcrafted luxury Goatsmilk & Glycerine soaps with added Apricot Kernel Oil for extra skin moisturisation and an additional skin hydrating factor to ensure your skin in treated with the luxury it deserves!

On the right hand side, Indian Rainforest is designed as a soap for men - it is deeply fragranced using a wonderful blend of cedarwood, giving a warm woody masculine base, alongside the deep earthy scent of patchouli, a fragrance element used in many commercial aftershaves for men. However, many women will just adore this fragrance too!

The soap is coloured using two different natural micas, a deep forest green and a lighter green gold, alongside the white goatsmilk - giving an impression of dark deep Indian Rainforest.

Our Lavender Champagne is wonderfully fragranced with our Lavender Champagne fragrance oil, a blend of uplifting lemon against a background of calming, soothing lavender.
 
This beautiful blend is perfectly balanced - neither scent overtakes the other, the lemon adds a wonderful freshness against the more comforting lavender. The subtle colouring is enhanced with the use of natural glistening mica - a truly modern take on a traditional theme.

I hope you enjoy both of our new soaps - both are now availalbe to purchase from our online store - just check us out at http://www.soaperstar.com/ - we'll be delighted to see you there!!!!

We've restocked two of our most popular soaps!

On Saturday I got back to soaping (having missed it the previous week due to having to wait for materials to be delivered!).. and decided to restock two of our most popular soaps - My Sweet Love and Good as Gold.  Both soaps are made with our trademark Goatsmilk & Glycerine soap with added Golden Jojoba Oil (an amazing oil that is almost identicial to your skin's own oils and so is wonderfully moisturising), and an added hydrating skin conditioner - just to make sure that your skin is as fabulous as it should be when you use our soaps! Both soaps are coloured using only the very best natural mica, I just adore using this material to colour soaps - it adds a wonderful depth to the colour and a fantastic glisten. 

My Sweet Love, pictured on the left, is fragranced with a fresh, floral bouquet with fruity accents reminiscent of sweet raspberries based on a warm wood-musk foundation.  This is a beautiful soap - quite a delicate fragrance that is both floral and fruity at the same time but excellently balanced because neither fragrance overrides the other. 

Good as Gold is fragranced with a sweet, floral nectarine & juicy mandarin complimented by peach & plum on a creamy vanilla base - all beautifully glistening due to the natural golden mica. This fragrance is so fresh.. juicy almost! The goldenness (is that a word? It is now!) has to be seen to be believed!

Both soaps are now available on our website at http://www.soaperstar.com - please feel free to check us out.

The Soapy Drought is over! New Soaperstar soaps!

Well the Soaperstar soaping drought is over - I got to make soaps today, the first for almost a month. I really enjoyed it; I got to use the new moulds my Dad brought back from Brazil for me (and chosen by my sister in law to be, the wonderful Sandy Cook)and I got to do some experimentation for my new Soaperstar range which I hope to be able to bring to you in November.

Firstly my experimentation - this is called Hippy Hippy Shake Shake and it's a wonderful luxury soap that brings swirls of all the bright colours reminiscent of those easier going hippy days, all wonderfully scented with the heady aromas of Sandalwood, Patchouli and Jasmine Fragrance Oil. Added Golden Jojoba Oil and Lamesoft which is a green, Ecocert, natural skin moisturising agent, will make sure your skin will drink up the luxury skinfeel ingredients. I've also added some Sparkle Gold mica, a naturally occuring mineral which glitters beautifully and really accents the colours.

The next soap I made used a fantastic mould I purchased from Australia - who can resist cupcakes? No, me either, despite being on a diet at the moment! This one has added Golden Jojoba Oil and Lamesoft and is scented with Lime Chocolate & Coconut - it smells so great and doesn't it look wonderful? I really love the swirls of icing on this mould and I cannot wait to make more like this!

Then I made a really cute knobbly bobbly soap, this one is Lime and is really zingy in fragrance but kind on the skin as I've added Golden Jojoba Oil and Lamesoft to this one too - fresh and wonderful and the knobbles act as a massage bar in the shower.

Finally, these are trio of soaps I made by special request for my Dad - they are coloured with Gold mica and Lime cosmetic glitter to give a sheen; they are fragranced with Amazonian Flowers, a fragrance oil direct from Brazil and have added oil and moisturising factor to ensure they really are a luxury soap for everyday use!

I so enjoyed making all these soaps today and I hope you enjoy reading about them... leave me a comment if you like them!

Earl Grey Tea anyone?

This was the second soap I made today as I received a freebie fragrance oil from the wonderful Sensory Perfection! It was Earl Grey Tea and, as my hubby loves it so much, I decided to make one for him. It's coloured with Emerald mica and Sparkle Gold mica and has added jojoba oil and moisturising agent... it smells wonderful, very much of bergamot and my husband thinks that it looks like metallic stone. This is coming on holidays with us to!