Ultra Violet - New Soap & New Style

I've had this Ultra Violet fragrance for a while and it was sort of in the back of my mind that I wanted to do a really funky, mega purple soap.  I thought it'd look really good against a really white soap, it'd help to accentuate the swirls and colours.  Of course, Ultra Violet couldn't be any other colour than purple really could it? Well, yes violet but that's purple!

Ultra Violet is made using our new Triple Milk formula of Buttermilk, Goatsmilk & Coconut Milk (regular readers will know how much I love to use milks in my soaps and why use one when you can use three?!) along with Aloe Vera, White Clay, Colloidal Oatmeal & my absolute favourite Wild Silk.

The fragrance is described as a rich and enticing, exotic floral accord where cool notes of summer orange and tingling lemon made slightly cooler by and hint of fresh ozone and dewy summer fruits. The heart of this fragrance is vibrant and floral with warm notes of lily, ginger and nutmeg, alongside geranium blooms and sweet summer rose. The base continues in this rich and complex theme with warming notes of vetivert, musks, amber and patchouli.  It smells divine and is very unisex, both my hubs and Titch love it! My hubs even said "it smells purple" LOL.  It's just really really lovely and I'm so happy how well it worked out.

This soap was made with what I'm laughingly calling The Celine Swirl.. as I explained in another post, I just thought it was really funny to call it this but I'm quite sure that it actually has another name or something, I can't imagine I just invented it by myself?!

Check out our Making Of video to check out how we made this and The Celine Swirl in action:





And here is our Cutting video which shows you the reveal of how the soap swirl worked out:




Here are the still photos for the soap, I really adore it! Photos are courtesy of Titch Holland of Taken By Titch (make sure to check out her Facebook page):

I really hope you like the videos and photos of this fantastic soap ... it really is a stunner.  Check out the website for details of this soap and all our other products.

Enjoy!!

Blue Belle

Another new cold process soap... I cannot get to do enough soaping!

This is fragranced with the scent of Bluebell and Wildflower woods, dappled in the sunlight, after the rain.  It's a beautiful floral with a lovely green background.  I looked up images of bluebell woods and tried to recreate them in this soap.

I used my usual blend of Sweet Almond & Golden Olive oils along with lashings of creamy Cocoa Butter and also added Goatsmilk, Kaolin Clay and Pure Silk... a sheer treat for your skin.

This is available for pre-order on http://www.iamhandmade.com/ourshop/prod_1981933-Blue-Belle-PreOrder-Cure-Date-21-May.html.  The soap will be posted ASAP after the cure date (21 May).  Enjoy!!

 

Christmas Gift Bags from Soaperstar

Well, it's exactly 7 weeks to Christmas today! Eeeeekkkkkk.. I hear you scream! Yep, 7 weeks.  Not long at all... but we've put some small gift bags on our site today to help you sort out some of the present buying woes and, the best thing is, you can buy from the comfort of your own armchair!

If you have friends or family living anywhere in the EU, we're more than happy to send their gift directly to them - we can even include a small Christmas gift card with the present (you just need to email me with what you'd like me to write on the card).  Just order via the website, use your friends/family address as the delivery addresss and drop me an email to say it should be sent as a gift and the message you want to send and let me take care of the rest. 

Also, these are the perfect size for gifts for your kids teachers, for stocking fillers, for your work collegues, your girlfriends, your Mum in Law, your Dad or brother.... for everyone in fact!  A perfect size, two luxury goatsmilk & glycerine soaps made in Ireland, at only €10 per gift bag (excluding P+P).

We've put together a great selection (over 10 different combinations to choose from) so you're sure to find one (or more) that suits.  What a great gift - handcrafted luxury goatsmil & glycerine soaps, made in Ireland, all for only €10!

The gift bags you can buy are:

Think Pink Gift Bag

contains one My Sweet Love and one Velvet Heart

My Sweet Love - with added Golden Jojoba Oil, this fragrance is a fresh, floral bouquet with fruity accents reminiscent of sweet raspberries based on a warm wood-musk foundation; coloured with stunning raspberry pink and white swirls - a sheer fruity floral beauty

Velvet Heart - with added Apricot Kernel Oil; this fragrance is a beautifully soft, romantic blend of Red Roses, Sweet Violets and soft White Musk; coloured using natural micas to create the softest, most romantic glistening pinks which play beautifully against the pure white of the goatsmilk soap

Only 6 in stock

Fleur Frais Gift Bag

contains one Lazy Summer Sunday and one Aqua Haven

Lazy Summer Sunday - with added Organic Unrefined Nilotica Shea Butter; this fragrance has a heart of jasmine, orange blossom, lilac & rose, supported by a woody base of cedarwood, patchouli, vanilla & musk; coloured with deep tones of blue and purple natural mica

Aqua Haven - with added Golden Jojoba Oil; this fragrance is a heady mix of marine scents with a soft woody, citrus & sea salt; coloured using a mix of blues, greens, aqua turquoise and white with a sizzle of shimmering mica to represent the crash of sea spray from salt water waves

Only 3 in stock

Symphonie de Jardin Gift Bag

contains one Lavender Champagne and one Rain Shower

Lavender Champagne - with added Apricot Kernel Oil, this fragrance is a blend of uplifting citrusy lemon against a background of calming, soothing French Lavender; subtly coloured to reflect the citrus lavender with a touch of glistening natural mica

Rain Shower - with added Avocado Butter, this fragrance is a fresh aquatic blend of lily of the valley, gardenia, raindrops, mist & clean green countryside; coloured with a blend of soft turquoise with cool green and pure creamy white and a hint of glisten through the use of natural mica

Only 6 in stock

Island Cocktail Gift Bag

contains one Pineapple Beach and one Mango Island

Pineapple Beach - added pure Organic Coconut Oil, this is fragranced with a delicious, fresh, sweet & juicy pineapple scent; coloured using a blend of two different natural glistening micas

Mango Island - with added Mango Butter and fragranced with the sweet exotic tropical fragrance of Mango; coloured with tones of yellow & orange with white goatsmilk swirls and a luxury glisten from the natural mica

Only 6 in stock

Glitterti Gift Bag

contains one Orange Blush and one Good as Gold

Orange Blush - added Apricot Kernel Oil, fragranced with a fresh cologne, blending perfumed bergamot and sweet orange blossom with delicate cottony florals on a base of precious powdery musks; coloured using stunning bronzed swirls created using a blend of orangey bronze coloured natural mica alongside bright orange and white goatsmilk swirls

Good as Gold - with added Golden Jojoba Oil, this is a sweet, floral, nectarine and juicy mandarin complimented by peach and plum on a creamy vanilla base; coloured using a stunning golden natural mica alongside orange and white goatsmilk swirls

Only 4 in stock

Spots & Dots Gift Bag

contains one Oriental Crush and one Hawaiian Blossom

Oriental Crush - with added pure Coconut Oil, fragranced with a blend of zesty lime & mandarin, leading to a base of basil with warm accords of precious woods & amber; coloured with glistening brightly coloured spots of glycerine soap in shades of lime green and mandarin

Hawaiian Blossom - with added Mango Butter, fragranced with the sweet exotic tropical scent of frangipani, a native Hawaiian flower; coloured with tones of yellow glycerine and white goatsmilk soaps, with added natural mica to give a glittery sheen

Only 5 in stock

Blue Moon Gift Bag

Specially designed for the man in your life and contains one Midas Touch and one Mister Blue Genes

Midas Touch - with added Apricot Kernel Oil, fragranced with a lush green woody citrus blend of sandalwood, cedarwood and tobacco leaf and deeply coloured with black and two different types of golden natural mica to give it a gold rush feel

Mister Blue Genes - with added Golden Jojoba Oil, fragranced with a stunning blend of apple and mandarin, within a heart of exotic jasmine and violet, ending on a deep musk base - the fragrance is has fresh notes from the fruit, a mild floral heart followed within a deep musky base; coloured with the deepest blue mica to create lustrous blue swirls mingling with black and white swirls

Only 3 in stock

Gentleman's Club Gift Bag

An alternative gift bag for the man in your life & contains one Indian Rainforest and one Mister Blue Genes

Indian Rainforest - with added Apricot Kernel Oil, deeply fragranced with 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; 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

Mister Blue Genes - with added Golden Jojoba Oil, fragranced with a stunning blend of apple and mandarin, within a heart of exotic jasmine and violet, ending on a deep musk base – the fragrance has fresh notes from the fruit, a mild floral heart followed within a deep musky base; coloured with the deepest blue mica to create lustrous blue swirls mingling with black and white swirls

Only 4 in stock

Champagne Cocktail Gift Bag

contains one Lavender Champagne and one Hawaiian Blossom

Lavender Champagne - with added Apricot Kernel Oil, this fragrance is a blend of uplifting citrusy lemon against a background of calming, soothing French Lavender; subtly coloured to reflect the citrus lavender with a touch of glistening natural mica

Hawaiian Blossom - with added Mango Butter, fragranced with the sweet exotic tropical scent of frangipani, a native Hawaiian flower; coloured with tones of yellow glycerine and white goatsmilk soaps, with added natural mica to give a glittery sheen

Only 1 in stock

Blushing Blossom Gift Bag

contains one Orange Blush and one Hawaiian Blossom

Orange Blush - with added Apricot Kernel Oil, fragranced with a fresh cologne, blending perfumed bergamot and sweet orange blossom with delicate cottony florals on a base of precious powdery musks; coloured using stunning bronzed swirls created using a blend of orangey bronze coloured natural mica alongside bright orange and white goatsmilk swirls

Hawaiian Blossom - with added Mango Butter, fragranced with the sweet exotic tropical scent of frangipani, a native Hawaiian flower; coloured with tones of yellow glycerine and white goatsmilk soaps, with added natural mica to give a glittery sheen

Only 1 in stock

All of these soap duos are presented in a purple glossy paper gift bag and purple quality tissue paper and are only €10 each (excluding P+P) - a total bargain!!!

Check them out at our online store and, once these are gone, they're gone because we need to make way for new designs/fragrances and stock in 2011. 

Keep an eye out for two larger gift bags coming soon - Festive Orange Spice & Christmas Glisten with luxury soaps and matching Sheer Luxury Body Butters and our new Sheer Luxury Body Polish which hasn't even been released yet! Plus we're going to be giving you a special offer on our Sheer Luxury Lip Butters in free gift bags too!!

Merry Christmas Everyone! Happy Pressie Shopping!

Soaperstar Press Coverage on Beautycouture.ie

I came home today to a fabulous email from the lovely Niamh from Beauty Couture.ie to say that they featured Soaperstar today!

Beautycouture.ie is Ireland's newest and brightest online magazine and is the place to get your daily dose of celebrity gossip, beauty and fashion news, plus totally yummy recipes, the hottest social pics, the best interviews and more fabulous competitions than you can shake a bejewelled stick at.

You can read the Soaperstar article here - thanks Beautycouture.ie, you made my day!!!

Remember, if you too want be couture and treat yourself to some luxury handcrafted soap and body butters, check us out at our online store today!

Soaperstar Wins!

Well, I got home yesterday evening after a long hard day, and jumped online to check my emails ... and what did I find in my inbox? A fabulous email! Yes! But fabulous how? Fabulous because I'd just been told that I've won the Mr Site Website of the Month!! I was thrilled, such good news. 

And, even better news... they've also asked to use my site on their sample pages, to show people how a Mr Site website can look! I am really honoured about this ... when I started out, I didn't have any idea at all how to make a website, what information I'd need, or even what to do about those funny websitey languages?? But I did know I wanted to make it myself, I knew how I wanted it to look and I wanted to be able to update it myself, whenever I needed to. 

For those who don't know, Mr Site is a template driven site ... you choose a template that you like and you can input your own content on it; but you can also change almost every aspect of it to make it your own (because who wants a website that looks like everyone else's?!) and, if you learn a little HTML coding, you can certainly change a lot of the format of it.  The content is all down to you of course!!

Mr Site publish a monthly newsletter and Soaperstar will be featured in this - can't wait to see it!

Don't forget, if you like any of our fabulous Soaperstar products, check out our Soaperstar Online Store - we'll be delighted to see you!!!

March Special Offer from Soaperstar

Our previous monthly special offers have been very successful and I wanted to continue with them for March - so I want to introduce our new special offer. 

Introducing our new organza gift bags - in our signature purple, these beautiful organza bags are absolutely perfect as gift wrapping for one of our Soaperstar soaps.  I've shown some examples in the picture to the left - I think they look really excellent.

The price of these bags will be 75 cent each but, as a special offer to our customers, we'll be offering these at a reduced price of 50 cent per bag for the month of March! That represents a 33% reduction in price from the regular retail price. 

These would look really excellent for any gifts - with Mothers Day coming up in the EU (14 March everyone, have you got your pressies ready??), they'd be fantastic as gift wrapping - they also really add to the luxury element of our handcrafted soaps - anyone would be delighted to recieve one of these!

If you're interested in purchasing, please check out our site at http://www.soaperstar.com/ - enjoy!! Don't forget to buy in time for Mothers Day!

Fabulous new Soaps! Rain Shower & Oriental Crush

As I said in my Facebook/Twitter post, I've been a little poorly lately but I've still managed to go ahead and make two stunning new soaps... I'm really proud of these.  Both are made with our excellent quality goatsmilk and glycerine soap, which, if you're a regular reader of this blog, you'll know I'm completely in love with! I just adore them because they are so excellent for your skin - glycerine is a natural humectant... a what now? I hear you say.... it simply means that it draws moisture from the air into your skin, which means that it helps you have silkly soft skin.  As usual, I also add an Ecocert skin hydrating factor - I find this so incredible to increase your skin's moisture levels - honestly, I've made lots of soaps, some with this and some without and there is NO way on this earth that I'd make any without this in it.  As you know, I will NEVER sell anything I wouldn't use myself and I wouldn't not add this hydration factor (you know what I mean, I never said I had a degree in English!). 

First up, we have our new Rain Shower goatsmilk glycerine soap - unusually for me, it's actually quite a muted coloured soap (you know me, I do love my colours) but I had a beautifully fresh fragrance oil and had been trying to design a soap for an age that'd do it justice.  Then I thought ... pastel, muted, calm, clean, soft ... and here we have Rain Shower. 

Rain Shower - what can I say about this fragrance? To me, it's such a fresh and light scent and it reminds me of the smell of a garden straight after a rain shower - you know that clean, fresh fragrance that smells like the world's worries have been washed away and everything's all clean again?  Along with the excellent qualities of the goatsmilk and glycerine soap, we've added pure Avocado Butter - this is a very rich and moisturising butter cold pressed from the pulp of the avocado. The soap is wonderfully pastel coloured and calming with a hint of glisten provided through the used of natural mica. It has a blend of soft turquoise (THE colour of 2010) with cool green and pure creamy white and a soft glisten.  Our Rain Shower Fragrance Oil is a fresh aquatic blend of lily of the valley, gardenia, raindrops, mist & clean green countryside - so reminiscent of the fresh scent of a spring day, after a rain shower.  I think this is such a wonderfully uplifting and fresh soap - a perfect start to your day.

Then I decided to go crazy and make my next soap, Oriental Crush - this one took a minimum of 4 hours! I stopped counting after that!! Each of the soap "bubbles" is moulded seperately and have to be hand trimmed before embedding into the goatsmilk white soap.  It is really perfect for all skin types, and especially those suffering from dry skin conditions.  Along with the usual skin hydrating factor, I have also added pure Coconut Oil, which has been called the healthiest oil on earth - it has incredible abilities to moisturise your skin and is particularly good with dry or mature skin. Oriental Crush is fragranced with a blend of zesty lime & mandarin, leading to a base of basil with warm accords of precious woods & amber. To match the scent perfectly, we've used glistening brightly coloured spots of glycerine soap in co-ordinating colours. The soap is wonderfully citrusy with a herbal background - a very beautiful blend and a perfect oriental influence. This really is a wonderfully fresh and zesty soap and will gently scent your skin throughout the day.

I hope you're enjoyed a glimpse of our two new soaps ... I just loved making these (even if they took ages to make!) and I LOVE LOVE LOVE the fragrances.  If you are interested in purchasing either of these soaps, or in fact any in our ever extending range, don't hesitate to check out our online store at http://www.soaperstar.com/ - we'll be delighted to see you!!!

Soaperstar helps with Christmas Shopping!

I just wanted to thank the lovely @MelanieDawn for her blog post mention of Soaperstar... so glad that she enjoyed the soaps and I really hope her Mother in Law loves them too! How exciting to think that something I made will be given to someone on Christmas Day, that's just fab!! Melanie and I met on Twitter and she's a really lovely person and I was delighted that I could help her out with Christmas shopping and especially for her Mum in law (who, I know from mine, can be rather difficult to shop for!).  If you'd like to read the post, her blog can be found here.

Thanks Melanie! Remember, if you'd also like to purchase some Soaperstar soaps, please do not hesitate to check out our new online store - http://www.soaperstar.com/ - we'll be very happy to see you there!

More Soaperstar Soaps!

I spent my Saturday creating! And made two new Soaperstar soaps - both are wonderfully fragranced and have added Apricot Kernel Oil and an additional skin hydrating factor.

Firstly we have Festive Orange Spice - a beautiful blend of goatsmilk and glycerine soap, swirled with lots of glittering mica, wonderfully luxurious with added Apricot Kernel Oil and an extra skin hydrating factor and fragranced with a strong, dark, deep and spicy blend of orange and cinnamon - this just totally smells of Christmas to me!!

I also made Passionate Purple - this is a blend of goatsmilk & glycerine soap, deeply coloured with natural glittering mica and wonderfully fragranced with a deep, sensual and exotic passionflower fragrance - wonderfully perfumed, this scent will linger gently on the skin after your bath or shower so no need for an extra perfume (saving you money!).

Both soaps are now available to buy online - check out the Soaperstar Online Store for details!!! These are newly added today and are only available for a short time only (we specialise in small batches limited edition soaps!).