Carrot and Other Ramblings

I have been playing with vegetables and fruits in my soap and I am really loving how much of a vitamin punch it gives the soap.  The next batch I'm making will be with carrots and perhaps goat milk or buttermilk.  Haven't decided.  I am going to make it a facial bar so I am thinking white clay, a few extracts, chamomile, shea butter and rice bran oil.  I'm not sure if I should scent it with an essential oil or just leave it pure.  My feeling is leave it pure and unadulterated.  I'd like to use carrot seed oil, but I don't have any on hand and it is quite pricey.

Budgeting now... trying not to spend everything I have before the holidays.

There are so many fragrance and essential oils I want to try and there are so many I have that I don't use.  I wish there was a room where everyone could put their unwanted oils and choose the oils they wanted from others and it wouldn't cost anything.  We could just trade up.

Yeah, I'm a dreamer.  But that would be nice, right?

The Soap Bar Give Away!

I've been wanting to have a give-away for a long time, but I have been so swamped I can't even believe it. I know, this is a luxury problem. Being busy is a GOOD thing and I have no right to complain, which I am actually not doing... I'm actually just giving a reason why I haven't run a give away in a while.

So, no more excuses!

I bought 2 great plastic soap molds to make life easier for me so I wouldn't have to line molds anymore. Brilliant! Well, these molds don't release very well with cold process soap. They really were meant for melt and pour, however, it isn't marketed that way, so perhaps I am doing something wrong. Really wrong. These molds are WAY durable, not flimsy like milky way molds. Oh no! Here is a picture, except these molds that I have are translucent, not clear as pictured.

This is what's up for grabs:

Two of them!

OK, so I used them once, but they have been clean and bleached, but if I didn't tell you, you wouldn't even know they weren't new.

But there is more!

I am also including: UPDATE!!!!!! ANNE-MARIE told me that these are one ounce bottles. I am so sorry. I eye-balled them. They look bigger than the one ouncers I have from other companies.

Forgive my mistake.

ONE OZ of Brambleberry's Raspberry Porter fragrance oil
ONE OZ of Brambleberry's Honey Ale fragrance oil
ONE OZ of Brambleberry's Pumpkin Lager fragrance oil



Also included in the prize is a perfume oil of your choice from my shop.


So here is what you have to do (yes, a little dancing for me). I'd like more soap makers to find out about this blog. Why? Because I think we benefit from each other. Not because I want to be popular. I keep learning from all of you. And I'll tell you, from the comments and emails I get, we are touching each other all around the world. Trust me.

So bring people here.

Leave a comment and if you bring someone new (by way of facebook or twitter or by telling your neighbor, I don't care how. No need to prove to me. Don't care...) Just tell them to comment and to mention that you sent them here. That will get you an additional entry. You can only get one entry by commenting, but you can get as many entries from comments of others that you send here who mention you.

Winner will be randomly selected on the day before Thanksgiving, Wednesday November 24th.


Good luck!!

WILL SHIP ANYWHERE!

Come On Over For Tea & Cookies

I am telling you that it's getting crazy over here with the scent inations I have been whipping up. As you may know I recently made Poison Apple soap which was my new, fast favorite which beat all the rest, but now two more just pulled up right next to Poison Apple at the starting line with their big hats on. Mmm.

Vanilla Chai Cream, made with olive oil, coconut oil, palm oil, coconut milk, shea butter and castor oil. First time I made a coconut milk soap although, I have always wanted to since coconut is my favorite scent, drink, taste everything, doesn't it make total sense for me to use it in everything?!?

My favorite tea is Chai. Actually, I stopped drinking other kinds of tea about 3 months ago because I find them boring now. My friend, Cocobong sent me a lovely Chai tea from Germany and yesterday I bought coconut chai tea online which I can not even tell you how excited I am about THAT! (excited.)

On to the cookies!

I made a soap that smells exactly like these:


No kidding - for real. I'm not saying my fragrance is supposed to smell like this. I am saying IT DOES LIKE THESE COOKIES! This is the first rendition of it. The look will change a bit. But here is the 1st batch:

shea butter soap

These two fragrances, if the fragrances stick and I believe they will, will become part of our permanent catalog. :O)

Cure date: Halloween!

All of the soap photos in this post were taken by my daughter, Nina Schmidt.



*

S.O.A.P Panel Chosen For Brambleberry

Anne Marie, of Brambleberry, chose a few people to be on a panel to help choose the spring 2011 line of fragrances. I was one of the chosen! As part of the panel, I am supposed to test, sniff and give my detailed opinion of the fragrance. They are in for a treat because I have such a keen sense of smell and a picky nose. I think I smell nuances others might miss. In that way, I think I'd be good, because I'll be giving loads of information. Whether they use it or not is a whole other story.

I am excited. Anne Marie will be sending out 8-10 one ounce bottles of the fragrances she wants each panelist to test.

I know, I have nothing else on my plate. O.o

Oooooo. Excited!

Destash.... come see!

I have some fragrant oils you might be interested in and what better time to do this?? Right before the smelly holidays!

I just blew a wad of dough on FOs and there are so many that I have I do not want, so I will lay them out here and you all can let me know if you want them. Some of the bottles are full and untouched and some are 1/2 full. I will give you my honest estimate and you'll have to trust that it's pretty accurate.

All are unavailable.

Jasmine Yin Hao FO (Oregon Trail Soaps) 2 oz. SOLD

Ceylon Black Tea FO (Oregon Trail Soaps) 2 oz. SOLD

Carrot Cake Candle fragrance oil (Brambleberry). 8 oz. This IS over a year old but smells really good. Good for candles or wax tarts.

$3.50

Sugar Cookies FO (Southern Soapers) 4 oz. SOLD

Raspberry Bombe FO (Southern Soapers) 4 oz. SOLD

Vanilla Hazelnut FO (MMS) 1 oz. I paid $3.00 plus shipping. Opened it, but never used it.

$1.50

Pumpkin Pie FO (Brambleberry) SOLD

Birthday Cake FO (Peak Candle) slightly under 4oz. Approximately 10 months old. (good for candles, B+B, FP 154 degrees) Smells like icing.

$2.50

Sandalwood FO (Brambleberry) 4 oz. SOLD

Bug Be Gone EO Blend (Brambleberry) 1/2 oz. SOLD

Vanilla Oleoresin -water soluble (MMS) 1/2 oz. SOLD

Interested in anything? email me! jo at productbody.com

xo Joanna

Sandalwood?

sandalwood

What's your favorite sandalwood oil?

As you know, I am making perfume oils, but I am ALWAYS blending and experimenting with new scents. I've never worked with sandalwood and I'd like to try. I don't want to use just any, either. I want to use a really good one.

Don't tell us which one you use if you just, eh, use one that just does the trick.

If you LOVE one, tell us.

It can be a fragrance oil or an essential oil. I'm just tired of purchasing samples all over the place and being disappointed. Let's put our resources together, for goodness sakes!

Fragrance & Essential Oil Destash!

Most of you are soap makers and bath and body products creators so I put this out to you.  Perhaps it could benefit us all.

I have more oils than I know what to do with and I want more stuff that I DO want to work with so I am thinking that I either want to sell my stuff or trade it with something of equal value that I really want.  I have WAY to much stuff here that will go to waste if I don't move it along.  We all have to pay through our nose to try new things.  I am ready for new things to have!

I received three essential oils from Camden Grey today that I do not like at all and I want to try others because I have grand ideas that I can not start on until I clear out some things.  I am running out of space.  I did not want to offer half empty stuff, so everything listed is either unopened (you can see the black tape on some of them or untaped (they didn't come taped - Camden Grey).

Click on the pictures to get a bigger view.

update!

Camden Grey Ginger EO - 2 ounces - I paid $5.95 -  it arrived today. 
S O L D!

update!

Camden Grey Manuka EO - 1/8 ounce - I paid $5.95 - it arrived today.  
S O L D!

update!

Camden Grey Rosewood EO - 1/8 ounce - I paid $3.12 -  it arrived today.  
S O L D !

Brambleberry Peppermint EO - 1 ounce 

update!

Brambleberry Mango Lassi FO - 16 ounces

S O L D !

update!

Brambleberry Cream Cheese Frosting - 16 ounces
SOLD!

u p d a t e !

Majestic Mountain Sage Graham Cracker FO 
(love this, but I have too much!) - 16 ounces
S O L D

If you are interested in buying any or all of these, offer me a price and I will charge you actual shipping costs.  My email is jo(at)productbody(dot)com.  I wish I could offer you more at the moment, but I will have other type of things, like perhaps clays, botanicals and other stuff.  I want to keep it quality, not junk ...I'll keep you posted!

Oh, did you like my hi-tech copy paper back drop and our cool '57 Chevy that bit the dust under some car as my prop?  Also the cute face is my office pen.