Full Belly and News Of A Giveaway

I hope everyone's holiday weekend was a good one.

I am full.

I know it's only an American holiday, so I ask, "How was your weekend?"  Mine was full of family, napping, Thanksgiving food, lots of sweet potatoes and cookies.  Oh, and I wrapped over 200 bars of soap today.  But I took off Thursday, Friday and Saturday off - - completely.  I haven't given my family ALL of me for almost a year.  Funny though, I give up the computer (includes, Twitter, blogs, email, Facebook) and as I walk around the house looking for some quality time with one of my family members, one is shopping online, one is editing digital photos and the other is playing video games.  Hmmmph.  I can't say that that was the whole weekend.  My son did some skateboarding and we watched, took photos, we ate many meals together, talked, laughed.... and overall, I think it was quite relaxing.  I also did some gardening.  It was starting to look like a jungle outside.  It was like when you were little and they show you three pictures of something similar and one that is totally different.  That was my house before the weekend.  Which one is not like the others?  It was pretty gratifying to pull away debris from my house and put it to the curb.

I did want to mention to everyone that Product Body is having a giveaway over at the blog and we are giving away two soaps and two bath steeps of your choice.  So head on over there and enter to win!  It is open to everyone in the world.  Ends on December 15th and there are a number of ways to enter.  Good luck and spread the word!

Our newest Bath Steeps:

decadence bath steep...

... which include Pacific Sea salt, coconut milk powder, baking soda and colloidal oatmeal. 

Simple, decadent and creamy good.

soothe bath steep...

... enriching ingredients some which include Dead Sea salt, coconut milk powder, colloidal oatmeal,

arrowroot powder, lavender flowers, chamomile powder, roses,  and calendula petals.

invigorate bath steep...

... enriching ingredients as Dead Sea salt, Pacific Sea salt, coconut milk powder, colloidal oatmeal,

arrowroot powder, white kaolin clay, calendula petals essential oils of multiple citrus fruits plus orange peel powder..

And we have so many new offerings in the soap department, it's crazy, but most of the newest editions are also limited, and so when they are gone they are gone.  I have one suggestion to any of you who might be interested in Product Body's products:  Go here and sign up for our newsletter, because we often have exclusive sales for just our newsletter subscribers and you never know what might happen here at the Product Body Family.  It's a whirlwind of fun!!


xoxo Jo

Sliding soap. Bombs Away.

Every so often, my mother has an experience to share regarding my business, soap....whatever and writes a little short story.  This one was from last weekend and not so much regarding anything business related other than the horror I found under her sink.

the tragedy of body detergent.  Yes, this is what I found.

 __________________________________________________________________________

A story about my daughter, a sweet freak


I don't know if I ever brought this up in any of my stories, but Joanna and her husband and children all regularly go through my pantry and medicine cabinet pointing out and tossing those things that have expired.  Even Nina's friends have been heard to say "this is expired."  This is rather embarrassing, humiliating and obnoxious on their part, but I take a deep breath, being the good sport that I am and put up with their nonsense.


However, Joanna went too far this week end. Too much coffee or something.  She was sitting on the floor of my bathroom with the cabinet wide open pulling everything out and throwing everything into the garbage pail.  I should have known I was in trouble right then and there.  Suddenly she began yelling "bombs away" and slid the first bar of Irish Spring soap down the long hall until it went under my bed.  Then the second bar, the third bar and 16 bars later (all under my bed) with my grandson, Desmond bent over laughing.  She was done.  I couldn't even speak. 


I said "you come from very good breeding.  Your father was a college professor, your mother a psychotherapist, and you're a freak.  

"The apple doesn't fall far from the tree, Ma." 

My daughter the diplomat.

__________________________________________________________________

When I found a jumbo box of Irish Spring under my mother's bathroom sink (you know the kind you can get at Costco or Sam's Club bulk stores) I was semi-mortified.  Semi, you ask?  Well, I do periodically find 20 year old aspirin or a box of cotton balls, where the box looks almost vintage, so I kind of figured that the soap must have been bought from before I started making soap.  I just want to mention that my mother keeps an incredibly clean house and everything is immaculate, so I don't want to paint a picture of my mom having vintage cotton ball boxes and 20 year old aspirin in a dingy water stained, hoarder-like household.  Not even close to reality.  My house will never reach the cleanliness state that hers has been like since I left for college.  That is, unless I have a cleaning service - which I sadly don't.

I digress.

So... the soap scenario was fun.  My son (11 years old) was 20 feet away, at least and I am sitting on the floor, sliding each boxed bar of Irish Spring down this long, perfect-brand-new-and-double-shiny wood floors and would slide right by my mother (who's face looked stunned), went under her bed and my son would laugh and pick it up from the other side.   We all laughed so hard, except, I had to explain that if I ever find another commercial soap box in the house, I may have to be more extreme with my sliding measures.

;)

Cream Crunch... an unpublished blip from years ago

I played with a new soap today, being that I am waiting on WAY too many bottles of fragrances and essential oils.  I need to continue to make soap for the local wholesale customers, local folks, our online business and my personal holiday gifting stash.  What makes a good gift for out of town family members?  Real soap made by me, from me,  it's too perfect a plan and I'm sticking with it, because I have no time this year for my own shopping plans.  Too darn busy making gifts.  Which I love doing, btw.

I can't stop making soaps for the holiday orders but I am down to the dregs of bottledom.  I've just made so much.  (feels good). ... It I had to make some.  I was at the lab and I felt the soap-addict-lure.  Whipped up a conditioning velvety yet exfoliating batch with ground oatmeal, bentonite clay, crushed walnuts shells, buttermilk, shea butter...

Pure Cocobong

A while back, Julia, of Cocobong, sent me gifties in the mail:  her soap.  Soap as pure as a first snow and Julia is sweeter than honey.

Here is what she sent:

 Wrapped all gorgeous and stuff!

 PURE stands in the center.

Ingredients:  Palm oil, olive oil, coconut oil, castor oil, avocado oil, palm kernel oil, sunflower oil, goat milk, coconut milk, (and I can't read the last ingredient because I ripped it and didn't notice that I ripped off the last material).  I had to translate from German to English, mind you... I am not well versed in other languages, sadly.  Yeah, I am a typical American.   But I know some American Sign Language and I took 4 years of Spanish in my teens!

________________________

I have been using PURE exclusively for about 2 weeks now in my shower, and I quite love the simplicity of it. Unscented, pure handmade milk soap.  LOVE milk soaps... they are a slice of heaven.  PURE has a natural scent that is unique, gentle, nutty almost, but ever so faint.  The lather is creamy with small bubbles, the way you know that the bar will be soooo conditioning on my skin.  Big BIG bubbles in a bar of soap doesn't mean the opposite, however.  I make plenty of conditioning bars of soap that are crazy in the fat bubble department.  Don't ask me how.

PURE washes on smoothly, slowly, silky.  Stealth-like, rippling with muscles and smoothness.  Then the soap rinses off cleanly as if the bar came, washed and then vanished exposing the skin left behind with nothing but softness.  I'm trying hard to give it the visual impact it gave me, but I'm not sure I am recalling it as powerfully as I experienced it.

Knowing a dear friend made this soap added a greatness to it.  A balance of excellence, skill and love went into it, and I feel it when I bathe.  With every bubble.

Julia, you are my Queen.

My Very First Video...

Ok, I promised to step it up.  This isn't a how-to video, but it's a start.  I am unmolding soap and explaining embeds and scents.  So I present to you the video:

Thanks for your undying support, you guys!

xo

Stepping It Up

So I have been thinking that I need to step it up here at The Soap Bar because there is just so much to share and I have you all as an audience, so why not make this the best place to come visit.  Right?

I have had my issues this year between medical stuff and life (you know how that can get)... but listen, I am ready to bring it on.

What I'd like to do is start making videos of what I do in the lab.  Tutorials, simply making soap, etc.  I kind of have to figure out how to work a camera like Tiggy of Future Primitive and Celine of Soaperstar, but it can't be THAT hard, can it?  I have no one to "tape" me when I formulate, so it may take a little time to get it right to where it will be fun to watch.  I hate myself on video and photos, but I'm over it.  I am 41 years old and who really cares - it's what I'm doing.

So there you have it.  I will be attempting to video myself and bring to you some more content.  I'd love some feedback, really.  I need you to tell me what interests you.  This is the busy time of the year for me, so I will be struggling to make my Christmas/holiday offerings but, I am committed to this blog and so my attempt at giving the time this blog deserves is real, a passion, a love.

Please leave your comments, as this will fuel me.

I love you
xoxo
Joanna

A Peek Before It Browns

I tried a new scent out (Blueberry Vanilla from Daystar) and I kind of figured that it would brown due to the vanilla content, but I used some, not a lot, of titanium dioxide and blue mica for swirls in a test batch.  You can see the swirls on top that went brown after three days.  Even though the whole test batch will be brown as a bear, I captured the blue/yellow when I cut the loaf.  It reminded me of those rocks that look plain on the outside and once it gets cracked open, there are gorgeous jewel-like stones inside.  I've seen them in museums and specialty gift shops.

Sad to say, but completely expected... the soap is now fully brown, but it was fun to stare at it while it lasted. :)

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?

Cocobong Sends Me Soap

Featured here before you are soaps from Germany.  Julia, of Cocobong, is a friend of mine and she decided to send me a care package.  Aw.  These three soaps were so delicately and carefully wrapped in beautiful paper and raffia.  It took everything in my power not to dig in before the camera came out, but I'm so glad I waited because this first shot is my favorite.  It's simplistic beauty is what I love so.

When I finally got into the soaps themselves, I found these.  Petit Monsieur, Pure, and Florida Sunshine.  I love the smell of each one, even though Pure is unscented, I do like the smell of unscented soaps.  :)

I must admit, I haven't tried them yet due to my incredibly busy schedule as of late, but I needed to post these pictures.  Why deprive YOU of these soaps, right?  I want to give Julia's soaps the attention they deserve, so I don't plan on washing my hands quickly or showering with one just to throw up a review.  I must savor the moments with each bar.  And then return.  

Thank you, Julia for your generosity and powerful kindness.

Weekend Post

My mother periodically writes about her experiences that she has with my products.  Here is her story of the weekend:

"I wouldn’t define myself as a miser, but when it comes to my daughter’s products, I use them sparingly or until they beg to be thrown out.  Well, this week-end my granddaughter was over and of course teenagers shower a catrillion times a day.  So I thought nothing of it, until last night when I went to take a shower.  Then I saw my prized soap, (one I had been saving, still in its wrapper, that Jo made for me some weeks ago, that smelled like fresh spring flowers in a green field and it exfoliated) opened by that child.  I was waiting until the soap Jo had previously given me was down to the size of a quarter before I replaced it.  SHE SAW IT, WANTED IT, OPENED IT - AND USED IT…….Of course Jo would say, well that’s what it’s for.  

Ohhhhhhh, she doesn’t understand.  But she’s right, of course. 

If that wasn’t enough, the second trauma of the week-end was when Jo asked me to bring my jar of Crush On You to her that I kept next to my bathroom sink.  I thought perhaps she was going to use it, I use it sparingly, but she’s the artist of these soaps so I would never deny her.  I brought her my jar and she poured it into the sink.  I drew a deep breath and said “What are you doing!?”  She said, “How old is this jar?”  “I don’t know, a year?”  She then gave me a Crush On You that had a magnificent scent of summer fresh air, freshness: Sexy Laundry Day.  “What is wrong with you? I make these products and you save them like they’re irreplaceable.  You need a fresh one.”  I said, “they’re precious to me”.   

I love my daughter. 

Anyhow, the lesson I learned from my two girls is “learn to treat yourself better, lavish yourself today or your stuff will get sour.”  That goes for everything in life………….."

Ugh, my mother who saves her soap for two years... what am I going to do with her?  She can have anything she wants from me and she uses the products as if she can't get anymore.  I am trying to teach her that USING the soap and sugar scrub is good and that I will replace it whenever she needs it.

Hopefully, she will learn.  ;)