Bath Tub Bon Bons

I've not really shown a pic of these before but I had to make some last night for a couple of orders and took some pics!

These are luxury gently fizzing bath melts made with lashings of Cocoa & Shea butters; pop one in a warm bath, lie back and enjoy their skin loving goodness!

The top ones are Oriental Opium and the bottom ones Japanese Plum.  Available from http://www.iamhandmade.com/ourshop/prod_1732590-Bath-Tub-Bon-Bons.html ... these are all made fresh for every order!

Lemon Cream - a re-do

I've sold out of one batch of my new cold process soaps - yay!! The Lemon Cream was really popular it seems (but I've found that with citrus, everyone always loves them so much).  For the previous Lemon Cream, I'd not added any "cream" element so I wanted to do it this time.  And, because I'm greedy and always want more, more, more, I didn't just use single cream but double cream for this soap - the thinking being, one is good but double has to be twice as good, right?? (I think it could be called heavy cream in the US? The single cream might be called pouring cream?). 

I used the same recipe I used for my Fresh Orange soap - Golden Olive Oil, Shea Butter, Cocoa Butter and lots of pure tussah silk.  I blended Lemon fragrance oil with May Chang (or Litsea Cubeba) essential oil to give a good, strong, sherberty lemon fragrance that sticks (as we all know that Lemon essential oil sadly tends to disappear in cold process soaps). 

I weighed the water portion out (subtracted my double cream amount) and added in my silk and then my lye.  It was only a small amount of water so it was a rather strong lye solution.  I allowed it to cool as I weighed out the oils and butters and allowed them to melt.  I mixed my titanium dioxide with a little oil and kept that close by me (so I didn't forget it, we all know what that feels like!).  And then I added some Lemon Mica to another container, mixed with a tinch of oil, ready for the traced soap. 

I added my fragrance to my oils/butter mix and then added the lye (after checking the temps of course) and stick blended.  I then added the titanium dioxide mix and stirred again.  I had put my double cream in the freezer whilst I was working on the soap and then mixed it in.  Hmmmm good idea or not? In hindsight, maybe not because my soap turned to soap in a bucket in seconds.  I don't know if it was because of the level of fats in the cream or the fact that the cream was so cold compared to the rest of the mix that this happened? I have made this before and it kept nicely fluid so I'm still not sure.  Any thoughts are very welcome!

So, I had to choose... keep it as a new look, soap in a bucket or hot process it.  Whilst soap in a bucket might be an interesting design, I can't see it catching on so I decided to HP it .. out came the crockpot.  I was a little annoyed, it wasn't what I wanted but I think it turned out really nicely.  It smells lovely, a nicely tangy lemon and it feels great on the skin (double cream may not be the best thing to eat but by God, it's a great addition to a soap!). 

So... here we go... Lemon Cream with fabulous oils and butters and real Irish dairy double cream in a zingy lemon fragrance ... ohhhh and I forget, it's all topped with my signature dusting of glitter:

Glittery tops

Rustic but beautiful

Top & Sides ... pretty!

A lovely wall of lemon soap

Side on view

More glistening tops

Lots of soap!

I really hope you've liked looking at this .. if you're interested in trying one out, they'll be available from 24 April on http://www.soaperstar.com/.



Fresh Orange ... Cut Pictues

I promised to show you pictures of the new Fresh Orange soap once it was cut.  This is the first time I've used my new cutter so I was a little nervous.  I didn't want to cut too soon (sticky soap) or too late (broken wires) but, like Goldilocks, I wanted it to be jusssssttt right.  I'll show you pictures of the cutter tomorrow, promise. 

So, here are the cut pictures of the soap:

You can see how the vibrancy of the orange mica has reduced a little, to a softer but still very orange-y orange

with a lovely glittery top

and lots of Tussah Silk

it's swirled with a paler creamy soap

and has Shea Butter...

and Cocoa Butter ....

and lots and lots of Golden Olive Oil

and did I mention the glitter?

This soap will cure for 6 weeks and will be ready on 22 May 2011 .. I cannot wait because I want one of these for myself.  Plus one has already been pre-ordered!!



Fresh Orange

I made this just today - the sun was shining and I wanted to make something summery and bright! I had bought a fantastic orange fragrance oil which smells so much like freshly squeezed orange juice and I wanted to make a really juicy orange-y summery soap. 

This has some major goodies in it - Pure Silk, Golden Olive Oil, Shea Butter & Cocoa Butter, all of which are absolutely fantastic for your skin.  It is coloured with a bright tangerine coloured mica with some paler swirls - I'm hoping that they are throughout the soap too, but we'll see if the swirls show up when it's cut.  And, of course, a light dusting of glitter - you know me and glitter, right?!

It smells just incredible - like freshly squeezed orange juice on a bright Summers morning! I cannot wait to cut this but it'll be a couple of days.  I'll be using my new cutter, imported from the US.  I'll take pictures of that too. 

Hope you like this!

Uncut soap loaf (cut pictures in a couple of days)

Vanilla Anise

Yet another adventure in cold process soapmaking.  This one is Vanilla Anise which is described as a blend of rare vanilla orchid blossom with the spicy accent of anise and the warmth of vetiver, amber and clove, creating an unexpected, modern vanilla story. To my nose, the aniseed comes out first and foremost, which is a very good thing as far as I'm concerned, as I love, love, LOVE it!

This soap is made with Sweet Almond Oil, Cocoa Butter and Shea Butter with added pure tussah silk.. a totally divine combination! It is coloured using titanium dioxide for the base to whiten it (for the vanilla aspect) and Blackstar Blue mica to give it a dark, midnight feel to match the aniseed fragrance. 

In the mould, full of lovely swirlies!

First cut - cut too early, not quite ready (but how beautiful is that top?!!)

 Lovely swirls but not cut on it's side so the dark colour is dragging through the white

  

This one has a tinch of titanium dioxide not quite fully mixed in

Ohhh this one is just beautiful - cut on the side and just lovely

A group shot!

Hope you liked these pictures, I really enjoyed making this - it should be cured by mid to late November and I cannot wait to try it out; really hoping the fragrance will have stayed because the whole curing room smells of it now and it's divine!!

Mintilla

Just showing you photos of my new, experimental, cold process soap - I say experimental because I'm trying out different recipes, fragrance combinations etc to see what one I like the best. 

Mintilla is a fantastic blend of Peppermint & Spearmint essential oils softened with a tinch of Vanilla - this helps sweeten the mints beautitfully.  I found this fragrance purely by tidying up - I had a peppermint foot scrub and vanilla body butter, just bits of each so I threw them all together and boy, it was fabulous! I've been meaning to make something that smells just like this for an age.

This soap has Cocoa Butter, Shea Butter and Sweet Almond Oil and, for extra luxury and cos I just love the idea of it, added pure silk (yep, real honest to God silk ... luxury I tells ya!).  It's coloured with a tinch of Apple Green POP mica (specially imported from the States - and I've put more on order) which I mixed with a little of the raw soap to give it that minty green, soft pastel colour. 

I decided to swirl in lines this time .. the plan is that, when I come to cut it, each slice will have its very own swirls.

I'll post up pics when this is cut - it'll be tomorrow or Monday at least - currently sitting in it's mould in the fridge!

Thanks for looking - please feel free to leave me a comment if you like it!

The Silver Fox!

Well Mr Soaperstar and I had a talk last night and it turns out he'd love to get involved in Soaperstar much more than he does already (when you get a package delivered, he's the one that drops it to the Post Office!). 

So we decided that today, I'd train him in! We decided to jump right in and make a Body Butter together - this is designed to be anti-heat ... as our Body Butters are 100% butters/oils, obviously, in hot weather, they will tend to melt a little.  So, we've added a higher level of harder butters to reduce the "melty" effect (yes, that's a technical term!).

We decided to work with blend of Shea, Mango and Cocoa Butters along with Olive & Sunflower Seed oils as they are soooooo good for your skin.  Mr Soaperstar worked to the recipe perfectly and, under minimal instructions from me, made a perfect body butter... he choose a blend of Lime, Litsea, Orange Blossom on a woody/musky base to fragrance it (it's a beautiful, a perfect unisex, Summer scent). 

The base butter was a creamy colour but he wanted to colour it with a tinch of purple mica but that sort of turned it silver instead so we choose to call it The Silver Fox! It's very appropriate for Mr Soaperstar as he's a little bit of a silver fox himself! Hope you like the pictures and the story - I have to say it's a really excellent butter and it just smells fabulous!

Soaperstar Launch our new Sheer Luxury Body Butters!!!

Today we are delighted to announce the launch of our new Sheer Luxury Body Butters!

Our new Body Butters are lightly whipped to create a soft and creamy butter that glides onto your skin, giving you that silky sensual feel whilst gently fragrancing your skin. 

We use a blend of the highest quality Shea Butter, Organic Coconut Oil and a mix of both Cocoa Butters - the creamy white coloured version plus the dark unrefined organic version (a chunk of which smells exactly like pure chocolate!).

We add oils and whip carefully in order to create a light, airy, creamy butter that will hydrate, soften and protect your skin. 

So what is different about Soaperstar Sheer Luxury Body Butters? They contain 100% butters/oils which give you 100% protection, hydration and softness and treat your skin to the total luxury it deserves!

There are several fragrances available including some using natural Essential Oils .. check out the images below for more details:

 Our Belgian Chocolate Sheer Luxury Body Butter blends the best quality Shea Butter and Organic Coconut Oil with a divinely decadent milk chocolate aroma, wonderfully rich and creamy and reminiscent of the deepest, smoothest Belgian Chocolate that money can buy!

The fragrance will softly linger during the day, bringing you all the pleasure of chocolate without all the calories!

 Our Citrus Sunshine Sheer Luxury Body Butter blends the best quality shea butter and organic coconut oil with a sunshine blend of essential oils including Mandarin, Tangerine and Litsea Cubeba (May Chang).

Essential Oil fragrance elements:

Mandarin - Sweet, citrus aroma with slight floral undertones

Tangerine - Citrus fresh, tangy yet sweet aroma

Litsea Cubeba (May Chang) - Fresh, slightly sweet but strong lemon aroma

This is such a warm, sunshiney, happy and uplifting fragrance, perfect to wake your morning up!

Our Rose Geranium & French Lavender Sheer Luxury Body Butter blends the best quality shea butter and organic coconut oil with a wonderfully floral blend of Rose Geranium and French Lavender Essential Oils.

Essential Oil fragrance elements:

Rose Geranium - A green, sweet fragrance that be sometimes rosy and sometimes softly minty

French Lavender - Fresh, clean and floral/herbaceous aroma with woody undertones

Rose Geranium is a particularly good choice for more mature and is soothing to dry and sensitive skin. It is also thought to stimulate sensuality!

French Lavender is a healing oil which can help to prevent scarring and is good for all skin types, in particular dry, sensitive skin. It is particularly good for sunburn.

This is very soft, floral/herbal fragrance - calming and soothing with a wonderful perfume that will softly linger on your skin throughout the day.

 Our Silky Cocoa Butter Sheer Luxury Body Butter blends the best quality shea butter, organic coconut oil and dark unrefined cocoa butter (which smells like a hunk of chocolate!) with a smooth, seductive cocoa butter fragrance, rich but light and delicately chocolate-y.

The fragrance will softly linger on your skin during the day - you'll smell so sweet and sensual!

Our Vanilla Caramel Sheer Luxury Body Butter blends the best quality shea butter, organic coconut oil and dark unrefined cocoa butter (which smells like a hunk of chocolate!) with a fragrance that is reminiscent of vanilla, rich and creamy with tiny hints of cinnamon and deep, rich, luxurious caramel.

The fragrance will softly linger on your skin during the day - you'll smell so sweet and delicious!

If you are interested in trying out our new Sheer Luxury Body Butter, check out our Soaperstar Store.  

A Trio of New Body Butters/Creams!

Today is my birthday and I celebrated by having a half day from work, and then spending the afternoon (after a nice lunch courtesy of my lovely hubby!), making new body butters/creams.  The cream on the top is made with Coconut Oil, Mango Butter and Walnut Oil (an oil particularly good for dry and sensitive skin) and is scented with Pomegranite Noir - a sexy blend of pomegranates, raspberries, plums and pink peppercorns, with frankincense, patchouli and spicy dark woods.  The cream on the left looks rather a murky brown but is, in fact, a lovely pale green (not sure what happened to the colour in the picture!) - this is because it's made from Unrefined Avocado Oil (the darkest green oil you'll ever see), Avocado Butter and Shea Butter and is fragranced with Patchouli, Sandalwood and Jasmine fragrance oil (reminiscent of hippy days!) and, finally, the cream on the left is made from Shea Butter, Coconut Oil and Babassu Oil (particularly excellent for dry and sensitive skin) and is scented with Amber Lavendar fragrance oil - really beautiful. 

Each of the creams has an added moisturising factor called Lamesoft which is an Ecocert registered ‘green’ biolipid derived from 100% natural and renewable materials.  It is a mild and gentle additive that is designed to increase skin moisturisation; of course, they all contain the recommended level of preservative to ensure that the creams are fully beneficial to the skin and no baddies survive to do anything horrid!!

My house smells so good right now and my skin is going to lap all these wonderful ingredients!!! A very nice birthday present to myself!

If you'd like to comment on this item, please feel free.

A Simply Stunning Trio of Creams!

Well today was a very very busy day. In between getting ready for holidays, I was making three different creams to take away with me. In the picture below, you can see my Mocha Chocca Maca Butter at the back - this is made from a fantastically scented blend of Coffee Butter, Macadamia Nut Oil and Belgian Chocolate fragrance oil. It has added moisturising factors and, as with all of my creams, contains a small percentage of preservative to ensure it stays fresh and wonderful to use for at least 12 months.

The second one, on the right hand side, is my Vanilla Tahitian Body Butter which has the most wonderful Monoi De Tahiti Oil, Mango and Shea Butter - it is thick and unctious and just smells so wonderful. To enhance the natural scent of the Monoi De Tahiti Oil, I've added some Tonka Bean fragrance oil (which gives a scent like a mix between vanilla and caramel - can you smell it now?!). Again it has an additional moisturising factor added which is an Ecocert registered ‘green’ biolipid derived from 100% natural and renewable materials. Added at 3%, it gives a perceivable difference in skin smoothness and softness.

Finally I made a very simple cream with added ground peach stone kernels - this is called Simple Scrubber and feels wonderful. Made from Olive Squalane, an oil derived from Olive Oil, it prevents moisture loss and restores the skin's suppleness and flexibility and is ideal for anti-aging products. It also includes Orchid Complex which is derived from the orchid flower infused in coconut oil. The Orchid flower has regenerative, protective and moisturising properties, it helps fight free radicals and may help reduce the appearance of fine lines. Ground peach stone kernels are added to provide an exfoliant for the face.

I cannot wait to try all of these - my house smells simply divine at the moment!!!

Tahitian Body Butter & Carrot Chamomile Cream!

I spent the day making more creams! I so enjoy making them, and my skin feels so much better since I started using my own products.

The cream on the left is a facial moisturiser designed for dry and sensitive skin (also suitable for a more mature skin type) and is my Carrot Chamomile Cream. It's made using a Chamomile infusion, Carrot Tissue Oil, Orchid Oil, Macadamia Nut Oil and Avocado Butter - the cream was formulated to suit a more mature skin type (my own in fact!!)

The cream on the right is my Tahitian Body Butter; this is made using Monoi de Tahiti oil, Shea Butter, Orchid Oil and Chamomile infusion and is a thick cream which leaves your skin fantastically scented and so so soft.

These are a couple of pics of my latest projects - lotion and a body butter. My Rose & Neroli lotion is on the left and is made from orchid oil complex, olive squalane and carrot tissue oil. My Ginger Souffle body butter is made from macadamia nut oil, mango butter, carrot tissue oil, sweet almond oil, shea butter and babassu nut oil - all scented beautifully with the nicest ginger smell ever.